Mimi was spending another night at Sora's house with Palmon. Her parents were unhappy about it, particularly when she told them the reason why, but they understood. There was no one else in the world that could treat any of their Digimon's injuries but Jou. Even the task of performing first aid was too much for her, as she barely kept her calm together long enough for them to return to the real world. Sora had to escort her outside of Taichi's bedroom during Palmon's treatment so Jou could focus on what he was doing without her crying to distract him.

Hours later, Mimi's eyes were tinged a darker shade of pink than the dye in her hair. Somehow she managed the strength she needed to force herself into something resembling a cheerful mood when around Palmon because her distress was upsetting to her partner. The last thing she wanted to do was make Palmon feel worse.

Mimi tried her best to distract herself with busywork – gathering pillows, blankets, or food for Palmon, who enjoyed the attention immensely despite the pain. The small plant Digimon was resting in relative comfort on a stack of mats and blankets, with pillows all around. A pile of empty dishes rested not far away from the futon, which Mimi slid aside after feeding her partner. After having such a large dinner, Palmon fell almost immediately to sleep, partially in thanks to the strong painkillers Jou prescribed for her.

While Mimi was happy that Palmon was not suffering at the moment, it left her with little more to do than to watch Palmon rest.

Sora's heart ached, both for Mimi and for Palmon. Truthfully, she had looked away when the Digimon Kaiser battered Palmon without mercy. She was unable watch the scene unfold on the laptop's screen, and she had to cover her ears to block out Palmon and Mimi's screams. Her helplessness and empathy overwhelmed her as she cried along with Mimi, and her eyes were still rather sore from the experience. Still, the Chosen of Love tried to put up a strong face for Mimi, who was suffering far more than she or any of the other Chosen Children.

"Mimi," Sora said softly, "she'll be fine. She's strong, and Jou did his best."

Mimi's fingers curled against the tops of her knees. She nodded slightly with a quiet sound of agreement, but her eyes never left Palmon. Bandages covered her partner nearly from head to toe, some faintly stained in red. She wondered if they needed to be changed, but Jou had told her that would not be necessary at least until tomorrow morning, unless Palmon moved around too much. Mimi ensured that her partner would not need to so much as lift a finger if she had anything to say about it. Jou promised that he would stop by before school to put on fresh gauze and check to see how Palmon's condition was progressing.

Sora felt her heart sink when Mimi did not speak. She did not know what she could do to help Mimi cheer up, not that she blamed the other girl for being so melancholy. It was hard to be cheerful after what Palmon had been through.

"Why?" Mimi whispered, her voice wavering with emotion. "Why would he… how could a Chosen Child like us do this?"

It was not the first time Mimi had asked that since they returned from the Digital World. They all wondered the exact same thing, but none of them could understand why the Digimon Kaiser was doing the things he did. Sora suspected that Mimi was not expecting to receive an answer, but was asking only because there was nothing else the Chosen of Purity could do except worry about Palmon's health.

"Only he can answer that," Sora said. "And I don't think any of us would ever accept his reasons."

Mimi's body faintly trembled as she let out a shuddering breath that ended in a hiccup. She had exhausted herself from crying so much that it seemed that she had no more tears left to shed, but the pain continued to constrict her chest.

The door to the guest room opened, the sliding door loud compared to the tense silence that had fallen between the two girls. Sora's mother, Toshiko, stepped into the room, her honey colored eyes gentle with sympathy as her gaze passed from her daughter to the pink haired girl kneeling on the floor. "Mimi? You have a visitor."

It took Mimi a moment to register Toshiko's words. She glanced over her shoulder at the older woman before she climbed to her feet, wobbling a bit due to the slight numbness that had settled into her legs from sitting on the floor for so long. "Who is it?"

"Your friend Yamato," Toshiko said before she stepped aside so that Mimi could leave the guest room. "He's waiting for you in the entryway."

Mimi tried to feel some enthusiasm at the news, but found herself unable to find the energy. "Thank you." She walked past Toshiko without looking back at either her or Sora as mother and daughter shared a concerned look.

When Mimi saw him, Yamato was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his head down. His entire posture was gloomy, and his jaw clenched tightly. When he saw the Chosen of Purity, he straightened up immediately. "Mimi…" His voice came out subdued, not much louder than a whisper.

Mimi brushed a strand of hair from her face and hoped that her eyes were not terribly puffy. She did not like the others seeing her in such a sad state. She tried to smile, but gave up after it felt too strained. "Good evening, Yamato."

Yamato opened his mouth for a second before hesitation seized him. He found himself unable to meet Mimi's gaze so he turned away, grimacing again as he clenched his fists. "I'm sorry."

The apology caught Mimi by surprise. "You're sorry? For what?"

"I shouldn't have suggested Palmon target the Kaiser," Yamato said, his voice rough. "It's my fault."

Mimi paused at that. After what happened to Palmon, all her worrying about her partner and questioning how someone like them could be so cruel, she had forgotten about the email Yamato sent her during the thick of battle when Palmon's attempts to trip up Kabuterimon had been thwarted. She shook her head, making a quiet noise at the back of her throat. "No, it's not. You didn't know the Digimon Kaiser would… that Palmon…"

"Still, I shouldn't have suggested it," Yamato said, still not looking at Mimi. "I put Palmon in danger."

Mimi frowned. Seeing Yamato torture himself with guilt was completely unacceptable and somehow it managed to pull her from her own melancholy and giving her a bit of strength, if only for a moment. "If it's your fault, then it's my fault too. I thought it was a good idea too. If I didn't I never would've told Palmon to do it." She hesitated as her own guilt came rushing back, contorting her expression unpleasantly. "I'm the one who told her to do it. If I didn't then Palmon would've never…"

Yamato barely kept himself from punching the wall, all of his muscles tensing with a white-hot rage that screamed for release. It was not his house, so he had no right to put holes in it – even if visualizing the wall as the Digimon Kaiser's face and tearing it apart would have made him feel better. "I'll make him pay!"

Mimi noticed how Yamato seemed wound tightly enough that he could snap at any moment. She reached out and touched his arm, which flinched under her hand. Their eyes met for a long moment before she managed a small but sincere smile. "That's right. We'll stop him from hurting anyone else."

Yamato was silent for a long moment before he gave a slow nod. "We're going to end this."

Mimi nodded as well. "For Palmon's sake… and for Gabumon's too. We'll save him and the others… so no one has to get hurt like this again." Her gaze drifted back down the hall where she left Palmon sleeping.

"That's right," Yamato growled. His fists tightened, his fingers digging in to his palm. "Who knows what he's doing to the others…"

Mimi's hand slipped from Yamato's arm for a moment before she reaffirmed her grip, squeezing his wrist with more force than she intended. If she closed her eyes her mind would replay memories of the terrible things Digimon Kaiser made Palmon do in the coliseum and when the tyrant mercilessly pounded her partner against the stones right in front of her. She held no illusion that the other Chosen Digimon were suffering any less than the rest of the Digimon being held captive by the Digimon Kaiser. She felt compelled to say something to comfort Yamato, or at least herself, but words failed her. After everything that had happened, she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and cry.

No, Mimi realized a moment later. What she wanted more than that was answers, for the Digimon Kaiser to return to his senses. "He's supposed to be a Chosen Child like us," she whispered. "How could he…?" She had not intended to speak and it took her a moment to realize she had said her thoughts aloud.

