School could not have ended soon enough for Koshiro. Normally he did not feel any urgent need to rush home, taking his time to consider his homework or to attend computer club meetings. Often he used the club to discreetly work on matters involving the Digital World. However, as trouble escalated in the Digital World, he felt the pressure on him increase. Out of all of the Chosen, he was the only one who understood programming language and could access aspects of the Digital World that were out of reach of his friends. This made it more important than ever for him to unlock the secrets of the Digimon Kaiser's power, the Evil Rings, and the Dark Towers. The work he could do at the computer lab was trifling to what he could accomplish at home. Not to mention, he wanted to spend more time with Tentomon now that his partner was safely back at home.
Despite how pressing it felt to Koshiro that he return to his computer as soon as possible, he made sure not to call attention to himself by moving too quickly. The last thing he needed was his peers or the teachers to grow curious about why he was in a rush. He was absolutely awful at making up excuses.
However, a sudden email from Tentomon while Koshiro was changing into his outdoor shoes, made the Chosen of Knowledge forget all about pretending everything was normal. Koshiro crammed his feet into his shoes and took off at top speed, barely registering the shrieks of a couple of girls he almost collided with in his haste. He shouted an apology without bothering to look back.
Tentomon had never been very good at being stealthy, so unlike the other Chosen Digimon, he did not try to watch over Koshiro at school. Instead, he was in charge of monitoring the Digital World and doing research of his own during school hours. He was to give a report of anything he found out once his partner came home so that they could brainstorm about it together.
Unless there was an emergency.
Koshiro was out of breath by the time he reached his apartment door, even though he took a brief rest inside the elevator as it went up. "I'm home!" he said automatically between pants after throwing open the door, his face flushed.
"Oh, Koshiro?" Yoshie said, her curious voice floating from in the kitchen. "Home already?"
Koshiro nodded, despite the fact that his mother could not see it, as he fumbled to get out of his shoes as fast as possible, yelping as he fell over in the process. He recovered quickly and kicked off his remaining shoe towards the front door before hurrying to his room. "Big emergency! Digital World!" He lacked the breath to explain in full sentences. He would have to give the details to his mother later, but right now he needed to get to his computer before it was too late.
"Koshiro!" Tentomon was already facing the door before his Chosen even entered the bedroom, having heard the commotion from the entryway.
Koshiro practically collapsed into his chair. "What's going on? What's the emergency?" He turned towards the monitor displaying the Digital Gate, seeing the answer for himself before Tentomon could reply.
"I received a strange email moments ago," Tentomon said. "It's a distress call," The insect Digimon turned to the screen, where an email was front and center for Koshiro to see. "'Emergency. Critical Error.'" Tentomon then turned back to Koshiro, fidgeting his front pincers anxiously. "See?"
Koshiro glanced over the secondary computer monitor that displayed the email on the side of his desk before set to work tracking down its sender. "Critical error… Could it be…" He let the thought trail off with a shiver as he focused on his task. In less than a minute, he had the source located and brought it up on the main screen where the Digital Gate displayed the landscape of the Digital World.
The monitor displayed a wasteland, the ground tinged grayish brown and virtually utterly barren as far as the eye could see. What little foliage present there appeared as though it was made of gears and wires. Sparse mechanical trees and bushes twitched not from the wind, but from clunky parts that only halfway functional, though whatever they were made to do escaped Koshiro. He would have spent more time pondering them if something else did not demand his attention. A brown robot Digimon, a Guardromon, lay sprawled across the ground, sparks spitting from the torn plating in its metal chassis, the ground beneath it stained dark with unknown fluids.
For a moment, Koshiro could only stare, needing time to process what he saw. There was a strange sense of something almost like relief when he realized what the email meant – in his imagination he feared it was something more dire that affected the entirety of the Digital World. However, such a feeling was fleeting, as horror was quick to replace it when he realized that the Digimon on the screen before him was dying. "That Guardromon is in trouble! We've got to help it!" He swiftly out his Digivice and pointed it at the screen, acting less on a plan and more on instinct. "Digital Gate open!"
