Chapter 4: In Over Our Heads

The deed had been done. He'd seen those devices many times before. Those… holy devices. They could open and close portals into whatever worlds they pleased. They were the key to his success.

Although he'd managed to mess with data- rewiring portals, accessing valuable information, learning more and more about parallel worlds- he was at the end of his capabilities. The digital world was no joke. Every time he thought he'd made a large accomplishment, it was like everything he'd found and stored was erased. For awhile, he thought someone was sneaking into his hard drive while he slept to erase his day's work.

That holy power, though- it seemed unstoppable. The only problem was that that power was in the hands of children. His employers had warned him that they couldn't do anything unethical, but how could he complete his task while playing by the rules? He held his resignation letter in his hands. He was his own man, now, and no one was watching him. He would soon be known as the man that broke the barrier between the two worlds, and he would do it on his own accord. The digital world would be his, and so would all of the lucrative profits.

For now, though, he needed everything to remain as it was. The man had one final trick up his sleeve. Before logging off his computer for the final time, he typed some sort of code into a digital program.

"Good…" he muttered to himself. "If I can't get into the digital world as I please, no one can. Not yet."

And with that, the digiports around the world shut down. The man was sure that no one could tamper with the virus he put into effect. He would be the first, the only, the all-powerful.

"Hikari… Hikari… I'm coming for you, Hikari."

The brunette girl gasped and shot up in bed, her nightmare becoming so terrifying that it kicked her awake from sleep. Her brother must have woken up too, because she heard him grumble from the bottom bunk.

"Hikari? What's wrong?"

She pulled her blankets up over her shoulders and responded quietly, "Nothing, sorry I woke you up."

Taichi wasn't satisfied with that answer. He got up and leaned up against the railing of Hikari's bed. He was tall enough to see over it and the sight of his sister didn't exactly put him at ease. She looked a little shaken, like half of her mind was still stuck in her bad dream.

"I don't believe you." He said simply, in a voice that reiterated how well he knew her. Taichi's eyelids were still lazy with sleep but his gaze was fierce. He wouldn't be laying back down until he was sure Hikari was alright.

The younger Yagami sighed. She knew her brother's persistence all too well. She also knew that she hadn't been feeling normal lately. "I had a nightmare." She explained, unsure about how much detail she could go into without causing him more worry.

"Clearly it was a bad one." Taichi replied. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Hikari thought for a moment. She figured that talking about the dark ocean so much recently was what led to her nightmare, but perhaps talking to her brother would help. "I just had a dream that I was back in the dark world, like I told you about. I've been feeling weird all day."

"Well," Taichi began, reaching out and squeezing her hand, "I'm glad you know it was only a nightmare. No one's getting into this apartment to get you- not with me and Miko on the watch, anyways!" He gestured towards their cat who was sleeping in the corner of the room.

Hikari let a small smile creep onto her face. She nodded and believed him. He'd always looked out for her when he could, but he wasn't always around.

"Why don't you try and get back to sleep?" Taichi continued, noting that they could get a few more hours of shut-eye in before the sun rose.

"Mmm."

The girl laid back down and stared at the ceiling, still feeling a bit restless. She heard Taichi quickly start to snore underneath her and although it was annoying, it was familiar and put her at ease. As her eyes shuttered shut, she hoped she wouldn't fall back into the same dream she woke up from.

Jyou rolled out of bed and reached for his laptop. He could barely sleep last night because of the anticipation. His summer term grades were meant to be posted, and sure enough they were online.

The boy felt his stomach turn itself in knots as he hesitantly clicked on the link. He knew he didn't do well on his final exams, and he was worried he didn't do well enough to stay in his program. Jyou had managed to get into a competitive pre-med program because of his hard work in high school, but hard work didn't seem to be good enough in university. Everyone in his classes was simply sharper, more quick thinking, more talented.

The page took enough time to load to let Jyou think that maybe he hadn't done as bad as he thought. That hope was quickly crushed, though, when failing exam grades loaded before him.