Yamato exhaled deeply, his body slumping slightly, though it did not take away his tension. His gaze dropped down to her hand before he turned away. "I'm sorry… I'm not making you feel any better." The tight trip on his wrist felt like a vice that matched the one twisting his insides. "But I promise you, I'll do everything I can to stop him."

Mimi nodded, still struggling for words of reassurance. She loosened her hold just enough that she could slide her hand down to Yamato's, holding it. "Thank you." She raised her head, her eyes meeting his. She tried to sound strong, but there was an underlining brittleness to her voice. "I'm going to try my best too. We have to…" Her voice went quiet. "I won't… won't let Palmon get hurt like that again."

Yamato finally looked back at Mimi and squeezed her hand. "We're going to do this. Everyone, we're all going to stop this madness."

Mimi managed another smile, but she could not maintain it long before it began to crumble. Moisture pooled in her eyes, blurring her vision. "Y-yes. We'll definitely… definitely…"

Yamato faltered for a response, for anything else he could say or do to help Mimi after he had messed up his attempts to make things up to her. Unfortunately, he was at a loss. There were no words that would undo what had happened, and without Gabumon there was no way for him to fight back against the Digimon Kaiser. Her name slipped from his lips just as he saw tears spill from her eyes.

Mimi abruptly let go of Yamato's hand to throw her arms around him, burying her face against his chest. Her body shook with sobs that were muffled by his body as she wept not just for Palmon, but for their countless friends in the Digital World who were suffering as well.

Yamato stared at Mimi, taken aback by her abrupt action. A moment later a grimace marred his features as his discomfort grew. He raised his hand to touch her, hesitating for a moment before he placed his hand on the back of her head. His eyes drifted closed as he slumped against the wall and silently allowed the Chosen of Purity to cry for them both.


The clock on the wall said that it was well past midnight. Jou had been studying for over four hours, hunched over his desk. The door was locked, so he could read in peace as he stared down at the thick textbook before him. The air was thick with silence, with no noise to draw his attention but the quiet ticking of the clock in a steady rhythm every second and the quiet sounds of his breathing.

In those four hours, Jou had only gone over a single page – the very first. Even then, he had not read it, merely allowed his gaze to drift across the neat rows of text. He could not tell anyone what was written on the page, or what he was supposed to learn from it. His eyes would travel over a line and fail to move onto the next one, or drift to some other part of the page, losing his place completely. In four hours, he had not learned a single thing.

All he could do was think about Gomamon.

Jou closed his itching eyes as he leaned back, taking off his glasses so he could use his free hand to rub at his eyes. He had thought that with Gomamon gone, he would be able to study like never before – it was supposed to be a small sliver of a silver lining in this nightmare of a typhoon that tore through his life. Gomamon would not be able to steal his books, hide his homework, or otherwise spend the entire time distracting him.

Jou remembered during one study session when he had spent half the day getting ready for a monster of an exam in the morning, until Gomamon started making a strange noise. The sound was just high enough in pitch that it registered past his thoughts and drilled directly into his brain, making it completely impossible to ignore. Eventually, Jou's resolve crumbled and he caved in to Gomamon's demands. Instead of studying, he spent the rest of the day at the park with his classmates, who were also taking a break from their usual cram-sessions before the important tests.

And there were always important tests.

Now, when he had no distractions, no Gomamon to force him to spend time with people while he had work to do, Jou was not able to get a single bit of work done. No matter how much he tried, he could not do it.

Jou let out a strained curse before he leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. It was better than staring at that page again.

Even his classmates had noticed he was being distant, more so than usual. Truthfully, he was normally distant from them, as he did not have time to socialize when he had to study. Nevertheless, Gomamon compelled him to socialize, forced him to spend time with them. Without Gomamon, Jou was retreating into himself again – even worse than before. He told his classmates that his distance was merely due to some personal issues he was dealing with, and they advised him to take it easy.

Just like Gomamon would have.

"Gomamon…" The name left Jou's lips in a voice that wavered somewhere between a whisper and a sob.

How could another Chosen Child do this? The Digimon Kaiser had to be a Chosen, as only Chosen Children could go to the Digital World. That meant the Kaiser had a partner too. Yet, despite this, the he still chose to inflict this kind of suffering on others. What kind of human being would torment innocent Digimon, the very Digimon he was supposed to be protecting? It simply did not make sense!

"Perhaps I should have gotten into psychology instead," Jou muttered. He tried to chuckle at his feeble attempt at humor, but the sound came out weak and forced. What was worse was that he could easily imagine Gomamon laughing at his attempt at a joke before poking fun at him in jest, or retorting with a wry quip. His attempt at humor died with a sigh as his eyes drifted closed. "But even then, I don't think a textbook could give me the answer."

Jou and the rest of the Chosen Children needed to find their partners. They needed to save them from the Digimon Kaiser. They needed to save all the Digimon. Perhaps it was just Jou being selfish to put Gomamon first over all the other Digimon suffering in the Digital World, but he knew that without Gomamon, he was helpless. With Gomamon by his side, Jou could stop worrying and do something other than pretending to study and applying even more stress to his life than he already had.

At least with Gomamon, Jou would not be so close to breaking.


Taichi glared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, specifically at the hairs dangling limp and heavy down in front of his face and around his neck. He muttered a vow of revenge against the person who invented hair gel and Yamato for suggesting he try it out. He vigorously rubbed his head again with a towel to scrub out the gel to return his hair to normal quickly. When he removed the towel to examine the results of his efforts, he spotted Hikari's reflection in the mirror behind him.

Hikari smiled, the corner of her mouth twitching, as though she had a hard time keeping the expression merely pleasant rather than amused. "It's already four forty-five. Weren't you supposed to meet Sora for your date at five?"

Taichi jerked, the towel falling to the floor as he whipped around to stare at Hikari directly before he turned his attention to the clock on the wall. To his alarm, the clock clearly informed him that he had less than fifteen minutes to get to a meeting place that was a twenty-minute walk away. "Aw crap!" He turned back to the mirror and swiped his fingers through his hair, brushing it out of his face haphazardly so that he could at least see, before he tore past his little sister towards the front door.

Hikari covered her mouth but failed to stifle her giggling. "Don't worry," she said a little too sweetly, "Sora will understand that you were late because you wanted to look your best for her."

Tailmon stood beside Hikari, her arms crossed as a rather playful smile appeared on her face. Unlike her partner, she had no qualms with letting Taichi know that she was amused. "Enjoy your date."

Only when Taichi slowed down at the entryway to put on his shoes did Hikari and Tailmon's words filter through his panic. His cheeks turned rosy as he looked over his shoulder at his little sister and her partner. "It's not a date! Sora and me are just hanging out like usual. That's all!"

Tailmon tilted her head ever so slightly, her expression the very air of innocence. "Of course."

Hikari smiled brightly as she waved to Taichi. "Have fun."

Taichi gazed suspiciously at the pair a moment more, expecting another comment, but then he remembered how little time he had left. He hurried out to the hall of the apartment complex, pausing only long enough to let out one more protest before slamming the door behind him. "It's not a date!"


"It's not a date," Sora muttered softly as she leaned against the side of a building, holding her purse with both hands in front of her. She looked down at the pink and white flats covering her feet as she fidgeted, feeling rather uncomfortable in her pretty white dress with light pink flowers forming a border along the bottom of the skirt and around her neck. She felt so exposed wearing a dress, and chided herself for even thinking of putting such a thing instead of a sensible pair of jeans or at least a comfortable pair of sneakers. After all, why get dressed up when she was not going on a date?

