Chapter 2: Unexpected Consequences


Sora opened her eyes and quickly realized she wasn't in her own room. The walls were colored light pink and posters of the New York skyline hung everywhere. Clothes were littered around the floor and the dresser was covered with lotions and makeup. Everything belonged to Mimi. Sora realized that she never made it home after her graduation party.

The girl sat up in bed and felt herself get quite the headache. Her temples throbbed and she was absolutely quenched. Luckily Mimi seemed to have lent her some pajamas to sleep in so she wouldn't be totally uncomfortable.

Sora got herself up and headed out towards Mimi's sitting room. The door that led out to the balcony was open and it was letting in a warm breeze. The curtains blew back and forth and everything was quiet. It was hard to believe that same room was filled with people the night before.

"Mimi?" Sora called out, wondering where her friend had gone.

"I'm in the kitchen!"

The redhead rounded the corner and saw her doing dishes.

"Are those all from last night?" Sora asked, looking bewilderedly at the pile of cups that had accumulated on Mimi's drying rack.

Mimi finished up and nodded. "Mhmm. You know, sometimes it'd be nice for people to clean up after themselves!"

"I would've had I woken up earlier." Sora offered, feeling bad that Mimi did all of the work.

"Don't be silly, Sora." Mimi replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the kitchen table. She offered Sora a seat and she obliged. "It was your party! And it seems like you had quite the night."

Sora groaned and leaned her head against one of her hands. The last thing she remembered was Taichi giving her a drink that she definitely shouldn't have had. "How come I stayed here?" she asked, already embarrassed about whatever the answer probably was.

Mimi laughed. "Well, you fell asleep on my couch! What kind of hostess would I be if I let you sleep there though? You didn't want to wake up so Taichi carried you all the way to my room."

Sora felt her face grow red. Taichi'd carried her? She could already imagine what he would say to her when he saw her again. "Where did you sleep?"

"My parents room." Mimi replied. "They won't be back until tomorrow."

Sora nodded and figured she must have looked a little ill because Mimi offered to get her some water. The redhead gladly accepted it and downed the cup of icy liquid in one go.

Mimi stared at her wide-eyed. "You must've really had a lot last night."

"I didn't want to." Sora replied, frowning. "Why do people think taking shots is a good way to celebrate?"

"I think that's only Taichi!" Mimi laughed, remembering the night before. "I don't know why we all listen to him."

Sora laughed at that too. "Well, it was nice to have everyone together at the same time."

"I know!" Mimi exclaimed, "It's funny, you know, we've all changed but when we come together it's like we can pick up right where we left off."

"Well, for the most part." Sora added on, the laughter gone from her voice.

Mimi leaned back in her chair and gave Sora a curious look. It didn't take her long to realize she was talking about Yamato. They'd broken up a few years after they started dating, but Mimi didn't know too many of the specifics. Even when Sora showed up on her doorstep the night it happened, she was hesitant to get into details about it. "Is it weird being around Yamato?" She asked.

"Um, not really." Sora replied, dragging out the last word so she could have some time to gather her thoughts. "We haven't hung out on our own in awhile… but being around him in a big group isn't so weird."

"Oh?" Mimi raised a brow, wondering how that could be possible.

"Before we dated I felt awkward being around him because I liked him. Now I feel awkward being around him because he used to be my person, and now he isn't." Sora explained. She paused for a moment and blushed. "I didn't embarrass myself when I was outside with him last night, did I?"

"I don't think so!" Mimi answered, "But who cares anyways? If he judged you for having fun then that's his own problem. That guy needs to loosen up, you know?"

"Mmm…" Sora mumbled as their conversation dwindled down. She wasn't sure if she agreed with her. They sat there for a moment and listened to the clock tick. Three seconds, four seconds, five seconds.

"Koushiro got tall." The redhead said quietly, trying to break the silence. Sora used to tower over him, but now it was quite the opposite.

