Digimon Adventure 06: Data

by YukiraKing

Three years have passed since Yggdrasil's defeat, and the digidestined thought they had brought about peace, but things are not always as they seem. New foes threaten that peace, and the digidestined struggle to hold on to what little they can. Will they be able to fend off these foes, or will peace elude them forever?

10. Rock Bottom

Y/N: Again, sorry it's late. i really need to write up a schedule. Also, I didn't have this chapter assembled until two minutes ago. I'd forgotten to do that too. Oops. I enjoyed this chapter. It was exciting to write after all of the much more subtle intrigue we were going for in the earlier ones. I hope you enjoy it.

U/N: This chapter is kind of a funny one when looking back at the planning stages. This entire trilogy was originally crammed into 50 chapters, and this chapter originally took the role of the finale that this part of the trilogy took later. Weird, because nothing has happened thus far. And Willis' plot was slightly compromised as a result of further planning, but it's totally worth it because otherwise the entire story would be so rushed and crammed.

Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data

By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 1: Whispers

Chapter 10: Rock Bottom

Willis Kennedy:

I was staring at my phone absent mindedly. No one was responding to me, or trying to get in contact with me. Mari was supposed to be at my house hours ago, and we were supposed to go to some sort of party or something. She didn't call once though. Did she not care that I couldn't come? Was she mad at me? It wasn't as if it was my fault. My boss was making us all stay late.

Mari, I'm sorry, are you angry?

I typed quickly into my phone.

No use really. She was likely sleeping by now. I sure wish I was. It was nearly one thirty in the morning, and I was sitting by my computer, waiting to be told what to do next. The black chair was usually quite comfortable, but I'd been sitting here far too long, and I now wished I could be sitting anywhere else. Home preferably, but I wouldn't say no to a saddle on a horse, or even the inside of an active volcano either.

Okay, so I was a little irritable, but I'd been doing nothing endlessly without any promise of freedom.

I'd already been in a fairly impatient mood for the past few months as it was, and the Director was certainly trying to break me mentally. I was sure of it.

Charles, my less than desirable co-worker sat with his back facing mine, clicking his pen wildly. He was bored too, but for different reasons. When Director Arnold had given us our assignments I'd known immediately that Charles would never finish on time because I knew him well enough to know he didn't know what he was doing. I'd finished though. I'd sorted all the files I'd been given, even though I had no idea what they were exactly, and was now waiting. Still waiting.

I glanced over my shoulder to Charles, where he was now running one of his hands through his messy grey hair. He was thin and small, and had very pointed features, but was nice enough. He could be irritating, but I'd realized a long time ago that when he was talking, he was doing so more to hear his own voice than to get a response, so I could completely tune him out and just nod my head every now and then if I wanted and he either didn't notice or just didn't mind.

Through the glass wall that made up one wall of our shared office I saw Director Arnold standing, his arms across his chest, staring down at another of our co workers. She was about to be fired. Of that I was sure. She was crying suddenly, and Arnold pointed with one of his somehow regal looking fingers, and directed her out of the building. When she left his eyes fell on me through the glass.

His eyes were dark and cold, but with some kind of burning fire behind them. That's the way I'd always described them to anyone else anyway. He was somewhat younger than the rest of the workers in the building—aside from myself of course. Back in 2002, when I'd been offered a job he was already high up in the chain of command, not the top just yet, but he didn't wait long. He was ambitious enough to know exactly what he wanted, and smart enough to know just how to get it. Over the years I'd also noticed that he was quite skilled with manipulation as well. He knew just how to guilt someone into doing what he wanted them to, and just what to say in order to close any deal.

He was a great head of the company. He was a horrible boss though. And how he came to be the boss? We didn't like to talk about it.

Arnold's daring eyes left mine finally and he floated down the hallway, taking long strides. I heard Charles sigh with immense relief when Arnold was out of sight. "Almost got caught eh?" Charles asked in his high voice.

"Sorry?" I asked, turning back, "Caught?"

"Not doin' what we're supposed to be doin'." Charles said with a chuckle.

"Actually, I'm finished." I said flatly. "And you should finish too so we can go home." Charles' laughter stopped and I heard the clicking of his keyboard. I felt bad for snapping, but I just wanted to go home. Really bad. I wasn't in the mood for anything else to go wrong. Over the past few months I'd broken up with three really annoying girls, each of which threatened me to some extent. The first told me she was going to burn my house down, the second wanted me to sign some dating equivalent of a pre-nup so that when I inevitably broke up with her she'd get all my money. So I dumped her on the spot and she said I'd 'rue the day'. Tiffany was the most recent. She was just so irritating. Every time she opened her mouth she was asking me to buy her crap. Girls were annoying.

Not all of them. But definitely some.

"It's weird." Charles said, I hadn't noticed immediately, but he had stopped using his keyboard again and had once again started clicking his pen. "They never keep us late. What do you think we're working on?" That was actually a good question. Arnold often had tasks that were secret. We were only told as much as we'd need to know in order to accomplish what we'd been asked to do. Usually it was all very minor. Things like ensuring the formula was in the correct order and comes to the correct result. But today each of us had been given a very important task. Well 'important' was what Arnold called them.

All I'd had to do was sort files into two categories based on their source. Which was boring and simple. I hadn't bothered opening any of them, since I was sure, as always that if something was meant to be kept a secret, then it would be. Arnold surely didn't give any of us enough information to figure out what it was we were doing all on our own. And everyone was far too scared to share information. Arnold somehow always knew everything that was going on in the building.

It was like he had ears inside the walls.

Or cameras, which was more likely.

Ignoring Charles, I decided to take a look at what it was I'd been sorting. I pulled open one folder and clicked three files, opening them.

As I expected it was virtually pointless to do so. Each file contained a small piece of something Arnold was creating. I recognized what I was looking at though. It was similar to what I'd used when I'd accidentally created Diaboromon who, though I tried to pretend didn't, had gone crazy and tired to kill my friends. Though they weren't my friends at the time...

It wasn't uncommon for my ideas to be recycled into Arnold's work though. Everything done here was completely changed when I started on board. I taught them enough to ensure that I'd never be fired. I was also the one who started up the division called HYPNOS. Where we basically watched what was going on between Earth and the Digital World in order to keep balance. Lately, there hadn't been much activity though. At least, from what I'd been told.

"Just finish your work." I said sharply when Charles doubled over in his chair to reach his newly dropped pen. I stood up and he looked to me like a lost puppy. "I'm going to the washroom." I told him. "Just get working."

I let my feet fall silently to the familiar worn carpet of the office areas. The walls were a dull grey and there were very few windows, leaving the white fluorescent bulbs as the only source of light. Looking with the corners of my eyes I saw the screens of computers through glass walls. Someone was dealing with strictly code, and was programming something to move properly. I wish I'd gotten that job. At least I'd have something to do. Someone else's computer had a 3-D model of what looked like a wooden animal leg.

That was all I saw though, and I couldn't work out what it was. Not that it probably mattered. We made monsters here all the time. That was pretty much my job. To create monsters to use in reserve in case we needed them for war. It took a long time and a lot of testing to finally get them to obey us instead of try to kill us though. And it took a lot of homework too. I wouldn't let them hurt them, or kill them just because they weren't listening, so the burden was on me, once again, to ensure they would listen. Finally, they did, and they were pretty cool too.

There were some of them in the basement, where we had like, homes for them.

I did go to the washroom though, mostly to waste time, while I waited to finally be able to go home.

Unfortunately when I returned, Charles was still doing nothing of any importance. I stood in the doorway, my arms crossed. I let them fall though, feeling uncomfortable. I didn't want him to be upset or anything, but he really needed to get to work. "Charles," I said calmly. "Do you want me to do it for you?" Without looking up he slid his chair away, still clicking his pen, inviting me to sit down. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my own chair, pushing it in front of his computer.

He kept his station messy, which was a little annoying, but I lived with some pretty messy digimon, so I could focus long enough to do whatever it was he'd been tasked with. "What are we doing?"

"Clearing out the hard drive," Charles said, "Dunno why. I guess whatever it is that they're making is going to take a lot of room." The hard drive was enormous. It could not possibly ever be filled, so he had to be wrong. There was no way they were making something that large. They probably just wanted to clean out the junk. Sure enough, there was a list of things that were to be kept—the things still in use, and the rest was to be deleted. That would be easy enough. "Then we have to make a separate location so whatever they're making cannot reach any of the other files." Easy enough.

Within ten minutes I'd finished, and was once again bored. I picked up my phone to check the messages, and groaned audibly when there was still no response. Charles looked to me, and smiled in a sad kind of way, "Your family ignoring you too?"

"What do you mean?"

"No one's answering me." He said, picking up his phone with a sigh. I found that odd, so I turned to my computer and checked the signals. No signals were permitted in the building so it seemed. Which meant I could still email someone... I opened my email only to find a message across the screen reading blocked temporarily.

They were certainly doing their best to keep all information inside the building. But I was done my work. And I wanted to go home, so I didn't really care honestly. I stood up to find Arnold, to ask him to let me go. "I'll be back." I said to Charles, stepping into the hallway. The second I stepped out of my office I heard the voices coming from down the hall.

"No!" Director Arnold hissed angrily.

"I don't see what the point of me being here is then, if you won't tell me anything." I couldn't be sure who that one was, but it sounded like Arnold's assistant. He told him everything. But apparently, whatever we were doing now was to be kept secret even from him.

"Then leave." Arnold said sharply. "Tell everyone they can leave. Those who choose to stay will be turned into my very own team. We will work together to create my masterpiece."

Oh good, I got to go home.

"But why won't you tell me anything?" The assistant asked bravely. No one else would dare speak to Arnold that way. "Why is this project so important?"

"Because it may be the last one we'll ever need."