The boy put his head into his hands and fell back down onto his pillow. How was he going to tell his dad? He didn't do poorly enough to get kicked out of school, but he was certainly on thin ice. One more poor semester would ruin everything.

As he stared at the ceiling, tracing patterns in the wear and tear, he wondered what Gomamon would say. When Gomamon was around Jyou was a chosen child and he had a set purpose. In the real world however, he had no idea what he was doing. For his entire life, Jyou had expected to become a doctor. The entire plan had been laid out for him. However, he never took the time to think about whether he could actually become one.

His dad was always so confident.

Jyou heard his cell phone ring and was torn away from his thoughts. Part of him didn't want to answer. He felt embarrassed knowing he'd failed his exams, and he was sure if he spoke out loud that the disappointment in his voice would give it all away. The caller ID said 'Koushiro', though, so he decided to give it a shot.

"Hello?" His voice was dull.

"Jyou, it's Koushiro!" the boy said, sounding like he was a bit out of breath. "Are you busy?"

Busy? Jyou almost laughed at that. "No. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure."

Koushiro had his attention now. Jyou shifted into chosen child mode and began to feel better. Whatever was going on, it would take his mind off reality.

"I've called all the others and they're coming over soon. Can you make it?"

"To your apartment?" Jyou asked, glancing at the clock. It was only 9am. There was a whole day ahead of him that he wasn't looking forward to. "Er, yeah."

Jyou tried to probe Koushrio more, but he either wasn't going to get into details until everyone was together or he really had no idea what was going on. The boy got dressed and prepared to head out. At least could feel productive

"Well, I'm glad that you all could make it." Koushiro stated, eyeing his friends carefully. He knew that many of them had to cancel plans or make excuses to get to his apartment, but he wasn't interested in hearing any complaining. Not now.

Taichi was the first to speak up. "What's going on?"

The redhead could feel everyone's eyes on him as they eagerly waited for some sort of explanation. "I'm getting to it." He began. "First I need someone with a D-3."

Everyone's eyes turned to someone in the younger group of chosen children. Takeru gripped his D-3 on his waistband and stepped forward. "For what?"

"Try and open the digiport." Koushiro answered bluntly.

Takeru hesitated for a moment, confused. Koushiro didn't provide any extra information, though, so he did as he was told. "Digital gate open!" He commanded, pushing his device towards the screen. There was nothing.

Gasps could be heard throughout the group of friends.

"Ehh, wait a minute." Daisuke grumbled, scrambling to get up next to Takeru. "Let me try. Digital gate, open!" He pointed his D-3 at the computer as well, but there was still no reaction. The brunette looked dumbfounded.

"Just as I suspected." Koushiro murmured. Everyone turned back to look at him.

Yamato spoke up next, his voice calm yet laced with a sense of urgency. "What's going on with the gate?"

Koushiro pulled up an email with a few clicks on his computer. "I got a message from Gennai earlier this morning. Someone's been messing with the network. Our friends in the digital world can normally do a pretty good job of keeping things in order and guarding against entities that aren't supposed to be there, but this is different. Whoever's messing with the digital gates is really smart."

"What do you mean, messing with them?" Daisuke asked sharply.

Koushiro sighed and looked around at his friends with concern. "They're all closed and no one can seem to find a way to reopen them. Nothing can get in, nothing can get out."

"But that's impossible!" Taichi exclaimed. "What type of power must a digimon have to corrupt the data like that- and to render our digivices useless?"

"We're not sure a digimon is behind this." The redhead continued.

Jyou cut in. "So- a human?"

"Perhaps."

"So," Taichi went on, "what you're telling us is that we can't get into the digital world and the digimon can't get into our world? If there's an emergency on either side of the gate we can't help each other?"

"Not right now." Koushiro said. "Everyone who could possibly be working on this in the digital world is working on it. I'm going to do my best to help. Hopefully the connection will be back up soon, but there's really no way to tell."