"Did he?" Mimi asked, raising her brows like she'd just realized it. "I suppose he did..." Her voice trailed off and the conversation dwindled once more.

"Well, I should probably get going." Sora said, rising from her spot. "I'm sure my mom's wondering where I am."

"Of course!" Mimi replied, standing so she could walk her friend to the door. After a quick change of clothes, Sora was ready to go. "Hey, I really do hope you had fun last night, though. It was nice to have everyone together again."

"It sure was." Sora offered one final smile before heading out. "Thanks for hosting us."

Mimi was left in her now-clean apartment with the memories of the night before. Everything was a bit hazy, but she'd had fun too.

"Mimi, you plan one heck of a party." She said to herself as she leaned up against the wall and looked over her living room. She'd done such a good job of cleaning that she probably could have gotten away with throwing her party without begging her parents for permission to. It wasn't like her to lie, though- not that she was any good at it.

Suddenly the girl heard her cell phone go off in her bedroom so she dashed to pick it up. It was Koushiro.

"Hello?"


As Sora wandered down the street all she could think about was going back to bed. Last night had been a blast, but reality was beginning to set in and Sora wanted nothing to do with it.

"Math…" she muttered to herself, wondering whether she said the word with such detest because that's what she'd been forced to drink to or because she actually detested it.

As the girl walked farther and farther away from Mimi's apartment, she started to realize that there wasn't much left for her to look forward to. The party was supposed to be a huge send-off, but now there was the entirety of summer to get through before she would actually be going anywhere. For Sora, summer didn't mean much of anything. She had no plans besides packing up her things and preparing to move to another part of Tokyo. Her university wasn't too far away but it would definitely be too difficult to commute from one side of the city to the other. Overall, the summer held nothing exciting for her. Tennis wouldn't even be there for her anymore.

Before Sora's thoughts could drift towards tennis- something that was perhaps the most depressing for her- she noticed an old woman struggling to put up a mannequin in the window of a shop she was passing.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, choosing to dash inside. The door hit a bell and the woman was alerted to her presence. "Let me help you!"

The redhead went over towards the window and steadied the large statue. It was a lot lighter than she expected it to be. The entire thing seemed to be made out of plastic. It towered over the shopkeeper, though. The little old woman only came up to Sora's shoulders.

"Let's put it here." She said, leading Sora towards the spot she wanted the mannequin placed. Once it was on the ground she smiled. "Perfect."

Sora stepped back and got a good look at the woman she was helping. She was short for sure, but she seemed strong in stature. Her hair was grey and long and pulled back in one braid that went down to her hips. The outfit she was wearing seemed traditional, too, which took Sora by surprise. The girl looked around her and realized she was in a clothing shop and everything for sale was traditional in style.

The front of the shop was littered with racks of clothing and displays of really elaborate creations. Most things looked silky and colorful. They were so vibrant that you could see the care that was put into making them. There was a counter with a register towards the middle of the store, but then the back looked like a workshop.

"Thank you for your help, young lady." The older woman said as she watched Sora look around.

"Oh, it's not problem!" Sora replied cheerfully. She directed her attention to the shopkeeper for a second only to be drawn back in by the dresses. "Did you make all of these?"

The woman nodded and looked around as well, like she was taking a moment to admire her own work. "This is my shop. Everything in here is handmade by me with only the finest materials."

"Well everything's beautiful…" Sora said in awe. "Oh! Excuse my poor manners, please. My name is Takenouchi Sora."

"Takenouchi?" The woman asked, "Are you the daughter of Toshiko, who practices Ikebana?"

"Yeah," Sora responded, "how did you know?"

The woman grinned. "You're the spitting image of her. I quite admire your mother's shop. She's very talented, you know, and a frequent customer of mine."

"Oh…" the redhead responded quietly, feeling a bit bad that she hadn't known. Her mother had a few kimonos in her wardrobe but she'd never paid much attention to them before. Now that she was surrounded by them, though, each outfit seemed to be competing for her attention.