Nothing changed. There was no flash of light or sudden pull to prelude the typical transportation between worlds. Koshiro smacked his forehead hard enough to leave a faint red mark. The sense of urgency that made him rush to act had obviously interfered with his ability to think clearly, which he found all the more annoying given what his crest was. He knew his Digivice had not evolved yet, even if it contained the Digimental of Friendship. He needed his friends' help in order to get to the Digital World.
Koshiro felt the urge to either slap himself again or curse but he forced both back. Sora, Taichi, and Yamato were still at school – he had just been there. Any one of them could have taken him through the gate and he did not slow down to let them know about the emergency. "I don't know what's wrong with me today," he muttered as he pulled out his D-Terminal. He hoped that by the time he sent an email to his friends and they arrived that it would not be too late for the Guardromon.
Yoshie's voice through the door made Koshiro jerk, his fingers fumbling across the keypad to turn part of his email into nonsense. "Koshiro? Your friends are here!"
Koshiro fumbled to fix the typo then paused, blinking, as what his mother had said settled in. "Huh?"
Koshiro swiveled around in his chair just in time to see his bedroom door open, revealing a rather disheveled Yamato, precariously clutching a school bag. The Chosen of Friendship's face was flushed, his breathing labored. "Koshiro! What's happened?"
Taichi immediately followed suit, still rumpled from the long run from school. "Yeah, we saw you take off and tried shouting after you, but you didn't answer us."
"E-excuse me!" Sora's voice came from somewhere behind the boys, as she arrived only seconds after her friends. She paused in the doorway only briefly to give Yoshie a polite bow in greeting before she walked quickly in to the room where all the other Chosen were huddled. "I'm h-here! I had to stop and send an email first!"
Koshiro blushed faintly. "Sorry, guys. I…" He paused and shook his head. "There's no time for explanations right now. I need one of you to open the gate. We've got a Digimon in major trouble." He slid away from his desk and pointed to the screen so that the others could see the Guardromon for themselves.
"Got it!" shouted both Taichi and Yamato in virtually the same instant, as the two boys pulled out their Digivices. Thanks to their Digimentals, they both had evolved their Digivices to the new incarnation. Taichi's was orange and white, while Yamato's was icy blue and white. The two stopped, Digivices in hand, as they realized what they had done, and looked at each other awkwardly.
Sora did not wait to see if the two boys were going to fight over who would open the gate and held her Digivice forward. "Digital Gate open!"
In a flash of light, the five were transported into the wasteland near a crop of mechanical trees. Up close, the plants looked chipped and old with rust coating them, as though they required some sort of maintenance that had not been administered for a very long time. The air was thick with the hum of electronics and the clatter of gears moving, some smoothly while others clunked feebly along, creating more noise than any of the Chosen expected. It was disorienting for the children at first, but their confusion cleared up quickly when Tentomon called their attention.
"Over here, Koshiro!" Tentomon said. "The Guardromon is this way!"
Within minutes, the Chosen reached the Guardromon and the sight of it made them recoil to varying degrees. As bad as the machine Digimon had appeared on the other side of the Digital Gate, in person the damage was even worse. Rows of long gashes peeled apart the Digimon's metal chassis in even strips, exposing frayed or cut wires and damaged circuitry. Sparks danced in erratic patterns inside its body, spitting some out to fall into the oil that pooled beneath the Digimon's prone body. It was a wonder that the oil had not ignited already from the sparks, but perhaps even the properties of combustible fluids did not necessarily behave like in the Digital World like they did in the real world. The Guardromon's visor was cracked with nothing but blackness underneath, leaving the children with no way of knowing if it was awake and suffering. The only thing that made them certain that it was still alive was the simple fact that it had not deleted to data yet.
For a moment, the Chosen Children could only stare, taken aback by the damage and reconciling it with the fact that what they were seeing was grave injuries to a creature that was alive as any of them, rather than just a broken machine.
Sora was the first to speak, though her voice came out in a choked whisper. "Is… is it…?" She hesitated to finish her question, but they all knew what she was going to say regardless.
Koshiro approached the Guardromon to get a closer look at the fallen Digimon, only marginally relieved to see that there were no signs of data dissolving from the Digimon's body yet or an Evil Ring controlling it. "Not yet, but unless we repair it right away, it'll…" He did not want to finish that thought, and judging from the looks on the others' faces, he could see they felt the same way. "We need to get it some help fast."