The sound of a much welcome voice snapped Sora out of her anxious thoughts. "Sora!" Taichi shouted while jogging down the street towards the redhead, waving at her.

Sora straightened up as she smiled, her spirits lifting, and she turned to face the Chosen of Courage. "Taichi!"

When Taichi finally reached Sora he doubled over, hands braced on his thighs as he gulped down air, face flushed from running at top speed from his apartment without so much as slowing down to take the elevator. "Sor… sorry I'm late. I got caught up." He glanced up at her with a sheepish smile only for the sight of her to take his breath away more powerfully than his run.

Sora's cheeks tinted as she noticed Taichi staring at her so intently. She looked away, gripping her purse tightly. Normally, she did not care to wear dresses, and felt so exposed and uncomfortable like this, especially when it got her peculiar looks. Her mother had been rather adamant about her wearing it, despite Sora's discomfort and insistence that it was not a date. She just felt relieved that she managed to talk her mother out of putting make up on her. The long moment of silence was almost too much for her. "What?"

Taichi tried to respond with something clever or at least remotely intelligent, but all that came from his mouth were half formed words that had no hope of sounding remotely coherent. It was not simply the shock of Sora wearing a dress that threw him off balance, but how the outfit hugged her developing figure. The skirt was cut just above the knees, giving a delicious view of her smooth legs. The only sight more tantalizing was the barest hint of cleavage that the dress offered.

Sora felt increasingly awkward the longer Taichi refrained from responding as he gaped at her. After a few moments, she decided to change the subject quickly. "S-so, I… guess we should go?"

Taichi gave his head a firm shake when he realized that he had been so caught up in staring at Sora that he barely registered that she was talking to him. "Huh? Oh, er, you look nice, Sora." The compliment felt clumsy and almost painfully understated to what he really thought about how she looked.

Taichi was always aware that Sora was a girl ever since they first met, no matter how much of a tomboy she behaved. However, for some reason seeing her more feminine attributes emphasized by the outfit she picked for their get together made it impossible for him to ignore the fact that a cute girl was standing in front of him. It was not simply that she was wearing a dress, as he had seen her in their school uniform practically on a daily basis already. There was just something amazing about the way this particular dress hugged her curves that made him acutely aware of just how female she was.

On the other hand, perhaps what really threw Taichi off balance was the fact that Sora chose to wear such a cute dress for his sake. The extra effort she took made him more aware that his hair probably looked even more awkward when compared to how nicely his date… his friend looked.

Sora paused as her blush deepened, then shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. "T-thank you…"

Taichi brushed his hair back out of his face, trying to be discreet about neatening it up a little. "So, um, er…" He trailed off awkwardly, stammering for a few moments as he tried to think of something to say that was not related to how cute Sora looked or how he should have worn something nicer than a t-shirt and jeans. "I guess I'm a bit underdressed, right?"

Taichi felt like kicking himself for blurting out something he just told himself not to say. He tried to make the statement more casual with a laugh, but it sounded painfully fake to his ears. "I mean you look so nice. Nicer than usual I mean. Er, no that you don't usually look nice already, just you look extra nice right now."

Taichi forced himself to shut his mouth when he realized he was rambling. He needed to think before he spoke so that he would not offend Sora like he did when he gave her the hair clip and said that she did not need to hide her face under her hat and hair. If this really was a date, he was supposed to be acting cool. Not that it was a date, he reminded himself quickly.

Sora shook her head. "N-no, no, you're fine. You… you look… handsome." She hesitated as the words registered and her blush darkened. "W-we're going to be late for the movie!"

Taichi felt heat flare up in his cheeks "R-really? You think so even with my hair, er…" He grimaced and brushed his hair back again. He was putting his foot in his mouth a lot this afternoon it seemed. "Oh, right. The movie."

"Even with your…?" Sora furrowed her eyebrows, confused by the question. She tilted her head as she looked at the Chosen of Courage's hair, and found herself at a loss. "What about it…?"

Taichi blinked and ran his fingers through his hair. It still felt as though there was some gel left, but perhaps it was just his imagination and it had dried out by the time he ran over? In any case, if Sora failed to notice anything amiss then it was in his best interest to avoid letting her find out. "Nothing, nothing. Never mind!" Before she could get a chance to press the issue, he grabbed her by the hand and led her swiftly towards the movie theater. "Come on! Let's get to the movie before we miss the previews."

Sora squeaked and then hurried to follow Taichi. She glanced down at their hands, feeling the warmth against her skin. Her face heated up again as her heart fluttered, but she quickly shoved the feelings aside. This was nothing. They had held hands before and there was nothing remotely romantic about the gesture. What they were doing right now was not a date, no matter what her mother or anyone else said. She needed to not embarrass herself like this, and act like such a… girl. "R-right! Of course!"


Despite a rocky start, the outing between the Chosen of Courage and Love had gone splendidly. The movie they saw was entertaining and gave them something to discuss over dinner at a rather nice restaurant that served tasty and affordable food. The earlier awkwardness between them had melted away as both forgot about debating if what they were doing could be called a date.

Everything was going fabulously until Taichi destroyed the pleasant atmosphere with one thoughtless comment.

"Man," Taichi said, "Agumon is gonna be so mad I went to see Blazes of Glory without him."

The conversation stopped dead. The weight of Taichi's words felt like a physical blow to both him and Sora, instantly bringing them back to the plight of their partners. The fork in his hand faintly trembled and the bit of cake he had been in the process of lifting dropped back onto the plate. His mouth opened in an attempt to somehow take back those words, but his voice would not work.

Sora felt her insides clench to the point of nausea. The sweetness of the sponge cake and whipped cream in her mouth lost all of its sweetness. A moment of oppressive silence hung between them before she forced herself to swallow hard and put on a weak smile appeared on her face. "I'm sure he'll forgive you."

Taichi tilted the corners of his mouth upwards in what appeared to be more of a grimace than a smile as he attempted to laugh off his comment, but the sound was weak, hollow. "Yeah…"

Sora picked at her food with her fork, unable to meet Taichi's gaze. She tried not to think about what was happening in the Digital World and at the same time felt enormous guilt for doing so. What Piyomon must have been going through at that very moment… Memories of the abuse Palmon endured were still fresh in her mind. She felt sick with the reminder of just how helpless they were to do anything, how acutely Mimi suffered for it. "Once Koshiro finds them, we'll definitely… we'll… we'll definitely…"

Taichi's hand came down harder on the surface of the table than he intended, but he barely noticed as he focused on sounding cheerful. "Of course! As soon as Koshiro finds them, we'll rescue Agumon, Piyomon, and everyone else in no time. We won't let that brat keep them for long!"

Sora barely moved her head to nod before raising her eyes to Taichi as she made her best attempt at a smile. "That's right… we just have to keep moving forward, and keep our spirits up. That's why we're here, right?"

Taichi nodded with excessive force as he curled his fingers into fists. "Right! We already rescued Patamon, Palmon, and Tentomon. And Tailmon managed to get away on her own, plus we found one of the other Chosen and his Digimon, so that just means we've got even more help to get our friends back."