It was such a simple sentence. Not compiled of anything too intriguing to someone on the outside. Or probably anyone on the inside to be honest. But to me, it changed everything. It made me curious. Excited. Like I suddenly cared about what we were doing. I'd seen a few things. Could I piece them together?

A leg. Lots of space. Secrecy.

So no, I couldn't piece it together... but I wanted to. If I left, would I ever find out?

"Kennedy?" It was Director Arnold standing in his black suit, looking so formal that I suddenly felt like the protagonist of a Charles Dickens novel. Specifically Oliver Twist. That's who I meant. I wasn't underdressed, but comparatively, I felt worthless.

"Sir," I said politely.

"I trust you'll be staying with us." Arnold said, not even pretending for a moment he thought I might not have been eavesdropping. "We could use your knowledge." He said it with a sort of glint in his eyes and I almost groaned out loud again.

I wanted to get home so bad. I wanted to explain to Mari and the others that I had been caught up at work. But I couldn't now. He wanted to use my skills of creating an evil virus digimon. That's what he'd meant. I just knew it. Which meant I was going to have to stay. Because I needed to find out what he was doing.

"Of course sir," I said, nodding.

"If you stay now," Arnold said, "I cannot guarantee you will leave any time soon."

"I understand," I said.

"Good." He said brightly, just as a beeping sound came across the PA system.

"Everyone," It was Arnold's assistant. "You are all excused if you choose to leave. Please note that remaining inside will result in lockdown, and you will be unable to leave."

There was movement everywhere as people from every door shot out to get home. Not me though. I was staying.

Hideto Fujimoto:

"You on a diet?" I asked.

Kiyoko looked up quickly from the bowl of chopped fruit. And by fruit, I mean he cut up a banana and added a little tin of fruit salad. You know the ones, with the gross cherries and way too much pear? Yeah. One of those.

"No," he said. He slowly moved his eyes away from me and down towards him own body. He was getting anxious. Great. "Should I be?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "It was just an observation. You're not eating anything."

"I have fruit," he argued. "It's healthy."

"Yeah," I said. "You always have a banana. But where's your giant bowl of sugary cereal? And your bagel with cream cheese? And your orange juice? You always eat enough to feed an army."

"I get hungry in the mornings," he said defensively. "You don't exactly eat light either, you know."

"I'm just saying that whatever the hell that is supposed to be, is not breakfast," I said. "I'm sorry for saying anything."

"It's all I could find," he said quietly. "Mari's not here. She usually does the grocery shopping."

Damn. I knew I'd forgotten something. She reminded me right before she left and everything. Why was I always forgetting such simple, normal things? I ate food every day. I ate like a freaking hobbit. I had four big meals and countless snacks in between them. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. Yes. I ate both dinner and supper. I worked really late hours at the restaurant. I often didn't get to eat supper until after ten at night. And who in their right mind can make it from noon until ten without caving and eating something? I know I couldn't. Hence the inclusion of dinner. I ate at five, just to quell the hunger. The fact that supper and dinner were equally large quantities of food was entirely irrelevant.

We all just really liked food, okay?

And evidently we were down to bananas and fruit cups. Those stupid fruit cups. I hated those damn things. I'd bet anything that Kiyoko took the last of the bananas too. He was notorious for not telling anyone when we were out of something, or running low. He would just finish it off, and then suffer without it until someone else noticed. It was one of the most annoying things about living with him.

The other was his inability to make up his mind in a time frame of under ten minutes.

But other than that, he was a fairly agreeable roommate. And boyfriend. Because we were dating, which meant that that's what he was. My boyfriend. Even though he was far more likely to be seen with Mari at any given hour of the day. That was mostly due to my recent work schedule. Mimi had managed to lighten the load though, by hiring Takeru and Yamato. I was actually able to spend a whole day at home with Kiyoko and I'd been able to have legitimate conversations with Warg and Melga too. I'd been neglecting them in favour of my job. I was finally able to quit doing that. I was totally going to make it up to them somehow. Maybe we'd have a picnic? No. That wasn't interesting enough. I'd come up with something. And it would be awesome.

Maybe not.

Maybe we'd just have movie theatre popcorn and watch a movie marathon. They liked doing stuff like that. And we weren't exactly able to leave the apartment without getting a target sign painted on our backs. Kiyoko and I could leave though. Just the two of us. Alone. Probably eating...

"We could always go out for breakfast. If you want?" I suggested.

"No," he said. "I've got to go support Sora by attending her fashion show. And if I don't leave soon, then I won't be able to get to the meeting place Neo set out. You know how he doesn't like waiting."

"Neo's more important than me?" I cried, dramatically throwing my hand to my forehead and collapsing over the table, nearly knocking his bowl of that dreaded fruit salad over. "Woe is me. I feel so betrayed!"

He giggled at my theatrics and grabbed his bowl. "I'm going to go wake Tapirmon up. He's got to get a move on. He's going to be late for work. You will too, if you don't eat something."

"But you ate it all," I whined, trying to keep the grin that was threatening my lips in submission. I failed spectacularly, and I was instantly in a good mood. Who cared that we never actually went out to do anything? Not me. It's not like we didn't do anything. We had a date night. It just kept getting postponed, because it was Kiyoko's turn to choose. He insisted. He didn't think it was fair to me that I always had to do it. It had been about a month since he started planning. I'd yet to see any results. But I was optimistic.

Not really.

I was typically a very pessimistic person. I wasn't Takeru. I couldn't keep a ball of eternal sunshine and happiness in my chest. I just picked everything apart and half-heartedly hoped for the best while expecting the worst.

It was that part of my personality that wasn't coping well with the time it was taking Kiyoko to plan things. I mean, it's not like we didn't spend a lot of time together. Mostly watching movies with our digimon, but it was kind of like family bonding, when I thought about it. And it was nice. We talked too. Our relationship wasn't actually in any danger of failing whatsoever. It was just such a huge part of who I am to worry about these things. To wonder whether I'm good enough in any given situation. I was pretty good at ignoring the little voice that sounded like all the people that had any authority over me as a kid all jumbled together. I'd had enough time with Kiyoko, Mari and Neo to realize that not everybody shared that opinion.

Of course Warg and Melga were the ones that really got that ball rolling. Without them, I don't know what I'd be doing right about now.

"Are you okay?" Kiyoko asked, slipping back into the room. Tapirmon followed behind him, rubbing at his eyes drowsily. Warg and Melga marched in right after them and I realized I had a problem. We had nothing to feed these guys. Or me. I shook my thoughts away. I tried not to dwell on thoughts too much. My mind got really deep sometimes and it was a fairly scary place. I avoided it whenever possible.

"I'm fine," I said. "Now let's see what we can scrounge together."

I found six potatoes and a bag of flour. Kiyoko managed to dig out an egg from the fridge. Tapirmon found an onion. Warg and Melga found Kiyoko's "hidden" candy dish. It was one of those things that was really obvious to everyone except Warg and Melga, but we all pretended we didn't know where it was because Kiyoko really liked this specific candy, and it was a pain in the butt to find. Warg and Melga didn't seem to care too much as they munched it down much to Kiyoko's despair. He watched them, eyes wide in shock. While he was otherwise distracted, Tapirmon and I grated the onion and potatoes, and I tossed in a bit of garlic powder for flavour. Tapirmon tossed in a bit of flour while I hunted down the salt and pepper shakers and set up the griddle, spreading around the smallest splash of vegetable oil. While Tapirmon finished off the batter with an egg, I set to work finding something to pair with our potato pancakes—it was something that Mimi made me learn to make for the restaurant, but it was a pain in the butt, so she let Tapirmon use the recipe at his tea shop for specialty breakfasts. It was hard going, but I managed to find a single can of tuna in the cupboard, behind Mari's collection of tomato soup. She liked it when she got sick, so we weren't allowed to touch it. She never got sick though. I wasn't sure if they were still any good, really. Unless... Could canned goods go bad? Like...ever?

I dunno.

Point is, I found some half-stale bread crusts—we went through like six loaves a week, but no one ever ate the crusts—and toasted it with a mix of tuna, mayonnaise and parmesan cheese from a can. I called them tuna melts, even though they didn't look as appetizing as any other melt sandwich I'd made in the past. By the time I'd finished with that, Tapirmon was taking the last of the potato pancakes off of the griddle. Kiyoko had recovered from his shock and collected our mismatched glasses and mason jars from the cupboard, filling them with the only beverage available: water.

"It's not exactly gourmet," I said with a sigh.

"I'll take it!" Warg shouted happily, taking his share with great enthusiasm. While Melga was just as enthusiastic, he was, however, more careful, taking precautions to keep his fir from getting greasy. He hated having to clean it when he could be playing instead.

"Do we have ketchup?" Kiyoko muttered, nibbling at his tuna melt. He couldn't eat anything remotely close to fried potatoes without ketchup. It was ridiculous sometimes. This time however, I totally agreed. I checked, and ketchup was one thing we did have. Thankfully.

"When is Mari coming home?" Melga asked. "She cooks better breakfast than you."

"I take offense to that," I said pointing at him. "So does Tapirmon. If you don't like it, don't eat it."

"No!" Melga said. "I'm gonna eat it. I will."

"That's what I thought," I said, narrowing my eyes at him, trying to suppress my smile. He caught on and grinned at me. I couldn't hold back my laughter at that point and we were all laughing soon enough.

"What time do you leave, Tapirmon?" I asked.

"About twenty minutes," he said. He looked exhausted. He really needed to take time off. But with the precautions in place to keep our digimon safe, he figured he had no reason to stay cooped up in the apartment. Not when he had an available exit. So he started working longer days. It irritated Kiyoko to no end, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. As much as it felt that way sometimes, the digimon weren't actually our children. We couldn't tell them what to do and expect them to follow instructions just because we were in charge. Because we weren't in charge. Not really. We were partners, and were therefore all on equal ground with one another. Warg and Melga? They didn't really mind when I told them what to do. In fact, they insisted on it. But Tapirmon had a mind of his own. He always had. It was the one thing keeping Sigma from having complete control. Tapirmon refused to listen to Sigma's instructions. He was Kiyoko's partner, not Sigma's. Even now that it was just Kiyoko in that body, Tapirmon couldn't fully give in the way Warg and Melga were happy to. He'd spent nine years refusing to cave to Sigma's whims. He wasn't going to give up that independence for anything.