"I'm worried about Piyomon." Sora said quietly, sparking the concern of everyone else. They began mumbling about their own partners and how they were hoping they would be alright until the gate was opened up again.

Koushiro turned back and looked at his computer. "This would all be so much easier if we could just figure out when exactly the data was being tampered with. If we could pinpoint a point in time we could probably trace the source and figure out who's doing it."

Everyone drifted into their own thoughts, trying to think of some sort of clue that could help. Mimi was the first one to speak up. She furrowed her brow. "Don't you think it's possible whoever's messing with the gate was messing with it when Reiji got into the digital world? I mean, he shouldn't have been able to use Daisuke's D-3 like that. Perhaps it was just open?"

Koushiro stared at her for a moment. Everyone else waited for his reaction, unsure whether what she said was a stretch or the most perfect realization. Mimi looked confident, though, and soon Koushiro went from looking disheartened to looking excited.

"Mimi!" He exclaimed, "You're a genius! I just need to zone in on that point in time- Daisuke, when exactly did Reiji take your digivice, again?"

"Uh, around 4 o'clock yesterday, I guess?" He answered, stunned that his embarrassing mishap might now hold the key to finding whatever enemy they were looking for.

Koushiro sank down into his computer chair and started opening all sorts of programs. The group looked over his shoulders curiously, but none of them understood what he was doing.

"Hey, Koushiro," Taichi began, "when do you think you're going to have all this figured out?"

"It shouldn't take too long." He replied, "Maybe an hour? Maybe a day? I need to consult with Gennai. You all can go if you want. I'll call you when I figure it out."

As the group trickled out, Mimi smirked. It was so like him to say "when" instead of "if". She knew he was going to come up with something, and she was proud that she'd been the one to give him the key to the answer. She just hoped the theory played out.

"I can't believe it." Koushiro turned to her to say once everyone else had left. "That goofy kid might be the biggest help."

Mimi offered him a soft smile. "I guess kids stealing D-3's and breaking into the digital world isn't always all bad!"

Koushiro laughed at that. He wasn't sure whether it was the relief of having a potential solution to the problem, Mimi's presence, or a combination of both- but he felt much happier.

"Now," he continued, "I just need to wait for Gennai to answer."

"Is it alright if I wait with you for a bit?" Mimi asked. She knew her request was weird but she didn't want to leave him with all of the work. Even if she didn't understand much about computers she could still offer him her company.

"Sure." Koushiro replied. He didn't seem to think her offer was out of the ordinary at all. Perhaps in the past he would have, but he seemed quite impressed with how observant she was. "I could probably use the help!"

Mimi smiled again at that. When she thought back to her adventures in the digital world, she figured it was rare that Koushiro asked for help. She felt trusted.

"So," she began, "what do we do once we figure out who's behind closing the ports?"

"We track down the computer they did it from." Koushiro answered. He looked back at her amusedly. Since when did she care about the technical parts of their adventures?

"So?" She asked, egging him on.

Koushiro reiterated what he said before. "Whoever did this is really smart. I'm baffled that Gennai can't figure out how to get the portals open again. If we want to change the coding back to normal, we'll have to hack into the computer that's messing with the data and reverse it from the inside."

Mimi nodded. She wasn't sure what all that would entail, but it made sense for the most part. The two of them fell silent and Mimi suddenly became aware that they were alone. She looked at the boy as he typed away furiously on his computer. So many years had passed yet he was still so passionate about that thing.

There were things that had changed about him, though- his height being one. As Mimi looked at him, she realized that he had grown wider too. His shoulders were broad and he was well built for someone who wasn't terribly active. Mimi supposed he looked like he had more authority. She expected him to say something confident and intelligent when he opened his mouth.

The girl shook her head. It'd been silent the entire time she was thinking. Koushiro didn't seem like he noticed, though. He was still messing with his computer. Eventually he leaned back and let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

The boy spun around in his chair. "It's just frustrating. I wish I had more answers than I do right now. I know we're all worried about our digimon, so it's hard to wait."