"It's only a matter of time until we can rescue everyone," Sora said, her voice faint when compared to her normal tone. It was hard to be as energetic as Taichi somehow managed. Her eyes drifted back to her plate as she poked a strawberry around on a mound of whipped cream. "It's just… the waiting…"

Taichi made a quiet affirmative noise as his eyes fell to the table. He poked at the strawberry from his cake with his fork as he tried to figure out how to lighten the mood again. "Agumon and Piyomon wouldn't want us to be upset." He stuffed the strawberry into his mouth and continued to speak while chewing. "They'll probably be more upset if we were sad while we're stuck waiting for a chance to get them back."

Sora closed her eyes. She could almost swear she could hear Piyomon telling her to cheer up, smiling and hopping around her, pink wings a flutter and a smile on the Digimon's face. "Yes, we have to be strong…"

Taichi swallowed audibly. "So we should be thinking instead of what we're gonna do once we get them back and how we're going to pay the Digimon Kaiser back for all the trouble he's caused."

Sora frowned as she furrowed her eyebrows. "That's right. We'll make him understand that what he's doing is wrong!"

Taichi felt the weight of responsibility bearing down on him. It was his fault that their peaceful outing had suddenly transformed into a somber affair. He tried to think of a tactful way to change the conversation to something more cheerful, but he failed to come up with a solution. With a grunt of frustration, he slapped his silverware back onto the plate and rose to his feet. "Right, so for now let's just do something fun because that's what Agumon and Piyomon would want!"

Sora looked up at Taichi, staring at him. She hesitated before she stood up as well. "Alright. Like what?"

A brilliant idea came to Taichi. He turned towards the window and thrust his finger forward to some indistinct point in the distance as he attempted to strike a cool and commanding pose. "Let's go to the amusement park!"

Sora blinked three times at Taichi, wondering if he was serious. A quick glance at her watch reminded her of the late hour. "But most places are closed about now…"

Taichi teetered dangerously, nearly falling over as he remembered that the sun had set some time ago. He scratched his head for a moment as he looked through the large windows of the restaurant to the lamp lit streets outside. "Uh, well…" He scrunched his brow as he tried to think of a location that was both fun and not restricted by closing times. Finally, his eyes lit up. "I know! The beach! Let's go to the beach!"

"It'll be really late and cold by the time we get there," Sora said. She tried not to giggle at Taichi's exaggerated reaction.

Taichi straightened up blinked slowly at Sora as he scratched the back of his head. "Oh, yeah, right, it's still the beginning of spring isn't it?" He grunted and crossed his arms, scouring his imagination for any interesting ideas. "Let's see… if we… No, that's too far away…" He muttered to himself for a couple of minutes, his eyes firmly closed, as he rejected location after location. Finally, he opened one eye to look tentatively at the Chosen of Love. "I guess we could go to the park?"

Sora smiled brightly as she giggled. "Sure."

Taichi's cheeks turned pink as he rubbed the back of his head. Despite feeling embarrassed, his heart felt lighter, bringing a smile to his face in spite of himself. It gratified him to see that he was able to make Sora laugh again despite his clumsy words from earlier. Now, he just had to figure out what he did so that he could do it again in case he stuck his foot in his mouth a second time.

Sora was touched that Taichi was trying so hard for her sake. They were both suffering, worrying about their partners and helpless to do anything but wait. Seeing the other Chosen's courage in this difficult time renewed her own courage. Moving forward to take Taichi's hand, she smiled brightly. "Let's go!"


Takeru felt rather guilty. He was certain that when Yamato gave him a key to their father's apartment, his brother never meant for it to be used like this. The Chosen of Hope could imagine the look of outrage on Yamato's face, the protests and the lectures. Nevertheless, Takeru had come too far to back out of his plans now. He needed to steel himself and go forward, it was the only option.

Clutching a bucket filled with cleaning supplies tucked under his arm, Takeru rang the doorbell to the apartment before ducking around the corner, watching to see if Yamato or their father, Hiroaki, had returned home unexpectedly. After a full minute of silence, he hurried to the apartment door and ducked inside. He let out a sigh of relief before he turned on the light. What he saw made him jerk, dropping the bucket so that it hit the floor with a clang, the contents spilling in all directions. The mess he made was barely noticeable compared to the one he had just walked into.

Takeru had heard a lot of things about the typical bachelor pad, how without women around to do any housework they would become filth-encrusted dumps, but he had believed them to be just stereotypes from television or movies. He was completely unprepared Yamato and Hiroaki's apartment to prove them right. Take-out boxes were crammed in every trashcan the apartment hand, with more trash balanced on top in teetering piles, surrounded by a halo of debris and miniature mountains of bags and empty cardboard boxes carrying even more take out remnants. The washing machine and dryer were wide open, stuffed full of clothing of dubious cleanliness, many articles of clothing hanging over the edges or piled around the laundry room. There were also many shirts, pants, and even underwear tossed haphazardly across the floor and even on the furniture. The kitchen was little more than a series of stacked dishes encrusted with dubious smelling things that had been food once upon a time. Ant traps and fly strips were placed intermittently in the kitchen, the only sign that the men who lived there had done anything about the potential hazards that came from such a sloppy lifestyle.

The entire apartment was truly a nightmare, a monument to slovenly living habits. Takeru imagined that his mother, Natsuko, would have fainted had she seen the mess before him. After awakening, she would then undoubtedly launch into a lecture to end all lectures that would leave their grandchildren chastised.

The saddest part was that Takeru had suspected his father and brother had been living like this all along, though admittedly he did not imagine it to be quite this bad. Whenever he came to visit Yamato and Hiroaki, the place had obviously been cleaned up in a hurry but still showed some signs of unclean. He sincerely appreciated the efforts they went through for his sake, but it always frustrated him that the two would refuse to let Takeru clean up anything while they were around. He imagined it was because he did not live there that they insisted on treating him more like a special guest than a member of the family. Obviously, they did not mean to make him feel at a distance, as they both had a habit of trying far too hard to be accommodating for him.

Things were different now. Before, the feeling that Takeru was little more than a visitor was unavoidable. When he lived so far away from his father and brother, visiting was very difficult and could only happen during the weekends due to school. Now, with his mother's job transfer, he was so close that he was within walking distance of his father's apartment. There was no excuse to keep that barrier between them, to keep thinking of him as just a guest spending the weekend at their house.

It ended now.

Hiroaki was at work, and Yamato was at band practice. Neither were home, so neither would be able to stop him from setting his plans in to motion.

Takeru reached in to the bucket and took out plastic gloves, pulling them on with a definitive snap.

"Let's do this!"


Yamato sighed as he slouched forward through the apartment. His guitar case felt far heavier against his back than it had ever been. He knew why, naturally – Gabumon. Going to practice only served to remind him that a valuable part of his band was not there, and the other members of the band asking about his partner and expressing frustration at Gabumon's absence did not help. Everywhere the Chosen of Friendship went, he found something to remind him of his missing partner, or conjure up ghastly scenarios of what that Digimon Kaiser must have been doing to him at that very moment.

The Yamato stopped short at a bend in the hallway, his fists clenching. He wanted to punch that awful kid, to slam his fists into that smug face until it broke like glass. Then he would punch the Digimon Kaiser even more, for what the tyrant had done – for what the Kaiser was doing – not just to Gabumon, but also to Palmon, Tailmon, Patamon, Tentomon, and all of the other Digimon still in his possession.

Unfortunately, for now, all Yamato could do was wait and hope for even the slightest chance of rescuing his partner. They all had to wait until Koshiro found something with the programs made to scan for the signatures of their missing partners, or one of their allies in the Digital World sent them important information. He knew full well that was all they could do at the moment, but it did not make the waiting any easier.