Kiyoko fully understood that. And supported it.

Kiyoko had been the opposite of Tapirmon for those nine years. He'd caved to Sigma's every command, right up until the end there. Anything Sigma asked of him, he did it. And he did it happily. He would've done anything for Sigma. It scared me to think about it. So I usually just didn't. How close were Mari and I to losing Kiyoko forever?

But there was no point in worrying about it. Not now that it was all over.

Kiyoko had all the choice in the world now. That was actually a problem to him. He never knew what to do with himself. It was logically the reason it was taking him so long to come up with plans for the next date night. It was also the reason that he let Mari cook for him, and let Warg and Melga help him pick clothes out in the morning. It was why he let Yoshie instruct him on getting his business up and running, and why he couldn't say no to Taichi whenever he came up with the next big plan for Digital Architecture. He didn't like having so many choices. He liked it when the decision was made for him. Most of the time, people didn't realize they were feeding into his need for instructions—no. For orders. He needed them. If he didn't have them, it looked like he was drowning in a sea of choice. But he needed to learn to stay afloat on his own. He needed to learn to tread in those waters. Make his own decisions. And he was trying. He just liked to cut as many corners as he could. And when someone was as cute as him, most people couldn't say no. Sometimes even I gave in. And I knew the reasoning behind it. There was only one person that had never caved in to him.

Neo.

But instead of resenting him for it, Kiyoko seemed to revel in Neo's presence. Neo's presence made him try harder. Partly because Neo wouldn't do it for him. But I'm pretty sure there was more to it than that. Neo was my best friend. He had been for ages. Long before I knew either Mari or Kiyoko. So I knew what a dick he could really be. And when we were actually Alias III, the bad guys, Sigma was Neo's favourite. Not to hang with, because Sigma was just terrifying, but in general. Sigma always got the job done, no matter what Neo sent him to do—except when he was sent to defeat Sora and Koushiro, because that didn't work. But every other time, I swear! Neo didn't know about Kiyoko though, not until after Mari and I learned about him. And therein lay the rub.

Kiyoko wanted to impress Neo.

He wanted to prove he was just as good as Sigma, if not better—he was definitely better—and Neo needed to see it. So he tried harder. He wanted Neo to be as impressed by him as he was by Sigma. I think—and I was just spit balling here—that Kiyoko didn't always feel like he was actually a part of Alias III, since it was Sigma who was asked to join.

Mari and I prefer Kiyoko. That's a given. But Neo doesn't always voice his opinions. Kiyoko doesn't like to ask questions when he's afraid of the answer. I knew that Neo liked Kiyoko better than Sigma. I could tell, because we'd been best friends forever. But Kiyoko couldn't. So with Neo, he tried extra hard.

Neo was good for him.

Mari thought Willis might be good for him too, but then she'd have to hang out with him, and she didn't really want to do that all the time—despite the fact that she was in America at his house like half the time, so I didn't really believe her. But apparently, Willis just went with the flow. He didn't always have to be in charge. That of course meant that at some point, were they to hang out, Kiyoko would have to be in charge. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when that day came.

"Hideto?"

"Huh?" I said stupidly. I really needed to stay out of my head. Deep Hideto was a person I could do without. Live in the moment Hideto. Just live in the moment!

"I asked what time you had to go to work?" Tapirmon said, repeating the question I'd obviously missed. I glanced up at the clock.

"Damn," I muttered. "I should've left ten minutes ago. I'm going to be late. I told Takeru I'd meet him at the corner. He's probably gone on ahead of me by now."

"Don't worry about it," Kiyoko said, shaking his head. "Takeru would rather be late to work than leave without you."

"We're not all that close..." I said slowly.

"It's just the kind of guy he is," Kiyoko said.

"Not to mention the fact that you're really close with the boss," Warg teased. "If he was late, he could just blame it on you."

"Mimi lets you get away with everything," Melga agreed.

I thought about protesting, you know, because it would be polite. But I just couldn't do it. "I know. It's awesome," I said instead. I put my hands on the table and stood up. Using my hands to balance my weight, I leaned across the entire table and pressed a kiss to Kiyoko's cheek. He still acted embarrassed when anyone saw any displays of affection, which—of course—was why I did it. He had this really adorable smile, all sheepish and he averted his eyes all embarrassed. It was really fun. Of course Tapirmon couldn't help but tease him about it.

"Have a good day," he said brightly. "Tell Takeru I say hello."

"Me too!" Warg and Melga cheered as one.

"Me as well, if you don't mind," Tapirmon added, bringing the dishes to the sink.

"Well," Kiyoko said awkwardly. "I'm going to need help picking out what to wear to the fashion show. Do you know any digimon that might be interested?"

"Oh pick me!" Melga said, raising his hand in the air.

"No! Me!" Warg protested. "I'm so much better at it."

I laughed, backing out of the room and shaking my head at their antics. I slipped my shoes on and bolted out the door. Kiyoko was right. Takeru was still there, waiting for me. I passed on everyone's greetings. He smiled. He didn't ask about why I was late. He didn't seem too bothered. It was almost nice. Not as nice as walking with Yamato would have been—him being my favourite singer in the world and all (incidentally, that was the very reason he refused to let me walk with him, how rude!)—but it was pretty good anyway. It was a companionable silence. For the first two blocks. I forced myself to focus on documenting spring. The way the leaves were budding in the trees. The early flowers getting ready to bloom. Giant puddles I'd need to step around. General stuff. Stuff that wasn't serious. Stuff that I wouldn't have to dwell on, and contemplate in that deep part of my mind that I hated.

"So," Takeru said. "I get this feeling that you'd rather be distracted than be left to think. I might be way off base on that one, but you know. I can talk if you want me to."

"Yeah," I said. "Do that."

"Okay," he said. "Well, I've got to try and convince Yamato to show up to the next family dinner at Dad's. You know how weird it was with him not there? Super weird. I think it's mostly because he grew up with Dad, and I was with Mom. I think at some point I just started associating Dad with Yamato, you know? Well, anyway, he doesn't want to go, since he knows that Fumiko is going to be there. But she's great. Not as awesome as Mom, obviously, but she's pretty cool in her own way. And since she's there, Iori comes too. Not that he wants to. I don't think he's too happy about the arrangement either. I don't know what their problem is. Meiyomon and I just love it!"

He continued rambling about his family problem for awhile, before gushing about Hikari and how she wore the dress he bought her for her first day of school. And then he talked about how weird it is to have to go to her family dinners, and to Taichi's house, now that they're dating. Taichi doesn't treat him too differently, but it's enough that he can see it. He's not just his sister's best friend anymore, and Taichi doesn't know exactly how to go about dealing with that. Then he went on and on about how thankful he was that Mimi gave him this job, because he really needed to start pulling his weight more. Even the short amount of time he'd already put in as a host was helpful. They had something other than noodles and baby formula at home, which was awesome.

I didn't tell him how I wished I had noodles at home.

I didn't even tell him how thankful I was for the distraction. I didn't get a chance to ask him how he knew I needed distracting either. I thought about it. I really did. I almost thanked him too, but just as I opened my mouth to do so, Takeru shouted out.

"What is that?" Takeru gasped.

"What's what?" I asked, looking around. It didn't take me long to spot it. Smoke. Heaps of the stuff, billowing out of a broken window. There were three men standing outside the building. And two girls. One girl was shouting at the other. I could just barely hear what they were saying.

"What did you go and break the window for!" she shouted. It was Michan. I could recognize that whining tone anywhere.

"I said I'd help you fight your fight," the girl responded. It was her friend. Something like enchiladas or something...no. Tako. "I didn't say I'd become a murderer!"

"You knew what you were signing up for. It's one casualty. We'll be saving the lives of millions," Michan argued. Her friend didn't look fully convinced, but she seemed ready to let Michan take over again. From what I'd gathered, Tako had busted a window to let the smoke out. Someone was inside, and she wanted to give them at least a small chance of survival. A way to lighten her guilty conscience.

"Oh. My. God," Takeru said. His words started out as surprise, but by the end he was growling. "That's Mimi's."

"What?" I gasped. But I didn't need to look. It made perfect sense. It was on the corner, I'd seen the signs and the buildings hundreds of times. It wasn't something I'd ever really paid attention to though.

No.

Wait.

He was saying that Mimi's was on fire. I didn't have time to be contemplating my sensory memory. There was a person inside that building. And if it was Mimi's restaurant...

"Mimi!" I shouted.

"They are not getting away with this," Takeru growled. Twice now he'd growled in my presence. I'd never seen him this way before. He was generally such a nice guy. I suppose I'd never really realized how short his fuse really was. He took off running at the crowd of five. The three men flashed across my mind now. They were the men that refused to be served by me. The men Mimi screamed out of the restaurant. Somehow, I didn't think this had anything to do with stinging pride, and all to do with digimon.

"Hey," one of the three men shouted. "Let's get out of here!" The five of them took off running. The page Michan was holding drifted to the ground, right at the edge of the sidewalk.

"You don't think they know what we did?" Tako screamed, hysterically.

She didn't really need that question answered. Of course we saw. People don't start chasing down random bystanders. They chase the bad guys. I would know. I'd been chased before.

"Takeru!" I shouted. "Takeru! WHAT ABOUT MIMI!"

But it was no use. He was gone. I panicked for five seconds. I counted them out. I'd heard somewhere that that was a good idea. I needed to get Mimi out. There was a convenient entrance: the window. There was obviously an unlocked door. How else would they have gotten in the building in the first place? Mimi had a bad habit of leaving the front door unlocked outside of business hours. It was why she gave me a set of keys to begin with. Izumi had a set too.