Taichi grimaced as he moved closer, hesitant to see the damage more clearly, but knowing they needed to. "Can't you fix it?"
Koshiro shook his head, his expression pained. "I wish I could, but my skills are in software, not hardware."
Yamato jerked his head towards Koshiro. "What? But… you made the D-Terminals!" He faltered before he could continue his thought, as he had to admit to himself that there was a vast difference between a living creature like a Digimon and the D-Terminal, but he knew that they had to do something.
Koshiro's eyes widened before he snapped his fingers. "That's it!" He whipped out his D-Terminal and hastily set to work on a new email. "I can't fix Guardromon, but I know who can!"
Taichi blinked and scratched the side of his head. "Who?"
"Miyako Inoe at your service," Miyako said upon entering Koshiro's apartment. She had changed out of her school uniform into a pair of navy overalls atop a somewhat worn yellow t-shirt. Her hair was tied back into a tight bun and she sported a pair of prescription goggles instead of her glasses. At her side, she carried a bulging, almost alarmingly tattered satchel marked with countless strips duct tape to patch obvious tears in the material. Every moment she made was heralded by the sound of countless metal pieces striking each other from within the bag, which was likely the reason why the bag was practically made more from duct tape than canvas at this point.
Daisuke arrived not long before Miyako did, as well as the rest of the Chosen Children, thanks to the email Sora sent them when following Koshiro. He outright gawked at Miyako when the class representative arrived. "Inoe?! What the heck are you doing here? And why are you dressed like a mechanic?"
Miyako's gaze passed over the bulk of the Chosen Children without reaction, as though they were not staring at her with varying amounts of surprise, until she focused on Koshiro. "Okay, where's the patient?"
"Hello, Miyako," Takeru said, with a small smile. He understood the confusion the other Chosen Children felt. He had information they did not – a fact he felt rather guilty about. However, he never really found a good opportunity to bring it up, and clearly neither had Koshiro. Still, it was a bit pointless to worry about that now. "I know you made the D-Terminals, but do you really think you could help the Guardromon? I mean, he's a machine… but he's a Digimon…"
Miyako tilted her head back as she regarded Takeru. "If it's a machine I can fix it. I've been taking stuff apart and putting it back together since I could crawl."
Koshiro smiled faintly, failing to hide the uncertainty he felt towards his decision, but it was too late to second-guess himself now. "We don't know how much time the Guardromon has left, and I don't know anyone else who might be able to help it in time." He gestured towards his bedroom. "Guardromon is this way."
Miyako brushed past Koshiro and everyone else that stood between her and the bedroom. Jou stood by Guardromon with an expression of helpless frustration creating severe lines on his face as he stood over his patient. He had applied bandages, but they did little more than sop up the leaking oil. The rest of the Chosen Children had lingered outside the bedroom in order to give him space to work, as there was little they could do. Jou barely had time to acknowledge Miyako's sudden entrance before she yanked him away from the prone Digimon and shoved him towards the door. "Out! I don't need your static electricity ruining the circuitry!"
Jou stumbled forward, arms pin wheeling at his sides. "W-whoa, yikes-!" Before he lost his balance completely, Yamato lashed out to snag one of his flailing arms, holding him steady until he stood solidly on his own two feet again. Heat flooded the eldest Chosen's cheeks as he offered the blond a weak, but grateful smile, too embarrassed to remark on his near fall. He glanced over his shoulder at Miyako as he slipped his glasses back into their proper position from their previously precarious position at the end of his nose, but the girl had her back to him. "Ummm…"
Miyako set her satchel on the floor, which created a loud clatter upon impact, and then turned a critical eye towards the small group of Chosen Digimon sitting perfectly motionless on Koshiro's bed. "You too. Out!"
"It's okay, everyone," Tentomon said, from his position on Koshiro's pillow. "You do not need to hide, she is aware of Digimon."