Yamato grit his teeth until his jaw began to hurt as he recalled the conversation he had with Koshiro when he asked how the scanning was going. "Damn Dark Towers." Koshiro had not outright stated it, but Yamato caught the suspicion that the Dark Towers were blocking the programs made to search the Digital World. A frighteningly large number of areas would only appear in the Digital Gate's viewer as static, completely impenetrable, but Koshiro promised he was working on a solution. Yamato knew the Chosen of Knowledge was uncertain if it was a promise that could be kept, given how little they knew of the Digimon Kaiser or what exactly the Dark Towers were made of that could allow the evil dictator so much control. "Once we destroy enough of them…"

Yamato stopped short with a startled jerk when he realized he had passed his apartment door. A flush of embarrassment flooded through him and he instinctively looked around as he backed up, only mildly relieved that no one had seen him. He paused to run his fingers through his hair before he unlocked the door, trying to set his thoughts on what restaurant to call up for tonight's dinner.

The door had barely opened a crack before Yamato froze, his thoughts halting as he realized something was off. The faint smell of alcohol, lemon, and industrial cleaner hit his nose instead of the familiar scents of home. In an instant he threw open the door and turned on the lights. His arms fell limply to his sides as he stared in complete bafflement at the apartment before him. Every surface had been scrubbed, from the floor to ceiling. The windows, furniture, and even the walls had been washed.

Yamato's feet moved almost of their own accord to get a better look around. The kitchen was completely empty of any fast food boxes or dishes, and the laundry room no longer had a single scrap of clothing in it. Magazines were put away neatly in bookshelves, clothes hung in the bedroom closets, beds neatly made.

If not for the furniture and pictures hanging on the walls, Yamato might have thought that he had stepped into the wrong apartment. In his daze, he went as far as to go back outside to check the number on the wall by the door and the nametag that confirmed that this was the Ishida home.

Someone had been in Yamato's home and decided, instead of robbing and messing up the place, that they would perform a free cleaning service instead.

"What the hell!?"


Daisuke readjusted his hold on his duffle bag so that the strap would stop digging into his shoulder. Between Chibimon, his soccer uniform, and his school supplies, the bag was rather heavy. It made walking all the way from school to his apartment and back every day something of a trial. However, he found it was easier to imagine that he was weight training, like the protagonists in his favorite action anime. After a montage of implied months of lugging heavy weights all the time they became buff and powerful, able to take on any villain imaginable, no matter how tough they were.

A smile played across his face as Daisuke realized that he was a hero just like them now, thanks to Chibimon. Now all he needed was a signature item like every other hero flaunted, such as a snazzy pair of goggles like the ones Taichi wore, or the pair Hikari had given him.

Daisuke ran a hand through his hair with a tinge of regret. Even though his precious goggles had mysteriously reappeared the last time he visited the Digital World, they disappeared the second everyone returned home, much like the cool flaming bomber jacket. Koshiro had guessed that those goggles were not the real ones that he threw at the Digimon Kaiser, which was very disappointing.

Leave it to Hikari to cheer Daisuke up, however. He still felt a thrill as he remembered the way she praised him for his noble sacrifice. She had even promised to give him a new pair of goggles for his next birthday, a set even better than the last one. He could hardly wait, especially since he had a lot more friends to celebrate with him this year.

Chibimon sat quietly in the duffle bag, trying not to move around to make things more difficult for Daisuke. It was hard to keep still, as he disliked leaving all of the hard work to his Chosen Child. He had suggested riding on Daisuke's shoulder or on his head, like Patamon, but the boy had been completely against it. Apparently, it was more important for Chibimon to hide than it was for Patamon, as unfair as that was. Still, the tiny baby dragon Digimon accepted it, even if he could not bring himself to like it.

Daisuke's enthusiasm waned, wariness creeping in to replace it once he got off the elevator. He walked slowly to quiet his footsteps as he approached the apartment door labeled with the Motomiya nametag. He let out a low shush sound, lest Chibimon consider making any sort of sound at this critical juncture, even though his partner had been very good at keeping quiet when inside the bag. When he tested the doorknob and found that it would not budge, tension grew throughout his body. A locked front door before nightfall was the unmistakable sign that Jun was home.

Daisuke moved carefully not to jingle his keys or make the knob rattle when he unlocked the door. He opened the door only a crack so that he could peer in and catch a glimpse of the living room, checking to make sure that Jun was not lounging on the sofa watching television. Next, he checked the entryway behind the door and spotted a dirty shirt – one of his from the laundry hamper no doubt – lying on the floor in an apparent haphazard manner. He knew better than to think it was an accident – he tripped over his own shirts that "mysteriously" appeared all over the house far too many times to believe that he was a forgetful slob. He picked up the shirt before his mother, Junko, noticed it and made a comment about how he needed to clean up after himself.

Daisuke snuck through his house like a burglar, his footsteps quiet after he removed his shoes at the door. He watched Junko's back while she worked in the kitchen, humming along to some awful music playing on the small television placed on the counter, as he crept down the hall. He paused in front of Jun's bedroom, labeled helpfully by a piece of paper that sorted her name in stylish handwriting above a warning that Daisuke had better keep out or else. After pressing his ear to the door, he heard his sister's voice – no doubt she was gabbing on the phone to some friend of hers. He exhaled, knowing he could relax for a moment, and walked back to the kitchen. "I'm home," he said to his mother, careful not to speak loudly enough that Jun might hear.

Junko was busy sashaying her hips from side to side, as she stirred a pot of stew on the stove, her focus more on the pop idol on television rather than Daisuke. "Welcome home. Dinner will be ready in an hour."

Daisuke exploited his mother's inattention by raiding the fridge, stuffing some covered leftovers into the duffle bag with Chibimon's help. "Right. Thanks. I'll be in my room."

Junko hummed what could have been a confirmation that she heard him, or she could have been just as easily slipping back into the rhythm of the music.

Daisuke hurried back down the hall, pausing only long enough to fish out his keys and unlock his bedroom door before he darted inside. The slam of the door behind his back before he locked it felt satisfying after all his sneaking around. There was no way Jun missed the sound, and now she knew that she lost the opportunity to torment him before dinnertime. Thinking about how annoyed she must have been brought him no small sense of victory. Naturally, he would be a captive audience in an hour no matter what he did, but at least this way he lessened the risk of getting in trouble and being barred from eating dinner at all.

"Coast is clear, Chibimon," Daisuke said as he unzipped the duffle bag.

Chibimon hopped out of the duffle bag and onto the bed, raising his little hands. "Yay, all clear!"

Daisuke sat down on the bed next to Chibimon, a smile on his face. He tapped his palm against one of the dragon's tiny hands in a high five. "We made it here unscathed. Time to celebrate." He pulled out the dishes from the bag and held them out to Chibimon. "Here you go, Partner!"

Chibimon waved his little paws excitedly as he rushed over to the dishes before taking them. "Yay~! Thank you~!"

Daisuke grinned as he watched Chibimon devour the cold food with gusto. "Sorry I couldn't warm it up for you, but mom would've caught us."

"Warm or cold, food is good~!" Chibimon said, then smiled brightly at his partner. "Thank you, Daisuke~!"

Daisuke laughed lightly as he stroked Chibimon's head, feeling the tension from earlier slowly slip away. "Hey, it's no problem. We're partners, right? You protect me in the Digital World and I'll protect you here. That's how it works, right?"