"Well," Mimi replied, "why don't you do something to distract yourself? Gennai's always worked on his own time but he's never let us down. I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as he can."

"Maybe…" Koushiro mumbled, as if tearing himself away from the computer was unfamiliar.

"Hey!" Mimi said suddenly. "Did you ever decide what you were going to say to that man who emailed you?"

Koushiro hesitated. He wouldn't have asked about something so personal unless the other person had brought it up, but he knew Mimi spoke her mind. "Erm, I uh, I did send him a message."

His response was quiet and Mimi second-guessed herself. "Sorry, if you don't want to talk about it…"

"No, it's fine." Koushiro replied. He raised his brows a bit at his response, as if those words shouldn't have come out of his mouth. "He gave me his phone number and told me to call if I wanted to speak with him."

"You probably should!" Mimi said. The look Koushiro gave her let her know she was being a bit too forward, so she reeled herself back in. "I mean, you might learn something neat. It couldn't hurt, could it? If you don't go you'll just be sitting here waiting for Gennai and wondering."

The redhead remained silent. He stared into his computer screen but there was nothing it could tell him. He wasn't built to deal with these kinds of situations. Mimi sounded so reassuring though and he began to believe her words. What could go wrong?

"And, hey..." Mimi spoke up again, causing Koushiro to glance back at her. She felt herself swallow her last bit of nerves. "I know it might be rough, so why don't I buy you dinner after? You know... if you want to talk or anything."

That definitely didn't register. The boy stared at her blankly. Had she just asked him out? Koushiro's mind yelled at him to say something, but he couldn't find the words.

Mimi turned crimson. "But I mean, there's also a lot on your mind, so I'd understand if you just want to be by yourself and-"

"I don't want to be by myself." Koushiro felt himself blush too. His computer screen went dark and he could see his reflection in it. "Not... not through this. I've been alone through things like this before and... I don't want to do that anymore."

He finally locked eyes with her and she offered up a sympathetic smile. She felt weightless. She was helping.

Mimi left the apartment with plans to meet back up with him that night. Koushiro took his phone out and flipped it around nervously in his hand. None of this was familiar. There was no formula to get through it.

Koushiro looked around the café. The man he was supposed to meet said he'd be wearing a brown sweater and glasses. Someone who met that description was sitting by himself across the room with his nose stuck in a newspaper. He looked like he was about 40 years old, which made sense. That was how old Koushiro's father would have been. The boy took a deep breath and headed over towards him. Meeting new people in person was never a skill of his- especially a person like this.

"Um, excuse me?" He asked politely, putting himself just in view of the man. If it wasn't him perhaps he could pretend to have said nothing.

The man instantly stood. "Can it be you? Koushiro?"

The boy nodded slowly and balked once a hand was thrust towards him.

"My, I can't believe it! Look how you've grown!"

Koushiro glanced at his outstretched hand. It was worn and tough, yet polished. In fact, the man's entire appearance was polished. He'd dressed up nicely and had perfectly trimmed facial hair. His beard was short- the equivalent of a buzz cut- and matched the jet-black color of his hair. His eyes were dark, too, like chocolate with a bit of hazel mixed in.

"Ah, my apologies. You wouldn't remember me, would you?

"I'm sorry... I don't quite..."

"Right." The man left his hand extended, ready for a handshake. "My nerves got away from me! I've been looking forward to this for a really long time. My name is Natsuo. I was good friends with your father. We were co-workers, actually."

So he was nervous, too? Koushiro took his hand. "Well, it's nice to meet you."

"Re-meet, technically." Natsuo corrected. "I knew you when you were a baby. Your father was a great man- incredibly talented at what he did."

"Were you a mathematician too?" Koushiro asked, putting two and two together.

"Still am!" he replied, smiling. He motioned for the boy to take a seat. "My, there are so many things I want to tell you."