"Wouldn't you like to know what my name is?" The woman asked, smirking a bit.

Sora blushed instantly. Her mother would kill her if word got back to her about how rude she was being in someone else's boutique. "Yes! Of course, I'm sorry."

The old lady smiled, like she thought Sora's embarrassment was endearing. "My name is Daishi Chiyoko."

Sora kept her reply short. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Daishi-sama."

"Please," the woman responded as she stepped away from the window, "call me Chiyoko."

Sora took note of the request but decided she would feel uncomfortable obliging so immediately. She'd just met the woman and was a little off-put by her kind demeanor.

"So, Takenouchi Sora," Chiyoko went on, "I've got to repay you for helping me."

That suggestion caught Sora's attention immediately. "Oh, no! It was my pleasure to help, and I barely did anything."

Chiyoko smiled again, ignoring her rejection. "Why don't you stop by tomorrow? My store closes at 5pm. I'll have a gift for you."

Once again, Sora tried to decline the offer. "Daishi-sama, I couldn't."

"Well I'll be disappointed if I don't see you, and please, again, just call me Chiyoko."

The girl was at a loss. She figured Chiyoko wasn't going to accept her saying no, so she nodded and agreed to come. It couldn't be that big of a gift. The woman was probably just grateful, especially since it seemed like she ran the shop by herself.

"Good." Chiyoko said in response. "Don't forget, 5 o'clock."

Sora didn't hear her cell phone ringing as she assured her new acquaintance that she'd be there. It went to her voicemail after a few loops through the muffled ringtone.


Koushiro paced back and forth in his room. Taichi and Daisuke were sat on two chairs as they watched him walk from one side to the other.

"Daisuke," the boy began, "tell me one more time how Reiji managed to get into the digital world?"

"I don't know." Daisuke answered. "I've told you that a thousand times now. When I came back from the bathroom my digivice was missing and Reiji was gone."

"I just don't understand how Reiji could open the digiport…" Koushiro muttered to himself. Daisuke wondered if he should answer, but he kept his mouth shut. He already felt pretty embarrassed. Him and Taichi had no way to open the digiport without his D-3, so they'd needed to call on their friends to help them.

Takeru and Hikari arrived fairly quickly. Mimi came a few minutes after that.

"Was this everyone you could get in contact with, Koushiro?" Taichi asked, looking worriedly around at his small group of friends.

Koushiro sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."

The brunette let out a large groan. His friends could get together for a party, but not for an emergency like this?

"What's going on?" Mimi asked. Koushiro hadn't been too detailed on the phone. He emphasized that they needed her help as quickly as possible, so she decided she'd get caught up when she arrived.

Koushiro motioned towards Taichi and Daisuke. "I think they'll be better at explaining it than me."

Mimi turned and looked at them expectantly. Hikari gave her brother a worried look, her nervous brown orbs matching his. The two boys alternated telling the story, with Daisuke offering an apology at the end. He expected his friends to scold him but they were rather supportive. Perhaps the situation was scarier in the moment, or perhaps Taichi had lost his temper.

"So," Koushiro continued, "now we need to find Reiji, and we need to locate the source of the alert I got earlier today."

"And you need us to open the digiport." Takeru tacked on, much to Daisuke's embarrassment. Both he and Hikari pulled out their D-3's, ready to go when they were given the command.

"Right." Koushiro said. "Let's not be hasty, though. We've got two things to do, so I think it'd be best if we split up. Taichi and Daisuke, you two find Reiji. Takeru and Hikari, you guys go to the location the alert came from and see if you can figure out what's up."

"And me?" Mimi asked, wondering if the boy had forgotten her. Koushiro walked towards her and, for the first time, Mimi realized how tall he'd actually gotten. Sora was right. He used to be one of the smallest members of the group but now he towered over her. He wasn't as tall as Taichi or Yamato, but he stood with authority, and his shoulders were at a height that made it seem easy for her to rest her head on him.

"Mimi?"