"That's right~!" Chibimon said, before he paused. He frowned, his ears drooping slightly. "Though, I want to protect Daisuke all the time."

Daisuke gave Chibimon a lopsided smile. "Don't worry about it." His smile widened before he let out a short laugh. "I've gotta protect you sometimes or it isn't fair on you, you know?"

"If you say so, Daisuke," Chibimon said, though he continued to frown.

A knock on the door had Daisuke on his feet in an instant, body tense. He looked to Chibimon and held his finger up in front of his mouth before turning back to the door. "What is it?"

An overly sweet female voice drifted through the door. "Daisuke, your friend Hikari is on the phone."

Daisuke felt his heartbeat quicken at the idea. He nearly reached for the lock on impulse when common sense caught up to him and he glared at the door. "I know you're lying, Jun. Go away." Hikari knew better than to call his house unless it was an emergency. Though a part of him worried that might be the case, he never trusted anything his sister said on principle.

Jun sounded affronted. "Fine. I'll just tell Hikari that you refuse to talk to her. I'm sure that won't break her poor heart too badly."

Daisuke felt doubt twist his insides, but he forced himself to remain resolute. "Tell Hikari-chan I'll talk to her tomorrow at school."

"Okay, but you'll be sorry~!" Jun said in a singsong tone.

Daisuke listened for the sound of Jun's footsteps to retreat before he plopped back down onto the bed with a grunt. "You know, before I talked Dad into putting that the lock on my door, she would've just burst in here whenever she wanted," he muttered, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He paused as he imagined what Taichi would say about him saying such things about his sister and drooped. I've gotta learn to keep my big mouth shut.

Chibimon's expression turned surprisingly dark. "If she burst in here, I'd bite her," he muttered, his voice a near growl.

Daisuke was taken aback by his cute little partner sounding so serious, almost vicious. He was not sure what to think so he tried to laugh it off. "Don't worry about it. Besides, if you bite her Jun will probably freak out and make mom and dad make me get rid of you and make my life miserable in the process." The idea made him feel sick inside. "So no matter what you've gotta make sure none of them see you, okay?"

Chibimon's scowl deepened. He did not like it at all, but he trusted Daisuke to know what was best for both of them. "Okay, Daisuke…"

Daisuke reached out to lightly scratch behind Chibimon's ear. "Hey, hey, it's not so bad. We get to bunk together like this and Jun has no idea." He chuckled. "Man, she'd be so jealous if she knew we were a couple of heroes out to save another world."

Chibimon's sulk gave way to a pleasured purr as he enjoyed the attention, tilting his head into Daisuke's hand. "She can be jealous all she wants, because she should be jealous of Daisuke~!"

Another knock interrupted the pleasant moment, followed by Jun's voice. "Daisuke? Your friend sounded pretty upset that you don't want to talk to her. Apparently she needed to talk to you really badly."

Daisuke's fingers stilled for a moment before he made himself continue despite how part of him could not stop worrying about Hikari. He refused to so much as look towards the door. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."

Jun let out a sigh that could be heard clearly through the door. "I told her that, but she was still upset." She sighed again, even louder and more distressed sounding than before. "In fact she was so upset she was crying. It was hard to hear what she said after a while. I think she might've been saying something along the lines of if you don't want to talk to her now then never talk to her again? Something like that. It was just so hard to tell with how hard she was sobbing."

Daisuke felt his muscles tense up. The very thought was enough to twist his insides, even if he refused to believe that what his sister told him was true. "Whatever."

"She's lying," Chibimon whispered harshly, as though echoing Daisuke's thoughts. "She's a liar-liar, and using Hikari too! Hikari would never talk to her!"

Daisuke glanced at Chibimon, before nodding his head ever so slightly. "Yeah, she does that," he muttered under his breath, his voice rough. "That's why Hikari never calls and I can't ever call her."

Chibimon nodded, his expression grim. "Hikari definitely isn't on the phone, so don't answer!"

"Well!" Jun said, her voice sharp. "I'll just have to tell Hikari that you don't want to talk with her. Although… I really shouldn't break the bad news to her over the phone. I should probably go over and tell her in person."

Daisuke was on his feet in an instant. "Don't you dare!"

Chibimon moved to grab Daisuke's leg. "Daisuke, no! She's lying, Hikari would never believe her!"

Jun's voice was far too sweet to be sincere. "Dare what?" She giggled softly, the door nearly blocking the sound out entirely. "I'm only worried about this poor girl after you've made her feel simply awful. Abandoned, really."

Daisuke trembled with rage, too angry to see straight. His jaw clenched to the point of being painful, and he only managed to bite back his retort thanks to the weight of Chibimon on his leg. He glanced down at his partner before he forced himself to sit back down. It took him a little while longer to manage to speak again, the words grinding out through his teeth. "Go away, Jun."

Chibimon glared at the door, as if he were able to see through it straight into Jun's awful face. His tail lashed angrily behind him, his floppy ears canted back. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to make the obnoxious girl leave Daisuke alone by whatever means necessary, but knew he could not.

Jun let out an exaggerated hum. "Her last name is Yagami, right?" She let out a theatrical gasp. "I think I know someone who goes to class with someone related to her! I think I'll call and ask where she lives."

Daisuke dug his fingers into his knees to keep himself from bursting through the door and doing… something. He had no idea what – grab Jun, yell in her face, threaten her, or something else along those lines. He hated when his sister riled him up like this, especially when he knew that it never led to anything that ended well for him. "Stay out of my business, Jun!"

Chibimon tugged on Daisuke's leg, attempting to keep Daisuke's attention on him and not Jun. "Let her, Daisuke! Tailmon'll pop her right in the face!"

The image of Tailmon punching Jun made Daisuke laugh in spite of himself. It was still hard to see Tailmon as anything other than Hikari's pet cat, even after seeing her knock down cell doors with a single blow, so somehow it made the idea as absurd as it was entertaining to consider.

Jun's sharp voice wiped away all trace of mirth from Daisuke. "Is there someone in there with you?"

Chibimon paused at that, his grip tightening on Daisuke's pants. He fought the strong urge to yell 'yes' and instead kept his mouth shut. He refused to disobey his partner, no matter how angry he got.

Daisuke felt his heart tighten sharply before it beat faster, the sound echoing in his ears. His voice cracked as he replied, despite his attempts to sound casual and innocent. "What? No! What gave you that idea?"

"I just heard someone's voice in there," Jun said. "And don't even try and lie that it was your Game Boy or you talking to yourself. I'm getting mom and telling her you have that girl in your room."

Daisuke panicked, instantly on his feet. He looked at Chibimon, his eyes wide and wild, before he scooped up his partner and dashed for his closet. He was thankful that he kept his room clean – as per his agreement with his parents to allow him to keep his door locked all the time – so he managed to find an empty space behind the top shelf of his closet for Chibimon to hide. He shushed his partner before closing the closet door.

Chibimon glared at the closed door, his tail lashing again. That girl was always so mean to Daisuke, and she had no reason to be. He was the best person in the world!

Less than a minute later, a loud knock on the door made Daisuke jump. "Daisuke?" Junko said, her voice cross. "Open up right this minute."

Daisuke grumbled as he unlocked his door and opened it to allow Junko access to his room. He knew that he would never be able to talk his mom out of a surprise inspection once it got into her head that he was doing something wrong.