"Hideto?"

Yamato. I whirled around, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him once.

"You will call the fire department. You will try to get through to your brother, and you will call Izumi. Whatever order you want. Except the fire department. They come first," I said. My voice sounded panicked even to my own ears.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"No time," I said, gasping for air. "Mimi's in there. I'm getting her out. Just call the people!"

"Wait!" he screamed after me, as I dived through the open window like some freaking action movie hero. What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't see anything, I couldn't breathe! I knew the restaurant though—the layout—like the back of my hand. I could hear Yamato screaming after me, but little else. The blazing of the fire, the roar was ringing in my ears. I had to reach Mimi. I had to.

She was the first person that believed I could change. The first person outside of Alias III and Neo—and to an extent Rei, but she didn't count as my best friend's younger sister—to really believe in me. To want me around. If she could stick her neck out on the line against all of her friends when she barely knew me—if at all—then I could damn well risk mine to save her.

I just wish I'd thought of a real plan first. Or at least invested in some fireproof clothing.

"Mimi!" I hacked out, my body overtaken with choking coughs. I'd inhaled too much smoke. I should've been breathing through my shirt. Without hesitation, I lifted my shirt up over my nose, exposing my stomach to the heat of the flames. It wasn't pleasant, let me tell you that. "Mimi! MIMI!"

She either couldn't hear me, or was too woozy from smoke inhalation to answer. Fine. I'd find her myself. She wasn't in the main room. That was obvious. She would've spotted the arsonists in the act. There weren't many options then. But those four options were three too many! The men's room. The woman's room. The kitchen. Her office.

Too many choices. I had to act, and so I sprinted across the floor, trying to run around the flames, but I ended up running through them more often than not. The kitchen. The flames hadn't spread too far in there yet. There was far less smoke. But there was no Mimi. I'd made the wrong choice. Time was ticking down and I didn't know how much longer I had. A single wrong choice could mean her life. I ran to the sink, turning the cold water on and grabbing the hose. I pressed the button and a spray of water came out. I soaked myself as quickly as possible, and grabbed one of the dirty tablecloths from the last dinner rush, and did the same to it. I wrapped it up and tucked it under my arm. Now I had a way to get her out of here.

Office. Or bathroom.

I threw caution to the wind, and bolted to her office. It was where she was most days anyway. Not so much now that she'd gotten Koushiro to do most of the paperwork, but she still spent a lot more time there than she wanted to. I grabbed the door knob and pulled my hand away. A howl of pain slipped through my lips. The knob was really hot. Of course it was. It was facing flames. They were so close now. I wadded up the bottom of my shirt and used it as an oven mitt, opening the door as quickly as possible.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!"

Palmon?

Palmon! She was a digimon. What the hell was she doing in a public place? No. Scratch that. She was a plant digimon. She couldn't face the fire.

"Palmon, it's me!" I screamed.

"Hideto?" she shouted. "Hideto. Mimi! It's Hideto."

"Palmon, I told you. Stay behind me. I can't let it hurt you."

"But I'm supposed to protect you."

"Not against fire you're not. Now get behind me. I mean it!"

I dropped to the ground, finally remembering the fact that smoke rises. They only taught me like twelve times in school. I could see Palmon. She wasn't looking nearly as tough as she sounded. She was clutching her arm, and was draped across the floor. She was in really bad shape. Her petals looked singed. I took Mimi's tablecloth and made a decision. I unrolled it, and scooped Palmon into it. She sighed in relief as the wet cloth—not quite as cold as before, but still refreshing—touched her skin.

"Don't you take her! I won't let you take her from me!" Mimi screamed, whacking me in the side with her desk chair. I fell flat on the ground, groaning, taking in more smoke than I'd hoped to.

"Mimi, it's me!" I shouted. "It's Hideto. HIDETO!"

"Hideto?" Mimi gasped. She tried to help me to my feet, but she just wasn't strong enough. I conjured up images of Warg and Melga, knowing how much they'd want me to get home. I thought of Mari and Tapirmon. Neo, Rei. Kiyoko. I thought of Koushiro, and Sora and Jou and all of Mimi's closest friends. The ones that would be desperate to get her back.

Yamato, who was just stupid enough in the face of danger to jump in after me if I didn't get out soon enough for his liking.

I'd found the inner strength I knew had to be buried in there somewhere, but never bothered to hunt it down. I forced myself to my feet. I hugged Mimi. Just momentarily, trying to get as much of the water left in my shirt to stick to hers. I didn't know how well that worked. But it was the best I had to offer. I picked Palmon—still in her tablecloth—up and Mimi grabbed my arm. We were going to have to run. I tried to tell her that, but the fire was getting closer and closer. I didn't know how well she understood me.

I counted to two in my head. Just two. There wasn't enough time to waste on anything more. Once I'd reached two, I dragged Mimi and Palmon with me, running around as many flames as was possible, trying to at least damper the ones we couldn't get around. Mimi let out a couple of good, loud screams in my ear, but we'd made it to the front entrance. Or at least the wall that contained it. I was just turned around a bit and I couldn't find the door or the window.

I was so close!

I couldn't lose this fight now.

A pair of hands grabbed me from behind, and Mimi clenched my arm tighter. I fell onto my back on the sidewalk, looking up into Yamato's face. "I got you," he said. "I've got all of you."

"Mimi," I said desperately.

"I got her," Yamato said sounding confused. Takeru, who Yamato must've tracked down, was looking just as unsure at his side.

"No," I said, shaking my head, trying not to cough my lungs up when something really important had just struck me. "Mimi."

"What?" she asked, choking on her own set of lungs.

"Tell me that Izumi isn't in there. Please, tell me she's not," I begged.

"She called in sick," Mimi said. Her emotions all welled to the surface at that moment, and all of her anger, fear, sadness all bubbled out in big, fat, tears. "She called in sick!"

"Thank God," I said, practically collapsing. I felt the need to have a big cry too. But I didn't. It wasn't something I ever allowed myself to do. My control was rock solid, even at times like this.

"Is anyone else inside?"

"No," Yamato answered the stranger. "They were it."

"Good," the stranger said. "Can we get the paramedics over here! We're free to start."

The next thing I know, Mimi, Palmon and I are all being lifted onto stretchers, and the firemen's hoses were roaring to life. If I thought the fire was loud... It really had nothing on these bursts of water. Takeru was holding Mimi's hand, trying to comfort her.

Mimi was sobbing, and hacking up black sludge—which I assumed to be the smoke mixed with her own saliva. I pretended I wasn't doing the same thing—with the sludge, I already established my no crying rule!—and looked over at the paramedic dealing with Palmon. Yamato was hovering nearby. Glaring at the medic, practically daring her to do something, anything that he wouldn't accept. She looked up and caught his glare. She smiled gently. "I help people. That's what I signed up to do. I don't care how big, little or green. My job is to save lives."

Yamato relaxed. A little. But he still didn't take his eyes off of her. We were then told we had to go to the freaking hospital to get checked over. They didn't want any of us to develop anything because of the incident, don't you know. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't exactly stop them.

No.

That wasn't true. I did stop the guy pushing my stretcher once. I needed to look at that piece of paper Michan had been holding. A cold feeling settled through me, and I wished more than anything that I didn't have to get taken to the hospital.

I'd seen that flyer before. At least fifty times in the last month. I knew exactly where they were headed, and I didn't like it. I needed to warn them!

Sora Takenouchi:

The sound of the water rushing from the faucet into the stained porcelain sink drowned out my whispered voice as I muttered words of encouragement to myself in the smudged bathroom mirror. The room smelled worse than any public bathroom I'd ever been in, but I could hardly notice. I couldn't seem to get my mind to focus on anything aside from the stress that was boiling up inside.

This was the day I'd been waiting for. My second chance. Three years ago I'd had an attempted fashion show with poorly crafted articles of clothing in which I had some volunteers from the Community Center wear. Unfortunately, that show was cut short because of Sigma. I was almost thankful. That show would not have been a success and I would not have been proud. But today, after years of training, I got another go at what I've always wanted.

I had my beautiful friends coming to dress up in clothes that I'd been working on for months. I was so proud of everything I'd done this time around, and I was so touchy about what everyone had to say, but luckily no one said anything bad about them yet. Everyone loved them as much as I did. Or they wanted to keep me happy—either way, I was pleased. Of course I was only in the mall this time, but I had important people coming.

My time of dreaming endlessly and hopelessly was finally over. If you dream hard, and have the universe stomp on you enough times, good things really do happen. Dreams can come true.

I ran my hands under the warm water, warming them up, and then dried them off, shutting the faucet off. I leaned closer to the mirror to check my makeup and sighed. My left eye had a longer wing of eyeliner. After a quick touch up, in which the right one became longer, but I decided I didn't care enough to keep fixing them, I stepped out of the bathroom, and into the bustling mall.

There were people of all ages and sizes, roaming around, doing whatever business it was they needed to do. I thought about joining them, and shopping for some new clothes to keep my mind busy, but decided I should probably focus and bring myself back to Earth.

I sat by myself, prodding a tomato in my salad with my plastic fork, too nervous and worked up to eat. My stomach was seized up and I had a feeling that anything I tried to put into it wouldn't stay put too long.

"You really should eat something."

I turned and saw Koushiro, leaning over my shoulder and looking down to my salad. He sat down, Biyomon at his side.

"Did you have fun?" I asked her, trying to keep calm. I'd done a good job so far. Before today I'd only felt excitement, and happiness. Everything was coming up Sora. This morning when I'd woken up I still felt all those same emotions, but they were plagued with nerves. I asked Koushiro to take Biyomon out to do something so I could have some time to prepare myself, and of course he agreed.