The girl snapped out of her trance and realized everyone was staring at her. Koushiro had given her instructions and she'd missed every word he said. Mimi acted quickly and faked a yawn as she tried not to blush. "S-sorry?"

Koushiro blinked as he looked down at her. "I asked if you wouldn't mind staying back and helping me monitor the situation. With two missions going on at once it'll be difficult to do on my own."

"Oh, sure." She said, still trying to recover. "Sorry. I'm just really tired."

"Are you sure you don't mind staying back?"

Mimi looked up at him again. "I don't."

And, for some reason, she really didn't. Koushiro kept his eyes on her for a moment to see if he could catch her in a lie, but she wasn't faking what she said. Her tone was too honest. She began to feel unusually awkward though so she averted her gaze towards the ground. He'd probably only been looking at her for a few seconds, but to Mimi, it felt like an eternity.

"Alright," Taichi piped up from across the room, "it's set then. Let's get moving."

"Right." Koushiro replied, switching gears. He took a seat at his computer and motioned for Mimi to take over the other monitor. "All of your digimon should be waiting for you once you cross over. Taichi and Daisuke, the location the D-3 is giving off means that Reiji is somewhere in this area. I'd recommend heading there first. Hikari and Takeru, I need you two to head more north. It might be quicker to fly."

Taichi was more than ready at this point. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Koushiro replied skeptically, "don't do anything stupid."

Another groan from Taichi could be heard as the four teens got sucked into the computer screen. Mimi and Koushiro were left on their own once the light disappeared. The boy's room was small, but he managed to fit a few different desks and computers in it. His trusty laptop was sat in front of him while Mimi was tasked with booting up a desktop.

"Can you put your password in?" She leaned over and asked.

"Oh, right, sorry Mimi."

Koushiro waited for a moment to make sure everything looked good on his screen before heading over to help the girl out. Mimi scooted out of the way so that he could get to the keyboard, but they were still close enough for his arm to brush against hers with each keystroke. Normally she wouldn't have noticed something like that, or she would have pulled her arm away, but she kept it there and wondered if Koushiro had noticed too.

A map of the digital world popped up once he was logged in. It was focused in on the area that their four friends had been sent to. Most of the map was green and lush, but it turned into desert towards the north.

"There." He pointed at two red dots. "That's Taichi and Daisuke." Two other dots were moving away from them. "That's Hikari and Takeru. The younger kids are heading towards this area I've marked up here. If they message asking for directions, you're in charge, alright?"

"You got it." Mimi replied. Koushiro stood straight again and the girl turned to look up at him. They had work to do, but she didn't want their conversation to end. "And what will you be doing?"

"I'll be keeping an eye on Taichi and Daisuke," he grumbled, "Right now Daisuke and V-mon can't help, and Reiji's just a giant burden. If they run into something that Taichi and Agumon can't handle on their own we'll need to go in and help."

"Do you know anything about this Reiji kid?" Mimi asked.

Koushiro sighed. "Not really. All Taichi said was that he's some rising senior from the football team."

The girl furrowed her brow. So he was in their grade. She tried to put a face to the name, but she honestly could not remember who he was.


The moment Reiji's feet hit the ground, he ran. He didn't know where he was, but he figured Taichi and Daisuke would be close behind him and he certainly didn't want to be found. Not yet. He only paused after running in some unknown direction for a few minutes, and that's when he truly got to take a look around.

"Wow…" he muttered to himself as he took in the brightness of everything. The colors were vivid and the foliage was unlike anything he'd seen in Japan. There was an air of mystery all around him. Silence.

Suddenly Reiji stopped feeling invincible. He thought about how he should have left a trail back towards where he came from. Daisuke had mentioned there was some type of danger, and that warning was now fresh in his mind. He really had no idea where he was or what he was doing.

The boy took a few cautious steps forward and cringed each time a twig or leaf was crushed under his heavy feet. He felt like he was the center of attention and it was only a matter of time until monsters were alerted to his presence and would pick him off like the virus he was. Reiji heard rustling from a bush behind him and became so scared he could hardly move. He stood frozen in his spot as he turned his head to see what was coming out to get him.