Daisuke's mother was a slight woman, but her age meant that she still stood an entire head taller than him, and the suspicious look she gave him with her dark brown eyes made her appear larger still. Peeking around her shoulder, only a few scant centimeters shorter, was Jun. His sister's eyes were identical to their mother's, except they carried a wicked gleam that made the sweet smile she flashed him cause jolts of white hot rage to shoot through his body. Aside from their expressions, the two women had nearly identical faces, save for the slight signs of Junko's more advanced age, such as laugh lines around her eyes, which looked more severe thanks to the weight of her scrutinizing gaze upon him. Their hair and taste of clothes were different as well, with his mother wearing a conservative cream colored dress that went well with hear neatly bobbed fair brown hair. Jun, in contrast, wore a pair of torn blue jeans and a t-shirt sporting the image of her current favorite idol band, her normally chestnut colored hair dyed to a more rosy shade and teased until it put Taichi's wild mane to shame.

The way Jun winked at Daisuke as she practically skipped into the room made him unable to resist the urge to glare at her. The muscles on his face twitched with the effort not to curl up his lips and bare his clenched teeth, so Junko would not suspect his anger was directed at her and upset her. "There's no one here but me. Hikari-chan doesn't come over anymore, remember?"

Chibimon heard the sound of Daisuke's mother and sister's footsteps as they entered the room and tensed. He had to quietly reassure himself that since they would find no one, Daisuke was certain not to get in trouble.

Of course, the fact that Jun even pulled such a stunt meant that Chibimon would have to pay her back for it. At that thought, the tiny Digimon paused. If Jun was in Daisuke's room, then that meant she was no longer in her room. His eyes narrowed to slits as he considered the possibilities.

As Chibimon heard Junko rifle around the room, the tiny Digimon quickly moved towards the small vent in the closet ceiling. He easily nudged it open without a sound, having removed the screws days ago, so that he could slip inside without being detected and replace the vent cover to hide any trace of his presence.

Junko frowned as she looked around the room. The place was small and tidy, so there was not much in the way of hiding places. She lifted the covers on his made bed then peeked underneath, pushing aside neatly packed boxes to verify that someone was not hiding behind them. She remade the bed before turning her attention to the closet, missing the way Daisuke flinched when she opened the door due to having her back turned towards him. Satisfied that no girls were hiding among the shirts and shelves, she ran her finger along the top shelf, which made her son's heart race with fear. "You need to dust more, Daisuke."

Chibimon looked down at Junko through the slits in the cover, hidden in the darkness of the vent. If it had been Jun standing so close to him, he doubted he could have stopped himself from spitting on her. However, since it was Daisuke's mother, he resisted the urge. From what he had seen so far, Junko was a rather nice woman, if a bit scatterbrained and easily manipulated. Besides, he had far more important things to do. With quiet steps, the small dragon Digimon scurried through the ventilation system to the room across the hall – Jun's bedroom.

It had only been a few days since Chibimon entered Daisuke's life, but he already knew the layout of the entire house, both from inside the vents and out. He had to avoid being spotted by the other Motomiyas, and the air vents allowed him to do just that while still permitting him the freedom to move about as he pleased. Naturally, the first place he discovered was Jun's bedroom, and with it, untold possibilities.

Opening the air vent, Chibimon slipped into the elder child's room undetected. It was time to extract retribution on Jun while she was occupied in harassing Daisuke. The small Digimon glanced around before noticing with extreme displeasure that his previous prank – using her lipstick to doodle graffiti on her hand mirror so that her reflection would have fangs and horns – had gone unnoticed. Certainly, if she had seen herself so defaced, she would have shattered the mirror, screamed, or at least cleaned it up. The fact that the mirror had been untouched irritated him. He had been so proud of his brilliant prank, as it took so long to think of, but she had not reacted to it at all!

Chibimon puffed up his cheeks and made a muffled sound at the back of his throat. The problem was that his prank had been too subtle, he was certain of it. That meant he needed to think of something far bigger, a prank that Jun could not help but pay attention to – something that would drive her absolutely crazy. "What do I do?"

Chibimon looked around the room while chewing on his lower lip. His next target had to be something that Jun could never ignore. Posters of idol bands, movie stars, and the like that covered the walls served as a tempting target for him to deface, but he feared such graffiti would be ignored as well. He had barely finished that thought when he spotted lipstick stains smeared across the faces of a number of the pretty boys' pictures, most in the shape of lip prints. His ears twitched back as he scowled. If Jun liked defacing things with lipstick, then it was no wonder that his brilliant mirror trick failed!

Chibimon paused and glanced over towards the dresser, where he imagined Jun kept her clothes. Not all Digimon wore clothes, but he at least understood what the articles of fabric were for, thanks to Daisuke. Humans like Jun needed clothes – fresh ones every day. There was no way she could miss a prank that was done to her clothing! The blue dragon baby waddled over to the dresser and scaled it to the top. He reached down and pushed the top drawer open, revealing it to be the teenage girl's underwear drawer, which contained exotic garments of all shapes, sizes, and colors inside.

Chibimon hummed thoughtfully and looked down at the underwear. He picked up one of the frillier articles of clothing and briefly wondered what its purpose was, as he had never seen Jun wear it and nothing in Daisuke's room looked remotely similar. He puzzled over the two squishy pads shaped like cups before deciding the mystery was not worth solving when there were more important things to focus on while he had this golden opportunity. Still, could not help but notice that the soft pads were rather fun to poke.

Idly squishing the gushy padding to help him think, Chibimon returned his attention to the rest of the room. He could always dump the drawers and throw the clothes around, like Jun did to Daisuke's. He considered flushing them down the toilet, but he doubted they would fit. He could at least get them wet, but it would take too long to cart all the clothes to the bathroom and then back. If he threw them in the hallway, then Junko might blame Daisuke, as Jun was very good at getting Daisuke in trouble whenever clothes were found on the floor. What Chibimon needed to do was to get rid of them in such a way that no one could pin it on his Chosen Child.

A glimpse of something fluttering in the corner of his vision made Chibimon turn towards it, identifying it as a thin white curtain. Jun's window was much larger than Daisuke's, more like a doorway made of glass, which was partially open to give a clear view of a patio outside. His eyes narrowed, as he was sure that Jun having a nicer window than Daisuke was due to her selfishness. Her room seemed larger than his Chosen Child's as well. The nerve!

A wicked thought erased Chibimon's dark thoughts and brought a wicked smile to his face. No one could accuse Daisuke of throwing Jun's underwear all over her balcony, as he would have to enter her room just to do the prank and right now Daisuke was with Jun and Junko. No matter what Jun said, there was no way she could pin the blame on Daisuke, Chibimon was certain of that.

Still, simply throwing the underwear outside did not feel adequate to Chibimon. He wanted to do something to them first, so that Jun could not just bring them back inside as though nothing happened. "If I shred them, she might not recognize them."

It was a shame, Chibimon noted as he poked the padding of the bra again, as he was curious about what made it so squishy – was there gelatin inside, or pudding? Was it a secret hidden pocket meant to store away snacks? However, even as he thought about it, it seemed like such an odd place to store food. That only begged the question of what Jun could possibly use for such a weird article of clothing. Ultimately, it did not matter. He did not care why Jun did anything, so long as the spoiled girl left Daisuke alone!

Chibimon shook his head and returned his focus to what was most important – the prank. "I need to do something that's messy but won't make her not know they're hers… What should I–?"

Chibimon instantly went still, as a delightfully awful thought appeared in his mind. It was a dreadful, terrible thing for him to even consider doing to someone. A vicious grin appeared on his face as a wicked glint appeared in his eyes. It was perfect.