Biyomon nodded, "Of course!" She shouted, "We fed the ducks in the park, and then we had some healthy breakfast, and that was fun, but I wasn't hungry because I kept feeding myself with the ducks. They're cute you know? The birds on Earth. I'll never get over how small they all are. Hey! Did you know that the boy ducks look different from the girl ducks? That's weird, I think boy Biyomon look the same—of course I can't remember ever seeing one. Then again, we digimon don't have genders, which I think is so funny of you humans to have, even though we digimon know about them and totally have them too, but I dunno, what do you think?"

"I think genders are only important for reproduction," Koushiro responded without missing a beat. "As you digimon do not reproduce, there is no need to specify which gender you are. Perhaps that's what is implied when they say there are no genders. There is no need for a gender, and so you are all equal." God was I thankful for Koushiro. I was in no way ready for this kind of conversation. Biyomon could get so talkative when she was in a good mood, and if I didn't respond, just as talkative, she often thought something was wrong, even if that wasn't the case.

Biyomon hummed her agreement, thoughtfully, as I picked up my plastic water bottle "Are you saying that you humans aren't equal?"

"We are." Koushiro said, nodding, "Just some people don't agree."

"They think boys smell, right?" Biyomon asked. I snorted into my water.

"Well, I suppose so," Koushiro said with a smile creeping onto his face. "But I think the problem mostly comes from sexist people thinking women don't deserve the same rights as the men."

"That's crazy!" Biyomon said, shocked. "I sure am glad that we digimon don't have to put up with any of that. Genders seem stupid anyway. If you're all the same, why does it matter? Why label everything. Humans can be so silly."

She had a point, and luckily it brought me out of my state of mind enough to eat my salad while listening to the two of them talk about anything and everything, as was usual with Biyomon.

Soon enough, a shout of my name interrupted Biyomon arguing with Koushiro about how the city should totally paint all the buildings pink. It was Miyako who had called out to me, her hands waving excitedly in the air. She was dragging Daisuke with her, through the crowds of people. Some grumpy looking man refused to get out of the way so they had to go around him. "Hi!" She shouted. Her hair was down, and loose, without even a bandana in it today, leaving it open for me to design. Daisuke was grinning just as wildly as Miyako was, and it was impossible to not smile back at them as they sat down around the small wooden table with us.

"Ken's working," Miyako said apologetically, "He wanted to come, but he's a little scared to ask for time off."

I smiled, closing the clear plastic around what was left of my salad and sliding it away from myself. Daisuke was quick to grab it, asking with his eyes if it was okay, and when I nodded, he was stuffing his face in no time. "What about Kurayami?" I asked, more to Miyako than Daisuke who was still eating.

"Oh, she'll be here." Miyako said. "She just wanted to go pick something up for Haruki. Baby stuff. Super important. It's like, everyone's having babies these days, right?" She then laughed awkwardly, and we all kind of exchanged glances of 'what is she talking about' but none of us said anything.

Daisuke came to her rescue though, filling the silence, "Yeah, Miyako and I have just been doing whatever since we lost her. We actually don't know where she is, but she promised she'd meet us here, so I'm sure she'll be here."

"I hope so," I said quietly, "I only have seven models."

"Jun couldn't come?" Biyomon asked, counting on her fingers. I shook my head stiffly. Jun was stressed and busy and I didn't want to pressure her into coming since I barely knew her at all, which meant all I had was Miyako, Kurayami, Hikari, Mimi, Natsuni, Rei and Momoe. Seven models.

Daisuke suddenly broke out into laughter as something caught his eye. He elbowed Miyako and pointed something out in the crowd and her face looked like a tomato in seconds. She threw her hands up to cover her eyes, and tried to pretend nothing was wrong but was not succeeding.

Daisuke went on to tell the story of how about a year ago Miyako had referred to some man as woman to his face, and then actually sparked up an argument over which gender the person was. With that person. She'd apparently been worked up over work at the time, and having just gone to the doctors to check her fertility, and was waiting for the results. Either way, it was funny. And rude.

During the story Jou, Momoe and Emiko arrived, and Emiko entirely disregarded the rudeness of the story and found humour in its entirety. Momoe, grinned and shared a knowing look with Miyako whose face, if possible turned even redder as Momoe started in on a story about Miyako at age ten.

Jou elbowed me, as he had pulled a chair up to sit next to me and whispered into my ear, "It starts in three hours. Are you ready?" I looked to him, and tightened my lips into a smile. His dark eyes were serious and fatherly looking through the glass framing them, as always. He raised one eyebrow and slowly I nodded.

"I think so." I admitted.

"Who else is coming?" He asked.

"Hopefully Hikari, Mimi, Kurayami, Rei and Natsuni." I said softly, and nervously. I didn't know Natsuni very well, but I could only hope she'd come. Kurayami seemed likely to come, after what Daisuke had said, plus I'd made her wedding dress, free of charge. Mimi and Hikari I was not worried about. I knew they'd come.

"Are you excited?" He asked me softly.

"Naturally." I grinned. Something about the way he was talking, quietly, as if it was no big deal, seemed to wash away most of the worry. It reminded me of when I was stressing out over my science exam in my final year of high school. Jou was quick to stand by my side, studying like crazy. Or when I was nine, and we were in soccer camp, he cheered me on and helped me practice so I could beat Taichi. Though I did not win that...

"It's going to be great." He assured me. I smiled at his encouragement and turned back to the others to see Natsuni sneaking up on everyone. She threw her arms around Momoe from behind her and Momoe's scream turned into a laughter that everyone copied, laughing along with her.

They were all happy, and in a good mood, completely relaxed. They had to be confident that this would go over well. They all liked the designs, of course everyone else would. Why wouldn't they? This would be a good day. It had to be. Why was I so worked up about it?

"I was just saying to Emiko," Biyomon was saying, drawing my attention to the conversation. "The people in the ice cream store were super nice, and I think we should all go get ice cream."

"Why wouldn't they be nice?" I asked, with a shrug as Miyako leaned forward in her chair next to me, excited about the ice cream idea.

"Well the people at—" Biyomon stopped midsentence and looked slowly to Koushiro who very subtly shook his head. Biyomon folded her wings across her lap and sighed, "I forget."

"I saw that." I said to Koushiro sharply, "What are you two hiding from me?"

"It's nothing." Biyomon assured me. "I'll tell you later."

"Probably for the better." Koushiro agreed, checking his watch, "We should already be preparing for the show."

I looked over my shoulder quickly and stared at the big brass rimmed clock at the end of the food court we were sitting in. He was right. It was time to get ready. I'd have to do all of their hair. All three of them...

We all stood together, aside from Daisuke who decided to wait for Kurayami who promised to meet him at the food court, and headed toward the grand hall area of the mall. It took no more than five minutes of pushing through the crowds of relentless people who all seemed much more stubborn today, and unwilling to get out of our way for some reason, which was fine, because after talking to Jou I just kind of felt elated. Still not confident exactly, but at least I didn't feel like vomiting anymore.

On the way Natsuni informed us all as to why Iori couldn't come. "He has a big test," She'd said, "His midterms are coming up. In like... a month. But still. Also, I'm going to my parents house later, and he doesn't like going over while my mom's home." Then she was explaining how her mother was testy and mean whenever Iori was around, and it had to do with 'heroism' not being a suitable past for marrying her daughter.

Honestly, what girl didn't want to marry a strong, intelligent heroic man?

Iori was the perfect guy! A little angry sometimes, but then again, who wasn't?

I was trailing along the back of the group, my mind buzzing about what exactly was going on between Koushiro and Biyomon and what they weren't telling me. I couldn't be sure, but knowing them, they were keeping it a secret to keep my mood up, at least until after the fashion show. Which was admirable to a point, but honestly, I think I'd rather have just known.

In the entrance hall of the mall, the light I'd counted on from the glass ceiling was clearly not to be relied upon. The sky was covered in dark clouds as rain fell and smashed against the window. That was fine, I could get over that. The entrance hall went straight up all four floors, with balconies overlooking the beautifully dirty tiled flooring. I could hear muffled echoes from the people all throughout the mall, and somehow it kept pounding against my ears, getting louder and louder, and I felt like I was going to be sick unless someone managed to take my attention away from the people around me.

"It's the old guy." Emiko said in her usual loud voice. I looked up from my feet and saw through the heads and shoulders, Neo, sitting on the shining black catwalk, his legs crossed as he sipped from a cardboard coffee cup. I smiled to him and he caught my eye, giving me his usual 'oh, you're here?' look.

"You invited Neo?" Miyako asked from the corner of her mouth.

I didn't take my eyes away from Neo when I said, "I didn't really invite any of you. You all just came." I then looked to her and smiled, "You're amazing friends."

"We'd all have come if we could." Miyako said softly, "Ken was really upset that he couldn't come. I know Hideto had to work to give Mimi a chance to come." I didn't know what to say, but it felt good to know that everyone supported me. Even after having been gone for three years.

Three years... Looking at everyone when I came back, and even now, was so strange. They all looked the same. Not exactly the same by any means, but similar enough to wonder if any time had passed at all. But I knew it had. I'd changed a lot in those years, and I knew the others had as well. Taichi still had the same quirks he always had, and he was still in the same relationship, in the same home, in the same job with the same friends... but there was so much that had changed. He'd grown. The look behind his eyes was different.

And that was just Taichi—everyone else was different too, but thankfully they all accepted me back into their welcoming arms.

"He's getting a muffin," Neo was explaining when we all sat down in the dark grey plastic seats surrounding the stage. I guess someone had asked him a question. "He debated for like fifteen minutes whether or not he wanted one, and finally he decided he did. I imagine he'll miss the show picking between the different varieties." Some of the others laughed, and I assumed he'd be talking about Kiyoko. I didn't know who else would have shown up with Neo, since Hideto couldn't come.

I was standing apart from the group a little, at the end of the catwalk, staring down the length of it at the thick dark curtains at the end surrounded by enormous beams of metal with large lights, readied for the show. Biyomon was standing by my side a moment later, holding my hand.