Chibimon let out the breath he had been holding in a sigh as his entire body relaxed. He hated having to hold still, especially around someone who made him leery. A frowned appeared on his face as he appraised Miyako and her critical gaze. After a moment, he hopped off the bed and practically ran to Daisuke's side, feeling more at ease when his Chosen Child picked him up. He did not know what was going on, but he was not particularly fond of Miyako, so he felt no need to talk to her. Then again, he never liked anyone who was harsh with Daisuke for no good reason – not that there was ever a good reason.
Tailmon and Palmon shared a glance before they exited the room without a word, with Tentomon taking up the rear.
Taichi's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline as he looked at Koshiro, who held his hands up almost defensively.
"I was going to tell you guys," Koshiro said with a nervous air about him, "but I just forgot. Honest."
Patamon fluttered down from his perch on Takeru's head to join the other Digimon as the majority convened on the dining room table. "You're lucky. I had to try and keep still while she gave me and Takeru a huge lecture."
Takeru laughed awkwardly. "No kidding."
Hikari turned to Takeru. "You knew about this too?"
Daisuke still had not gotten over outright gawking at Miyako, unable to wrap his mind around her behavior, how cavalier she was about barking orders at what most people assumed to be stuffed dolls, then watching them obediently walk away without even the slightest change in her expression. The only reason why he was not running both of his hands through his hair at that moment was because he was still holding Chibimon. "Wait, wait, wait… You're not surprised by any of this?" He freed a hand make an exaggerated gesture towards his partner, then the rest of the Digimon, as though the class representative had somehow not gotten a good look at the tiny dragon, cat wearing accessories, flying hamster, walking plant, giant ladybug, and bulky sparking humanoid robot the first time.
Miyako cocked an eyebrow at Daisuke, which pulled at her goggles slightly, before she turned to Koshiro. "No one is to open this door unless I start screaming like I'm dying or something like that, okay? And even then, girls only!" She did not wait for an answer, instead slamming the door shut, which caused everyone to flinch back instinctively. Daisuke yelped and took a step back as well, which was echoed by Chibimon, as the goggle boy had been standing directly in front of the door when it closed.
Takeru paused for a moment as he looked at the door Miyako had just shut in their faces, and then turned to Hikari. "I only learned about it the other day, when she came to… talk to me about my hiding Patamon in plain sight." The Chosen of Hope had the good grace to look sheepish. "After that, we had that fight with the Kaiser and I guess my mind was… elsewhere." His eyes drifted towards Patamon, but only for a second when he noticed that his partner was watching him.
Yamato also observed Takeru out of the corner of his eye, trying not to let the tension he felt show in his expression. It was clear to him that something happened against the Digimon Kaiser had badly shaken Takeru, but he was at a loss as to what that was. Granted, he and the other Chosen who had been monitoring the Digital World from the computer had been distracted by the return of Sora's group, and when the Digimon Kaiser attacked, Koshiro had to scramble to change the camera feed to keep up with Takeru's group as they scattered and attempted to escape. However, as far as he had seen, nothing the Digimon Kaiser did during that ambush was anything worse than they had already seen, and no one in that group mentioned anything particularly alarming beyond what happened in the quarry, and the Chosen of Friendship was certain Takeru seemed more or less all right despite that battle.
In spite of this knowledge, Yamato was certain something was wrong, and it was maddeningly frustrating. He attempted to broach the issue when he cornered Takeru near the bathroom earlier, where they would have relative privacy, but his little brother had blown him off. The dismissal was done with a smile and a reassurance that he was worrying too much, but he knew Takeru better than that. It made him acutely aware that the barrier built when their parents divorced was still holding strong between them, even after all this time and everything they had gone through together.
"Please forgive Miyako's behavior, everyone," Koshiro said, raising his voice so that all his friends could hear him. "She's a friend I met online, who I've been getting advice from about Digimon." He looked to Takeru. "I knew she lived pretty close, and I met her a couple times in person, but I didn't realize she would try and meet with the rest of you without asking me to set it up first. I would've told you about her sooner if I knew."
Sora frowned as she shifted uncomfortably. "Do you think she can… save the Guardromon?"
Koshiro's smile grew strained. "I don't know," he said, his voice soft. "I can't think of anything else we can do to help it right now. It's not as though we can use a Digimental on Guardromon and heal it with evolution like Palmon."