The rustling became more hectic as a small monster pushed his way out of the foliage. He tripped on a root and rolled out, crashing on the ground at Reiji's feet. The boy remained frozen for a second, but felt less threatened the more the tiny creature groaned in pain.

"Hey… uh… are you… alright?" Reiji asked, bending down a bit. He didn't want to let his defenses down but the little guy seemed harmless enough.

"I'm fine." The monster said shortly before looking up and realizing who he was talking to. "Whoa! You're a human! And certainly not one that I've seen before. Who are you?"

"Uh, my name's Reiji." He replied as he watched the digimon get up and dust himself off.

"It's a pleasure, Reiji. My name's Impmon!" He extended his paw out and offered to shake Reiji's hand, but the boy hesitated.

"Impmon?" the human repeated, glancing down at the animalistic features of his hand. He wore red gloves and a red bandana around his neck, and his fur was colored purple. The little monster's eyes were green and his lips were stretched into a thin smile that magnified his two vampire-esque teeth.

Impmon widened his smile. "Yep!"

Reiji took his paw and shook it lightly, still careful to not drop all of his defenses. "And you're a digimon?"

"Sure am! We're all digimon around here. Well, for the most part. Humans come through every now and then but those are just the chosen children."

"Oh, yeah." Reiji glanced down at the ground. He put two and two together and realized the 'chosen children' that Impmon were talking about probably included Daisuke and Taichi. It was another reminder that they were special and he wasn't.

Impmon picked up on the change in the boy's attitude. Reiji turned solemn at the mention of the group. "You're not with them, are you?"

"Er, no… not really…" the boy felt the presence of the D-3 in his pocket. Although it had gotten him into the digital world, it did nothing in terms of making him feel like he belonged there.

"Well good!" The digimon exclaimed, much to Reiji's surprise. "Those kids are so well received around these parts, but not everything they do is helpful, you know."

Reiji furrowed his brow and offered Impmon a curious look. The little digimon had his attention now.

"Those kids, all they think about is themselves! They're so concerned with being heroes that they don't care who gets hurt. I've seen many good digimon die because they wouldn't help them, or because they've stood in their way. Everyone thinks there's something special about those kids, but they're not free of faults…"

Impmon's words somehow made Reiji feel better about himself. He'd always been so envious of those with digimon partners that he didn't stop to think about who they actually were. Taichi was always so selfish playing football; perhaps he was the same way in the digital world. It seemed to make sense.

"They never hurt you, did they?" Reiji asked. He'd only met the digimon a few minutes ago but he already felt a connection to him.

"Me?" Impmon asked, pointing at himself. "Oh no, not me. I've heard rumors though… of digimon getting in their way. Let me tell you, I'd be scared out of my wits to cross their path in my current form. I'm too small and weak. I wouldn't stand a chance against them without digivolving. It's a shame, though. For every chosen human there is a chosen digimon, and I am not one of them."

Reiji couldn't help but start to think of Impmon as an old friend. Everything he was saying was perfect. It was like they'd been experiencing the same hardships a dimension away from each other.

"Well, look at this!" Reiji said suddenly, pulling the D-3 out of his pocket.

Impmon's eyes widened as he realized what it was. He began to reach out towards it, but quickly caught himself and pulled his hand back. "Is it… is it yours?"

"Er, no… it's not mine." The boy replied, stuffing it back into his pocket. He found it a bit strange that the digimon had almost grabbed it, and he was sure he'd get in more trouble than he was already in if he lost it. "It belongs to someone else." Reiji decided to skip the details about how it'd fallen into his possession. "It let me into the digital world, though, even though I don't really think I'm supposed to be here."

Impmon kept staring at the boys pocket, tracing the outline of the digivice with his gaze. "That gives me an idea, you know." He said, glancing back up towards Reiji. "Maybe no one's really special, it's just the tools that people are given. And hey, can I say something else?"