"Ready?" She asked cutely, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.

"Ready." I confirmed, smiling nervously. "Okay!" I said, drawing attention from the others. "Can everyone who is going to take part go back stage? I'll need to prep you all." And they were off.

After ten minutes, I'd assigned Momoe to a Frigimon inspired outfit, a separate one that featured an Ikkakumon meets Gomamon dress with a Gomamon bag. Natsuni was wearing Armadillomon stiletto's, a Meramon hat, and Ladydevimon gloves. All separately of course. The Gabumon blazer would be going to Miyako since it looked really good with the Hawkmon belt. She'd also be the one to wear the Wormmon headband.

Miyako's hair was up and ready, and I was putting the finishing touches on the curls hanging down, framing her face when Daisuke and Kurayami stepped backstage, the former holding their adorable sleeping baby.

"Kurayami!" I cheered, "I'm going to get you to wear the Ulforceveedramon cape, okay?" Daisuke protested until I held it up and showed him how feminine it was, so he let her take that one. I did agree to use Daisuke in the angel display however. There was an Angemon hat, and a white feathery suit, that I knew no one would ever wear—but hey, this was a fashion show. No one ever wore that stuff! Kurayami would take the female spot on the angel display, wearing an Angewoman themed outfit in a similar fashion to Daisuke's.

I'd had some Divermon and Dolphmon outfits to use for Jun if she'd managed to come, but since she couldn't I'd have to divide them between who was present. Momoe seemed the most excited about them so I let her have first pick as I did her hair as well.

After another hour, Hikari was pushing Rei along quickly in her chair, apologizing for being late.

"It's okay," I said, my voice shaking. Every time I had to speak I was reminded how nervous I was. I thrust the Gatomon inspired gloves into Hikari's eager arms, and the Palmon hat to Rei. "Mimi wanted that one, but she's not here, and it makes more sense for you."

"Because I'm in a chair," Rei nodded, "Makes sense." She tried it on and looked into a mirror, with me standing over her shoulder. She looked so beautiful already, I wasn't sure what exactly I was supposed to do to make her look better. "Also, Taichi wants to speak with you." She was looking up to me through the reflection and I nodded in response.

"He will have to wait." I said slowly, "I have a Cherrymon outfit that someone should wear. I think you could do this one, Rei."

She spun with her chair and looked to the manikin where a dark brown dress hung overtop a pair of boots. There was a green hat with a couple red buttons to go along with it. "Really?" She asked, looking it over, "I don't want to distract from the dress with my chair."

"You won't." I promised her. "You're beautiful. The point of this show is to show that we welcome everyone. The digimon are beautiful so I'm paying tribute to them. It wouldn't be fair to say that you're not beautiful just because of the things that make you unique." Rei looked up to me, unable to find anything to say, so I took her hand just to make the point even more firm. And she let me go, thanking me with just her eyes.

"So do I go out just wearing these?" Hikari joked, holding up the gloves. I laughed and handed her a hanger with a white leotard on it. She'd wear that so the focus was on the gloves. "And who gets to wear that?" Hikari was pointing to another manikin where the most flamboyant outfit was. Instead of trying to make it somewhat like everyday wear, I'd made a one piece suit with poofy shorts, and a poncho like cape to go along with a wizard hat to, of course pay homage to Wizardmon.

"You can, if you want." I suggested, and watched her face light up excitedly. She hugged me and rushed over to the outfit.

I turned back and made a mental note of everything I'd have to do, which thanks to Hikari and Rei's short hair, and Biyomon who was doing everyone's makeup, wasn't much.

I decided now was the time to talk to Taichi. I had one hour until the show started.

Throwing the curtain aside, I saw him leaning against the wall by where the others were all sitting, not technically in the front row, but the row closes to the end of the catwalk. Kiyoko was happily eating a muffin that looked to be filled with some sort of jam, Neo was silently sipping his coffee, which he raised in a sort of toast when he caught my eye again, Jou was sitting with Emiko, restraining her from pulling the hair of the snooty looking lady in front of them, who was sitting in the first of the chairs lining the length of the stage. Koushiro was the one actually speaking with Taichi who looked like he was ready to pull his hair out of his head.

"No one is forcing you to be here you know," I said as I got closer. I wondered momentarily if that was why he was upset. Did he not want to be here? I knew he had better things to do, and I wouldn't even blame him if he did go. Taichi and Koushiro both looked up to me and stopped talking, so I shot Koushiro a glare, knowing it was the thing with Biyomon that he was keeping from me.

"I'm here because I want to be," Taichi said firmly.

I laughed, instantly put to ease at the sound of his voice. Jou did a good job calming me, but it was nothing compared to Taichi, who simply had to be there just to make me feel like I could fly. "I'm sure a fashion show was on the top of the things you had to do today."

Taichi shook his head, "Nah," He said, "It said nothing about a fashion show. It said something about seeing Sora be happy. And it wasn't my to-do list for today. It was on my bucket list." My stomach released all the tension I'd been keeping built up inside and I stopped walking, now standing in front of him. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." He said it all very lazily and somehow sounded so matter-of-fact about it all at the same time. "I mean, we all knew you'd be awesome at whatever it was that you were going to be doing, and I just wanted to let you know I'm happy that you're here."

I hugged him quickly and felt myself coming to tears, which was somehow a relief. I'd been holding in so many twisted emotions there were no words to describe how it felt to free myself of them all. "I'm happy you're here too." I said, holding him.

When I pulled away, he laughed and wiped some tears from my face, "Your makeup is running. You'd better fix that. That mean lady is going to be judging you." I looked to the lady who was sitting in front of Emiko and smiled, "And so will I." He grinned.

"Stupid Taichi." I laughed, punching his arm playfully.

"Did you get that Agumon sweater done?" He asked, his eyebrows raised, "It better be the best thing in the show. You spent like four years on it."

"I spent a week," I said, narrowing my eyes, "but yes, it's done. You can have it after this if you want."

"I want." He grinned, patting my shoulder. "But I think someone's calling for your attention." I turned to see Professor Miru, standing wearing a floral printed tuxedo. "Someone dressed up for the occasion." I raised my eyebrows and turned back to him. "Go." He said, "I'll be here when the show is over."

I smiled and set off toward my professor, and was pulled into a hug by him the moment I came into reach. "Sora," He beamed, "I just came from backstage, everything looks beautiful."

"Thank you, sir," I said, bowing politely.

"No, thank you." He said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder, "You've been the most inspiring student I've ever had, and I've been a professor for like, three years." I smiled at him. I started in his classes in his very first year of teaching, so, I knew as well as he did that he didn't have many students to pick from, but it meant a lot that he picked me. "You showed everyone in the class exactly what it meant to be open-minded. Do you remember your show honoring those who died in the holocaust? I do. It made me so proud to see you, showing everyone that honoring cupcakes, or duct tape was nothing to be proud of. Everything you've done has always pushed the boundaries, and now, with this, you're showing not just me and your class the kind of person you are, but you're showing the whole world."

I couldn't help but blush at this point as I pushed his shoulder lightly, "Stop!" I insisted bashfully, "It's just like, a hundred people."

"For now." He said smiling, "Do you see that particularly upset looking woman?" He asked me, leaning down to my eye level and subtly pointing to the lady in front of Emiko, "the one who looks like she's so constipated that she hasn't taken a dump for the past twelve years?" I laughed and nodded, "She's going to change your entire world."

"If you say so," I said with a smile, "But who is she?"

"Who is she?" He gasped, his hand clutching his chest, "That's Gina Hisakawa! The most prestigious woman in the industry of this particular part of Japan!" He said it as if she was a goddess, but it just sounded like she might be the boss of some company, but that was enough for me. If she could get me a job, then whether she was a goddess or not, she needed to be treated like one. I quickly reached for my phone to text Jou to move Emiko, but found that it was not with me.

"Sora!" Biyomon shouted, popping out from the curtains quickly, rushing toward me, my phone in her hand. "It's Mimi!"

She tossed the phone to me as Professor Miru began chatting her up, "Mimi?" I asked quickly.

"Sora, I'm so sorry," Mimi said, her voice thick, like she'd been crying. "I... I can't make it in time."

I knew I could have been angry, but something was going on, there was something in her voice that scared me. "Mimi, what happened?"

"I'll still come!" She said quickly, "I'll try to come see the show. It's a long story. I'll tell you when I get there."

"Mimi, are you okay?"

"I am." She said softly, "Thanks to Hideto. Listen, I'll explain later. Good luck, Sora, I'm so sorry I couldn't come. I love you!"

"Love you too, Mimi..." I said softly, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Biyomon asked, "She sounded upset!"

"She didn't say." I said quietly, nervous. She said she was okay, but what did that entail? Was Hideto okay? I looked over my shoulder to where Kiyoko was sitting, content, having finished his muffin. What if he wasn't coming back? What if something horrible had happened? What would happen with Kiyoko? I turned back to my professor and sighed, "I'm sorry, excuse me. I have to rearrange some things."

On the way past Professor Miru I saw a group of men standing by the glass entryway to the mall, each of them looked more familiar than the last and they all looked smug and horrible, but I didn't have time to examine them, or my memory to figure out their identities. I had to straighten out my dream. Again.

I was throwing the curtain back a moment later calling out to the others, "Who wants to wear a Lillymon dress?" Natsuni was quick to call dibs on that, which was good since I knew it would likely fit her the best anyway, which left Daisuke with the Tentomon backpack that was going to Mimi as well.

I looked to the bright orange Agumon sweater that was lying on the counter in front of me and ran through my models quickly. Who had the least to wear? Who could change fast enough to get this one on as well? I could have done it, but I wasn't really planning on going out there myself...