Mimi looked to the door then knelt down to scoop up Palmon and hugged her partner close to her chest. "Poor Guardromon…"
Palmon returned the hug, gloomily. "I wonder what happened to him…"
"The Digimon Kaiser," Taichi said, his expression tight. "Who else could it be?"
Daisuke threw his arms up in the air and waved them around. "Hang on a second!" He paused when he realized that he accidentally swung Chibimon around and pulled his partner close with a quick apology before he returned his focus to the group, only briefly distracted from his outrage. "Since when is Inoe part of the group? Who gave her a Digivice?!"
Takeru blinked at that and turned to look at Daisuke. "I… don't think she has one?" He paused for a moment as he thought of who he was talking to, then turned to Koshiro with raised eyebrows. "…Does she?"
Koshiro shook his head. "No, not at all. My online friends and I have been looking for the other Chosen Children since Ryo mentioned there were fifteen of us, especially after Daisuke showed up."
Yamato cocked his head in Koshiro's direction. "So she's not a Chosen, she's just someone who's helping us?" He let out a quiet grunt as he crossed his arms. "But there are more Chosen out there… somewhere."
Koshiro nodded with an affirmative sound. "Miyako was one of the kids who helped us fight Diablomon with all those emails, remember?" He paused to let out a weary sigh at the memory. "After Diablomon pretty much exposed us, I had to change my username completely, even find a new email provider, and my friends and I have had to switch to private chat rooms. You wouldn't believe how many kids out there are desperate to become a Chosen Child too. Not to mention all the spam I got from it…"
Daisuke approached Koshiro, leaning in closer to Chosen of Knowledge until they were nearly nose to nose. "But she's not, right? You're sure Inoe isn't one of us? You're absolutely positive?"
Koshiro instinctively leaned back, though there was little room for him to back away with all of the Chosen Children crowding his apartment's living room. "Well… uh… technically we don't exactly know. We have no way of figuring out who's a Chosen Child until they go to the Digital World. After all, we had no idea you were one until you accidentally came with us that first time."
Taichi rubbed the back of his neck as he cast a thoughtful gaze towards Koshiro's bedroom. "It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to test it out."
"Yes it would!" Daisuke nearly shouted before clamping his mouth shut quickly. He had not meant to voice that thought aloud.
Koshiro blinked at Daisuke before rubbed the back of his head, feeling an acute sense of awkwardness. "Actually… Miyako and some of the others online think it might be a good idea to just start trying to bring kids into the Digital World and see who actually can go." His grimace made it clear how he felt towards the idea. "Though, I would prefer we figure out how to narrow down the search first, since there's billions of children on the planet. Not to mention the Digimon Kaiser is going to be a problem…"
Mimi pursed her lips as she let out a quiet hum. "Where do we even start? I can't think of anyone who wouldn't want a Digimon of their own, and if they're not Chosen, then we're going to disappoint so many people…"
Sora grimaced. "It's probably not a good idea to let too many people know about us anyway." She paused for a moment. "I mean… any more people."
Takeru leaned back against the edge of the table and glanced at the Chosen Digimon. "It seems weird that we'd need to hide our Digimon when so many people know… not just because of Diablomon, but also Vamdemon and his little… escapades." He paused for a moment when he noticed Tailmon grow tense at the same time a hint of sadness settled into Hikari's expression, both changes in demeanor as faint as a ghost. "But it seems like most people just… tuned it out, like it was a hoax or a stunt of some kind? It seems like when you hear about it in the news anymore, there's someone talking about some new explanation for it. And the people who actually believe it…"
Jou pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "It's just easier that we avoid that kind of attention."
Yamato chuckled awkwardly. "It might cause problems if my band ever makes it big. Taichi and I were the ones that got our faces plastered on the Internet, even if it's Koshiro's email they got access to. But then, I've only had a couple fans approach me about it… and only half actually ask about Digimon as if they were real. The other half act like it was a publicity stunt and ask me how it was done – like it was some kind of movie we streamed across the 'net. So much for human denial, huh?"