"Sure." Reiji nodded, still listening intently.

"I don't mean to be forward, but I think you were meant to fall into the digital world today!" The little digimon pointed a gloved finger up at the boy. "I've been wandering along without a partner for who knows how long now, and here you are! Crossing paths couldn't be a coincidence, huh?"

Reiji's eyes brightened, and he was going to say something, but he heard his name being called off in the distance. "Shit…" he muttered, pushing his hand into his pocket and clutching onto the D-3.

"It's them, isn't it?" Impmon asked, turning around to face the direction the voices were coming from. He frowned in disgust, although Reiji couldn't see.

"Yeah." He said. Daisuke's voice was too recognizable.

"Well look," Impmon began, "I'm sure you're going to have to give that fancy device back, but we're meant to be partners! I can feel it! I'll figure out a way to get you back here, but until then, make sure not to mention me, okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," Reiji's words stumbled out of his mouth as Daisuke's voice became louder and louder. "Why?"

"Heh," Impmon chuckled, "If those chosen children know you've got a digimon partner, they won't like it! They can't be the heroes if us average folks are pairing up."

"Mmm." Reiji nodded, it made enough sense. "Okay then. Until next time. I'm glad I met you today, Impmon."

"Me too!" The little digimon replied as he hurried the human off. As he watched Reiji disappear back into the forest, a soft pink butterfly landed on his nose. With one swift movement he snatched it into his paw and crushed it, littering its remains across the ground.


It didn't take long for Daisuke to demand his D-3 back after they'd managed to find Reiji.

"Gimme that!" he exclaimed as he snatched it out of his hands. "What's wrong with you?! Why would you run into the digital world on your own?!"

"I'm sorry." Was all Reiji could muster as he felt the emptiness in his pocket. The apology sounded empty but he found it hard to care. "I just… really wanted to see it."

"Well I hope you're happy with yourself." Taichi said strictly. "You really caused a lot of trouble for us."

Reiji didn't respond to that. He actually found it hard not to shoot Taichi a glare. Being around the two 'chosen children' felt a little toxic. All the boy could think about was what type of 'heroes' they actually were, but Impmon had given him a pretty good idea.

Daisuke pulled out his d-terminal and messaged Koushiro to let him know that they'd found Reiji unharmed. It hadn't taken long at all, thanks to the tracking device.

The message was still well received though, and back in the real world Koushiro let out a giant sigh of relief.

"They found him?" Mimi asked, peeling her eyes away from the computer screen to glance over at him.

"Thankfully." He replied. "We need to be more careful now that humans know about the digital world. Who knows what could happen if an average kid got lost in there."

Mimi tried to imagine the possibilities, but they were truly endless. This was a new age of sorts. The two worlds were supposed to co-exist, and her and her friends were supposed to act as the overseers. Perhaps that was going to be a rougher job than she'd expected it to be.

Almost as if something wanted to confirm Mimi's fears, the two red dots that represented Takeru and Hikari disappeared off the map. The girl looked blankly at the screen for a moment, like it was some sort of glitch or a giant trick. Where did they go?

"Er, Koushiro…" she said quietly, unsure if she should panic or not.

"What?" He turned around and saw the worried look on her face. He repeated his question again, but with more immediacy. "What happened?"

Mimi took a second look at the screen just to make sure her eyes hadn't fooled her. She felt a sinking feeling in her stomach as she informed Koushiro of the news. "Takeru and Hikari… They're gone."


Alright, there's a second chapter for you! I hope you enjoyed it. Things are still building up but expect the next addition to be a very interesting one. I'm excited to continue exploring the changing relationships the chosen children are experiencing, and I'm excited to reveal more about the villains.

Please feel free to leave a review with any and all constructive criticism, comments, or corrections. I'm making a point to try and add honorifics into the story and I've found a handy chart to guide me, but I'd be a little embarrassed if I messed any up.

Thanks for reading!

garudamon