Daisuke nearly slumped with relief when his mother's quick inspection of his bedroom yielded no sign of Chibimon, or any imaginary girls he stashed somewhere. He quickly straightened up before either Junko or Jun noticed his expression then frowned when he spotted his sister rooting through his duffle bag. "Hey! Get outta there!"

Jun let out a loud gasp as she held up a piece of paper. "Why, Daisuke! You got a 33 on your test?"

Daisuke snatched the paper from Jun's hand, only for it to rip in half due to her solid grip on it. He grunted and tried to get the half she clung to, only for it to tear further. "It's an 88! And you just wrecked it! Get out of my stuff!"

Junko sighed as she looked towards her son. "Daisuke, I know you have trouble in school, but you don't have to hide your poor grades from us." She gave Daisuke a hug. "You know we love you no matter how hard it is for you to learn."

Daisuke turned red in the face. "It's an 88! I swear!" He held up the test paper, but the grade written in red marker had been rendered illegible when it was torn.

Jun let out an excessively loud sigh. "Oh Daisuke, Daisuke, Daisuke. You shouldn't be so ashamed around us. We're your family! We of all people know that you're not smart enough to do well in school, so we know to expect your grades will always be simply awful. But don't worry, we'll still love you even if you are a delinquent and are going to drop out before you get to high school. That doesn't mean your future is ruined. You can always get a job pushing a ramen cart around."

Daisuke shot Jun a poisonous glare. "Shut up! You're the reason why everyone thinks I'm a delinquent in the first place!"

"Daisuke!" Junko said with a frown. "Don't you yell at your sister, and don't make that face either. You shouldn't blame her for your problems."

Daisuke thrust an accusing finger in Jun's direction. "She started it! She was looking through my stuff!"

"Only because you hide your grades from us, Brother Dear," Jun said in a syrupy tone. "You know, if you didn't get banned from that cram school, I'm sure you would've gotten them up at least a teensy bit."

"That was your fault too!" Daisuke shouted.

"Enough!" Junko said, raising her voice as she held up her hands. "There will be no fighting in this house! Is that clear?"

"Of course, Mommy," Jun said as she batted her eyelashes repeatedly, her expression the very air of innocence. "But, you know, I'm not the one yelling and accusing me of doing bad things."

"You're in my room without my permission," Daisuke said, forcing himself to keep the volume down. "Get out!"

Junko tilted her head slightly and lightly tapped her lower lip as her eyes drifted towards the ceiling. "Oh, yes, that's true isn't it? Jun, you shouldn't be invading your brother's privacy like this."

Jun's expression displayed her irritation for a fraction of a second before her smile returned in all its splendor. "Oh, I'm not invading anyone, Mother. I just wanted to help you look around and make sure Daisuke wasn't sneaking girls into his room. Again. You remember what happened last ti–"

Daisuke had enough of Jun and cut her off with a harsh shove to her back as he forced her to walk towards the door. "Out!"

Jun yelped, stumbling over her feet as she tried to fight against Daisuke's strength, but despite their size and age difference, her younger brother was a lot more physically active than she was. "Hey! Hey! Quit it!"

Junko blinked as she watched her children struggle. It was only when they were in the hallway and Jun started slapping Daisuke that she realized that she was needed to mediate. "Daisuke, there's no need to shove your sister. You only needed to ask her politely to leave. Jun, there's no need to slap your brother. Just ask him nicely not to play so rough with you." She cocked her head slightly when her children did not seem eager to comply. "Anyway, you two should help me set the table. Dinner will be ready soon."

Daisuke released Jun and hurried back to his door so he could lock it behind them. He noticed his sister's annoyed expression and flashed her a smug grin when Junko was looking the other way.

Jun opened her mouth to deliver a biting retort when the front door opened to reveal a haggard middle-aged man with eyes so dark they were practically black. He had short but rumpled dark brown hair and wore a gray business suit with a teal tie loosened away from his upturned collar. He set the briefcase down by the door before he slipped out of his shoes with a groan. "I'm home," Daichi said, his voice heavy with weariness.

Junko beamed at her husband. "Welcome home, Darling," she said sweetly as she walked over to his side to give Daichi a peck on the cheek. "We were just about to set the table for dinner."

Daichi perked up at the mention of food and he gave his wife a smile. "Ah, good, that's–" He was unable to finish when he spotted his children. A grimace marred his features as he looked between them. He opened his mouth only to think better of it and close it again. He tried again to speak, but the words came out half-formed. Finally, he forced a cough into his hand before he focused his attention on his son. "Ah, Daisuke. Would you go help your mother with dinner for a moment?"

Daisuke blinked then shrugged. "Yeah, sure." He followed Junko into the kitchen, preferring to help with dinner rather than bicker with Jun over the right way to set the dining room table.

Daichi waited until Junko and Daisuke were out of sight before he turned his attention to Jun, though he could not manage to look into her eyes. "Jun, I…" His words fumbled, becoming an ill-formed mess. He frowned and coughed harshly before trying again.

Jun tilted her head slightly as she batted her eyes, which she opened wide, giving her an especially innocent expression. "What is it, Daddy? Is something wrong?" She glanced towards the wall that blocked the kitchen from view. "Did Daisuke do something bad again, like spread lies about me?"

Daisuke twitched and glared at the kitchen wall. Thanks to the compact space of the apartment, he could still hear his father and sister's private conversation perfectly well – a fact that Jun often liked to exploit. He bit back the urge to growl and helped his mother cook the noodles.

Daichi waved a hand in front of him, as though to dismiss the suggestion. "No, no, it's not about Daisuke this time." He paused and covered his mouth as he looked away, finding it hard to look at his daughter. "Is there something you wanted to tell m–" He practically bit his tongue as he cringed. "…Your mother?"

Jun clasped her hands behind her back and rocked back and forth on her heels, much like she did when she was a young child. "Like what, Daddy?"

"Erm, well," Daichi said, but the rest of what he wanted to say fragmented into nonsensical syllables. He cleared his throat and rubbed his neck. "Jun, I understand that you might be, ah, embarrassed about the situation, but you shouldn't try to hide things. You especially shouldn't try to do your laundry from your balcony; if you don't secure it, it'll fly wherever the wind might take it. You should also try to wash it before you hang it out to dry. Perhaps you should ask your mother so you can learn how to do your laundry the right way without another, ah, accident like this."

Jun went very still. "What?"

Daichi's face turned rather pink as he turned his gaze towards the door "Your… soiled underwear." He made a vague gesture. "It's spilling over from your balcony and covering the street outside. There's a bit of a crowd starting to gather so you might want to take care of that right away."

Jun did not move for a long moment before abruptly tearing past her father at top speed. The front door slammed against the wall with a loud bang that made the other Motomiyas flinch, but the sound did not compare to the unearthly shriek she made once she was outside. "Daisuke! I'm going to kill you!"

Daisuke jumped when he heard the death threat before he peered around the dividing wall towards the open door. He noticed both Daichi and Junko staring at him expectantly, and he gave a helpless shrug. "Don't look at me. It's not my underwear."

The sounds of outrage Jun made were like music to Chibimon's ears. He sat comfortably reclined on Daisuke's bed as he listened delightedly to the results of his handiwork. He snickered through his teeth as he grinned from ear to ear, his tail wagging happily. "Don't – mess – with – Daisuke."