Koushiro waited eagerly. If he had felt unsure about coming, that feeling had completely disappeared. He stared back at the man who'd once stared at his father and let himself feel like a child being read to.

The two of them spoke for a while. Natsuo told him endless tales of his father's work, how much his parents were in love, how much they loved him. Koushiro told the man about how he'd grown up with his aunt and uncle. Natsuo asked him about his hourney in the digital world and told him how his moments in the spotlight had helped the man track him down. They spoke of his adventures- briefly- as Koushiro was quick to bring the conversation back to his parents.

He felt refreshed. He'd exhausted every story from his aunt and uncle, and now he had this new material. Koushiro probably could have stayed there for hours, but duty called. His digivice pinged. Gennai had gotten back to him.

"I'm so sorry I have to go so soon." Koushiro apologized as he got up.

"Don't worry about it." Natsuo replied. He glanced down at the device sticking out of Koushiro's pocket. "You must have important things to do. We should meet up again. I miss your father and, well, you're the spitting image of him. You've got his smarts, too."

Koushiro smiled. It wasn't often that he felt so complimented, but he couldn't afford to dwell on it. It was getting to be later in the afternoon and the boy still had a lot of work ahead of him.

Taichi woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He rubbed his eyes and realized he'd fallen asleep on the couch. The sun was still up, though, which was good. He hadn't slept the entire day away.

"Hello?"

"Taichi, it's Koushiro!"

The boy yawned and sat up. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Gennai got back to me." he replied. His voice was flat and vacant of the usual excitement that laced it when he typically unveiled news. Taichi could already tell he wasn't going to like what Koushiro had to say.

"Okay..." he said hesitantly. "That was quick. Who's messing with the digiports?"

Koushiro sighed. "We don't know who, but we were able to pinpoint the location of the computer that was used to alter the data."

"Okay, great. Where, then?"

There was a long pause before Koushiro answered him. "Before I tell you, I just need you to know that you're the only person I'm calling about this."

The brunette furrowed his brow. "Um, okay..."

"We're in over our heads on this one."

"Get on with it." Taichi responded, feeling adequately prepared for whatever his friend was about to say.

"The signal is coming from Shinjuku. I zoned in on the coordinates and... Taichi, I don't really know how to explain this one, so I'm just going to say it."

"Koushiro..." He could feel his heart pounding now.

"We have to break into the department of defense."

Taichi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He gripped his phone tightly in his hand and repeated what Koushiro said- just to make sure he'd heard him correctly. "The... the ministry of defense? The... the government?"

"The government... the military... they're messing with the portals." Koushiro confirmed, "They're trying to gain access to the digital world."

Taichi slumped back down in his seat and ran a hand through his hair. "So, here's something. When you find out that our government is potentially trying to hack into the digital world to gain access to who knows what for some reason we probably would be ten times happier not knowing, and you need to pick a friend to break into military headquarters and potentially get caught and charged with a felony with, you call me?"

"Taichi! Be serious!"

Taichi bolted upright again. "Do I not sound serious?!"

"I don't want to do this either!" Koushiro retorted. "Look, okay, we have a pretty good track record. I don't want to get anyone else in trouble. It'd be stupid for more of us to go."

"Shit." Taichi repeated over and over again, "Shit, shit..."

So, let me start out by saying that I am SO sorry this took such a long time to post. I graduated college, got my first real adult job, and moved all in the span of two months. Things have been pretty crazy on my end, but I was determined to not let this story die. I promise the next chapter will not take nearly as long.

With that being said, I hope you all enjoyed it! I really pushed myself to finish this part, as it'd been sitting half-complete on my computer all summer, so I'm hoping it lives up to expectations. I wanted to get something posted in a somewhat timely manner without sacrificing too much of the quality.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter, and I'm hoping you're all looking forward to reading it.

Shout out to user growlm0n for skyping with me as I edited this to help keep me on track.

-garudamon