"I could probably wear that," Hikari said, coming to the rescue like the superhero she was. She looked at it and smiled, "Taichi was telling me you put a lot of effort into that one. I could just wear it over the leotard or something. I don't know what gender it's meant for, but I think it's adorable." I looked to her and nodded. I had no time to debate these things. Mimi wasn't coming, so these were all of my potential models, and I hadn't even walked them through the plan, yet.

"Everyone listen!" I shouted, and they all turned toward me. "Mimi can't come." There were some questions but I ignored them, I didn't know the answers anyway, "I'm going to start the show with the angels, okay?" Daisuke and Kurayami high-fived one another, and slowly everyone else came to understand their places. I had them take turns as much as possible so they'd have time to change. Miyako was delegated to wear the Divermon dress, but she was unwilling to wear anything with shorter sleeves, so Natsuni handed off the LadyDevimon gloves to wear along with it, and everything was going fine.

Except the Birdramon dress.

"There's no choice," Biyomon said softly, "You have to wear it." There was a moment of silence, and I knew she was right. "Good thing you made it in your size, right?" Biyomon laughed. I smirked at her and threw the dress on quickly. When I stepped out from behind the black privacy partition, I saw that the others were all standing, ready for their first go out the catwalk.

I stood in front of them all and they all stared at the dress, and I knew why. They'd all seen it, but honestly it looked a hundred times better on someone. And I didn't want to say it out loud, but in my head I was allowed. It looked so good. I was so proud of this dress. The orange and red feathery skirt was so comfortable and not even I was sure how it looked so much like fire. There was a golden-beige neckpiece that looked like Birdramon's beak without the vicious fangs. Those were included in the earrings. I wasn't going to leave out any of her figure. This was about how everyone was beautiful, and every part of my partner was, in fact, beautiful.

"I'm so excited," Rei clapped her hands on her face, bubbling with happiness as she looked at my dress. "You look so good!" She paused and then her hands fell, "I've never done anything like this."

"I don't think any of us have." Hikari said brightly.

"I have." Daisuke joked, and we all laughed with him. As the laughing died down, we all looked to one another, taking in the work I'd spent so long on. This was it. Three years of chasing my dream was leading to this moment, right here. "Hey Sora," Daisuke said brightly, "I'm glad I got you to go to that school. These are the coolest things ever. You should make Veemon clothes. But like. For a boy." He eyed the Ulforceveedramon cape that was draping over a white wooden chair by the makeup counter. "I'd totally buy them." I smiled at him, and was ready to respond, but the music started up.

Instantly, from out in the entryway I could hear the others cheering—mostly Taichi and Emiko, but still, it felt good to know they were out there for me. For all of us. This was a big moment for the others too, and their faces were suddenly more nervous than excited.

Unfortunately I heard a distinct 'boo' in the cheering. Some annoying teenager probably.

"Oh please," I said loudly over the music. "You all look awesome. All you have to do is walk, or wheel yourself out there, stand there looking perfect, as you all do, and get back in here, change in about three seconds and do it again!" They all laughed as Professor Miru's voice filled the hall as he stood just past the curtains using his microphone.

"Welcome to the grand opening of Sora Takenouchi's fashion career." I smiled and turned to see my creations, and suddenly froze.

"Guys!" I hissed, starting to work pushing all the clothing racks out of the way. "When the curtains open they'll see this!" Everyone's eyes bugged as they began pushing everything away, and making sure they knew where everything was. Rei slowly backed away, upset that she could be of no help in the rush of things, but I tried to keep her confident the best I could.

When we were all waiting in line, in order, I reminded them all that that prissy lady in front of Emiko was the one we were to be pleasing.

"So take this digital adventure with me." Professor Miru was saying. "And bask in the beauty of the underdog."

The curtains began opening and Daisuke and Kurayami, from either side of the stage gave each other a thumbs up. The curtains were finally done moving and I was grateful that there was a gap between them that allowed me access to see the crowd. They were all smiling. Well, my friends were. No one else seemed to be, which was a little upsetting, but that didn't matter. Taichi caught my eye and I smiled to him. He gave me a thumbs up so I turned back to Kurayami and Daisuke and nodded to them to go.

And we were off. The two of them strutted their stuff, hand in hand, dressed as angels, straight to the end of the catwalk. Start of big. That's what Professor Miru always said. My eyes fell to Biyomon as I scanned for Haruki, who thankfully, was being cared for. I smiled to her and she was smiling back. Mostly with her eyes. Because she was a bird.

I was back to looking to the crowd where even that Gina lady was looking somewhat impressed. Daisuke and Kurayami stood back to back, looking like they were having the time of their lives. Kurayami was the first to step back to the curtains, but she froze when Daisuke grabbed her arm due to a furious arm motioning of professor Miru, who sent them back to the end.

"Here we have a beautiful couple's attire to emulate the angelic beings of the Digital World." Daisuke and Kurayami once again looked comfortable where they were, but Gina Hisakawa suddenly looked more than displeased. She looked angry. Almost uncomfortable. And there was a sign thrown up a few seats to the left of Kiyoko, in the front-ish row. I couldn't see exactly what it said because of the distance, so I backed up and slipped out of the curtains to the side so no one would see. I rushed all the way around the back, blushing at the looks some of the shoppers were giving me, and hopped back into the boxed curtained area, gently pushing aside some curtains on the other end, to read the sign.

'You suck'

I'd had a bad feeling that it was going to be a hate sign, no one knew me enough to love me that much yet. But I was at least hoping for something clever.

Once again Taichi caught my eye, so I pointed directly to the sign, for the first time, taking in exactly who was holding it up. It was one of the three dirty looking men from earlier. Taichi looked to where I was pointing but shrugged. He couldn't read it from where he was sitting.

"A beautiful dress inspired by our lovely deep sea digital friend!" Professor Miru chimed excitedly, "Divermon!" Miyako was standing at the end of the catwalk, looking pretty uncomfortable, but trying her best. She was so cute. Looking back to the others, I was a little upset I'd missed Momoe and Natsuni with the Dolphmon and Meramon looks. "Accompanied, so it seems, by a lovely silk glove based off of—you guessed it, the she-devil herself! LadyDevimon!" There was a 'whoop' from the crowd and I practically fell over with relief upon seeing Mimi and Hideto joining the others. Takeru and Yamato were right behind them. Takeru saw me immediately and grinned brightly, elbowing Yamato and pointing to me. Yamato nodded politely before sitting down. Mimi looked like she'd been bawling her eyes out, and she had Palmon in her arms, with something tied around her arm. Hideto, had his hand on Mimi's shoulder gently, and then moved to sit behind Kiyoko.

They were all okay. So what exactly was Mimi so upset about?

I looked back to the dirty men who had apparently flipped their sign around to reveal another super uncreative message.

'Slut'

I was certainly hoping that Hikari didn't see that. She was the next to go out, and was probably the furthest from a slut that you could possibly be, but it was rude, and I didn't know if she'd take offense to that or not. Professor Miru introduced her Wizardmon attire which Taichi found hilarious apparently, as he was laughing now. Takeru was beaming up at her adoringly, and I hoped that it might just be enough to keep her distracted to not see the sign. But just as she was turning to come back in she lingered a second longer than she normally would have, staring in the direction of the sign. When she emerged from backstage and turned toward me, her fashion-like pout a little too believable.

"Just ignore them." I said quickly, hugging her, "They're jerks."

"I know." She said, "They're not even here because they hate us. They're here about digimon." I tilted my head, confused as to how she could possibly know so much as Rei took her turn wearing the Palmon hat out in the open. "Those are the men that were picketing in front of Mimi's restaurant." I was instantly looking back out to the crowd, and sure enough they were holding a piece of white poster board up to hide their faces from the others. "I recognized them because of Michan and Tako." And as she said it my eyes locked in on the two girls sitting in front of the men. Michan was fake gagging herself as Rei blushed on stage, while Tako mouthed the word 'ew' holding up two upside down thumbs. "Relax, Sora." Hikari took my hands that I hadn't even noticed were balled into fists. It was fitting though, I wanted to punch them. I'd worked too hard to let them come in and mess it up just because they were horrible people. "Just ignore them." She mirrored my advice back to me. "I should get out of this outfit." She smiled, "Got to be Gatomon next!" I wished her luck and she was off, getting ready.

With Daisuke coming back in with his Tentomon backpack, leaving room for Momoe to go out with her Frigimon dress, and Mojyamon hat which caused Emiko to cheer very loudly in the ear of Gina Hisakawa, who turned, her lips pursed, to hush up Emiko. Emiko rolled her eyes and made a face when Gina turned back to the show. She certainly didn't seem to be enjoying what was going on, that's for sure. But whatever. I could get a different job. This was just the beginning. I knew that.

Natsuni as Armadillomon was next, followed by Hikari in her Gatomon gloves. She had fun with that one acting like a cat, unfortunately, this time Tako actually called out the word. "Slut!" She screamed, catching Hikari's attention. She pretended she hadn't heard, but it was noticeable in her performance.

Miyako shot me a grin as she took her place with the Gabumon blazer, Hawkmon belt and Wormmon headband. Probably the most obscure outfit I'd put together, but it looked fitting for Miyako somehow. This time though, there was a new sign.

'D.W.D' was all it read. I didn't know what that meant, and I didn't care. It was less offensive, and hopefully, none of the others knew what it meant either. When Miyako was back inside, passing Kurayami in her cape, she grabbed Momoe by the shoulders and mouthed the letters off of the sign.

'Really?' Momoe asked nervously, looking over her shoulder to check the sign, but both of them noticed me looking to them with narrowed eyes and smiled nervously.

Did 'D.W.D' have something to do with what the others were keeping from me? Was something about to happen that I wasn't prepared for because my friends were trying to protect me? My heart was beating quickly now, as I stared toward the sign. It was still held high and proud in the air, and the men were whispering something to each other, leaning forward so Michan and Tako could hear as well.

I never did like those girls.

I tried to catch Taichi's attention again, but he was too focused on Momoe's elaborate Ikkakumon and Gomamon outfit to pay any attention. His eyes followed her all the way back, and I hoped that when she crossed my path, he'd notice me, but Koushiro dropped something, and he bent down to pick it up and I'd missed my chance.

I'd have to go out there to stop them myself. But just as I was preparing for it I spotted Rei, struggling to get her dress on, with no one to help her aside from Daisuke who simply looked too awkward to be of any use. I rushed to her side quickly and motioned for Daisuke to lift her to slip the dress through. She thanked me and set the hat on her head, looking to herself in the mirror. She looked adorable. I knew Taichi would be excited to see that one.

With Natsuni in the Lillymon dress coming back, I knew it was Rei's turn so I spun her quickly and let her go.

Most of the others were putting the clothes back, getting ready for something, aside from Hikari who was the last to go out aside from me. She was wearing the Agumon sweater over the white leotard, which looked super cute. The sweater was too big for her, and it looked perfectly fashionable.

I checked for Taichi's attention, but he was too caught up in his girlfriend, which actually made sense.

I was instead staring directly to the men, who were all getting ready to move, sitting on the edge of their seats. Eager to do something. Tako stopped them with her hand and mouthed the words, 'next one'. Whatever it was they were going to do, at least one of them had the decency to not do it to a girl in a wheelchair.

"...stunning Cherrymon styled outfit, complete with the cutest little hat. Couldn't have picked a more inspirational model, could you Sora?" I heard Professor Miru say, his voice over the top as it had been the entire show. I wasn't paying too close attention though. I was standing, ready to stop whatever was going down. Rei was coming back and Hikari was waiting with me.

"What does D.W.D mean?" I asked sharply. She looked nervous, unsure if she should tell me, "Hikari, please."

"It's a long story. A couple days ago, Mari—" She started.

"Just tell me."

"Down with Digimon..." She said softly. "Just ignore them." It was the last thing she said before walking out onto the stage in her bare feet. Rei was back, thankfully, but hurting Hikari wasn't much of a step up from hurting a girl in a wheelchair. The fact that she was wearing that Agumon sweater didn't even matter to me at that point, I was already standing in the opening in the curtains watching as one of the men, who was now sitting in one of the empty seats that had separated him and Kiyoko, leaned forward. Hikari was nearing the end of the stage now, and my heart practically stopped when she did.

The man lunged forward and grabbed her leg, pulling it sharply.

Hikari crashed down onto the stage, her head smashing hard against the black surface.

I hadn't even realized how far down the catwalk I was, but the heel on my boot was stabbing into the man's arm as I pushed with all my might. Taichi and Takeru were pushing through anyone they could to get their hands on the man, but his two friends stood up and with one swing, Takeru had been hit directly in the face.

And then it was chaos. I was trying to pull an unconscious Hikari back down the catwalk away from the man who had tripped her, smearing her blood all over the sweater. Momoe, Daisuke and Kurayami were quick to help, the latter of the three stepping over Hikari's body to prepare to fight the man, who had apparently been holding what looked to be a torch of sorts, burnt at the end. As brave as Kurayami was, the man was much bigger than she was, and with one push, she was falling off the stage and into some of the empty seats. Daisuke jumped down after her as Momoe and I lifted Hikari with all of our might and rushed back to the end of the stage.

Rei was sitting, helpless in the back of the stage where Natsuni and Miyako were trying to help her off of the stage, without drawing attention by using the wheelchair ramp which would only lead back to the open.

The man caught up to us and shoved my side painfully, causing me to fall on top of Hikari and Momoe. Before we'd even landed, he'd swung his wooden stick toward my leg and made contact.

All I could do was cry out in pain as the strike hit me head on. "That's for my arm." He said bluntly, but he didn't stay to inflict any more damage. I fell back into Momoe's arms and clutched my leg, holding it where he'd hit me, trying not to cry. I turned my head to see through the gap in the curtains where it looked like everyone in the crowd that I'd thought had come to support me, was apparently one hundred percent against digimon. Yamato and Hideto were using chairs to keep the man who had hit Takeru away from Kiyoko. Koushiro was fighting some random guy who I'd never seen, and not winning by any means, and Taichi was fighting the third brute who had been company to Michan and Tako. Neo was fighting back to back with Takeru who had apparently not taken the hint of getting punched in the face.

"E-Emiko... where is she?" Momoe asked, her voice breaking as she forced the words out. She was holding Hikari in her arms, tears in her eyes.

"She's with Jou." I said, watching as he did his damndest to keep his daughter safe. He was standing near Mimi who was dealing with her ex-friends. She wound up and slapped Michan straight across the face, with a triumphant look on her face, as Tako tried to take a swing at Palmon.

Suddenly my heart stopped as I looked around to Biyomon. At first I didn't see her, but I relaxed when I spotted her under the desk, Ulforceveedramon's cape draping down enough to conceal her where she sat holding Haruki.

But if the man who'd hit me hadn't gone for Biyomon, where did he go?

"TAICHI!" I screamed as loud as I could when I spotted him headed straight for Natsuni, Miyako and Rei. I got to my feet quickly, but instantly toppled over, the pain in my leg far greater than I had anticipated. "TAICHI!" I screamed again. This time he was rushing past me as I said it, but not quick enough. He'd swung the stick and hit Natsuni around the middle, and she fell, dropping Rei off the stage where she, along with Miyako crashed to the ground about four feet below.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted, jumping to the rescue.

"Biyo! No!" it was too late though. The fire had shot toward the man and wrapped itself around his arm where it burned his skin just in time for Taichi to wail on his face with a closed fist, knocking him off the stage, causing the man to curse loudly.

"Go!" He shouted, his voice muffled from the curtains. "Get out of here!" I checked quickly to see that everyone was rushing off, leaving the others alone.

What did they want? What was the point?

About ten minutes later, everyone was gone, and we were all together, sitting back stage. Emiko looked shaken up, but was probably the least hurt of us all. Rei's chair had landed on Miyako, Natsuni and I had both taken a blow from that horrible man, Hikari had still not regained consciousness, but was being tended to by Jou who was bleeding in three places on his face. Koushiro was nursing a wounded shoulder next to Mimi who looked no different than when she arrived as she hugged Palmon closely, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Takeru was with Yamato, checking each other's faces, as each of them had, as it seemed, been hit, sitting over top of Hikari and Jou, waiting for the news. Neo and Hideto were bleeding as well, but Kiyoko looked relatively unharmed. Kurayami, was holding her side, where she'd slammed into the chairs as Daisuke sat with her, holding a sleeping Haruki in his arms, kissing his forehead. Momoe was with her daughter, hugging her tightly and humming a song into her ear. Momoe had apparently smashed her head against one of the metal lighting poles when we'd been pushed over. Rei looked like she'd be okay, but was evidentially in the worst shape of all of us. Taichi, whose nose was bleeding worse than anyone else's, was sporting a bruising eye as he asked his girlfriend repeatedly if she'd be okay.

The answer was yes. We'd all be okay, Jou informed us Hikari would be fine, which we all had assumed. She could have a nasty concussion though.

"Why did they do it?" Miyako asked quietly, and yet everyone heard her.

"They're dicks." Hideto said sharply. "They burned Mimi's restaurant down earlier today." Everyone who hadn't been informed of the news looked to her quickly, but she was pretending she didn't notice. As it stood, she did not want to talk about it. And could I blame her. I was choked up now, sure, but I wasn't sure I'd ever want to repeat what had just happened.

"This is illegal." Natsuni said boldly. "I'm calling Iori, we'll figure something out."

"Make sure he's okay," Jou said, "if they targeted Mimi, then Sora, who knows who else is in their line of attack? Call anyone who isn't here. Tell them what's going on." Miyako was quick to pull out her phone to contact Ken, and Kiyoko did the same for Mari, who was staying with Michael and Willis.

"Sora?" Professor Miru called out, from somewhere behind the curtain. "Sora are you here?"

"In here!" I called loudly. He was quick to respond and he was on his knees next to me a moment later. "I'm so sorry!" He shouted, throwing his arms around me. "I'd have stayed to fight too, but I was confused. I didn't know what was happening or who was who."

"It's okay." I said monotonously, unable to take my eyes away from the dirt wadded up on the bottom of Daisuke's shoe. Anything to distract myself. "I don't expect anyone to fight this."

"Needless to say," Professor Miru said, "Gina Hisakawa will not be picking up your line of work, or you as a co-worker. But screw her! She doesn't understand. We're on the right side of history here."

"He's right." Taichi said boldly. "We're in the right. We're the good guys."

"If there's one thing I've learned," Takeru said, running his fingers through Hikari's hair, "is that good guys always win."

"I thought the worlds were supposed to be at peace by now." Mimi said, finally revealing herself to be crying into Palmon's petals. "I thought we did our part of the war."

"The worlds will not be at peace until the bearer of the crest of Trust defeats the great evil of Earth." Koushiro reminded her quietly, "As far as I am aware, that has yet to happen." We all watched as the tears fell from her face, and even though I didn't look around, I was pretty sure everyone else started crying then too.

"I just don't want to fight anymore." She sobbed, "I-I'm sick of fighting. I don't want another w-w-war! I want a normal life... I-I'm... I'm just so tired."

And that I could agree with. We all could. There was no time to be starting another battle in life. Not one like this. Fighting a fellow customer in the grocery store for the last bag of bread was one thing. Racing through the parking lot for a parking spot is another.

But that was not what it looked like we were about to do. We were going to be fighting for the equality of our friends in a battle that appeared to be more than physical. And I was with Mimi. I didn't know if I could get myself through this one.

We were all too worn out. And brute force wasn't going to get us through this time either.

This time, instead of our digimon fighting for our safety... We'd have to fight for theirs.

Next on Digimon Adventure 06: Back in the world of the normal while things recover from this fiasco we find what Poverty exactly means to a certain household in desperate need of some assistance!