Koshiro rubbed his bangs away from his face. "Yeah, but you wouldn't believe how many emails I got a day from people all over the world. It wasn't just kids either, but there were adults investigating. If my genius friend in America hadn't been able to hack into their databases and erase our data…"
"Then you'd probably still be deleting a thousand emails a day," Taichi said. He flashed Yamato a grin. "Hey, your band sounds like it was useful after all."
"Hey, thanks," Yamato said dryly, though he grinned back at Taichi. "Glad we could do something other than wake the neighbors."
"It's not that," Koshiro said quickly. "Yes, getting flooded with emails was hard on my computer, but there were investigations about us."
Hikari jerked, staring at Koshiro with wide eyes. "Investigations?"
Koshiro nodded, his expression grave. "Yeah. Government agencies and even private organizations, and who knows who else are interested in Digimon. My friend tried to track down as many as he could and give them false leads about who we are and where we live, but…" He nodded to Yamato. "As Yamato demonstrated, they know what he and Taichi look like. It's unlikely that they'll be able to find us with just that, especially since my friend gave them a lot of dead ends, and they don't seem to be looking for us so hard anymore because there haven't been any other incidents, but still…"
Takeru stared at the Chosen of Knowledge for several moments as he tried to process what he was hearing. He had heard a lot about Koshiro's online friends, but the latest information just seemed too impossible. The very idea that some kid on the Internet could lead government agencies astray was just too unbelievable. It was like something out of a movie, not something that could actually happen. It was something that spies or terrorists did, not some kid who graduated college when others his age were in elementary school. If Koshiro believed it, it must have been true, but it begged the question - just who was this kid? "You… know some pretty scary people, Koshiro."
"Yes, Miyako is a very scary person," Chibimon said, with a sage nod.
Takeru paused at that and stared at the little dragon Digimon, then covered his mouth to stifle his chuckles, lest the girl hear him. "N-no, that's not what I meant. I mean… this guy is a kid, right? And he's messing around with the government? That's pretty… incredible."
Koshiro shifted uncomfortably. "I know it's hard to believe, but it's true because, uh… well…" He looked away from the others as he rubbed the back of his head, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "He… kind of showed me how to do it too."
Taichi's eyes widened as he outright gawked at Koshiro. "Wait, you mean you can hack into government computers now? For real?"
Koshiro nodded, only able to glance briefly at his friends' surprised faces. He knew that they would not judge him harshly for what he did, but it made him nervous to admit he was performing highly illegal activities. He was only glad his mother did not seem to be in earshot at the moment. "I've only done it twice – first to see if I could, and the second time to see if that giant egg Hikari summoned over the school was in their database."
Hikari felt tension creep into her body at the very thought that she might have inadvertently put them all in danger. "Was it…?" At seeing Koshiro shake his head, she held her chest and sighed out her tension.
"Fortunately, it seems they haven't linked that incident to us and Digimon," Koshiro said. "So far, we haven't done anything since Diablomon to bring their attention back towards us, so we should be safe."
"I guess that makes sense," Yamato said. "It may be obvious to us that there's a connection, but no one else'd have any reason to think a giant floating egg would be in any way related to a giant orange dinosaur or a blue and white wolf."
"J-just the same, it sounds really dangerous," Jou said as he adjusted his glasses. "I-it should be done sparingly!"
Takeru nodded and flashed Koshiro a grin. "Still, that's really awesome! And it means we've got more options now."
Mimi's expression was thoughtful as she looked towards the bedroom door. "Would it really be bad if they found out? Isn't the government supposed to protect us? Maybe they could help us somehow…"
"No way!" Daisuke said in a near shout. "Don't you watch movies? If the government found out about Digimon, they'd want to weaponize 'em to use against other countries, or another country would want to enslave 'em like the Digimon Kaiser did and conquer the world!" He paused, his eyes widening. "Holy crap, that's probably what he's doing! First the Digital World then Earth!"
Koshiro rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know…"
The bedroom door opened a crack. "You guys are too noisy!" Miyako shouted, her voice as sharp as thorns. "I need quiet to concentrate, and besides there's a patient in here with me you know."
Takeru jumped at the sound of Miyako's voice and turned to her, feeling a bit guilty. While he had not said anything bad about her, he still felt partially responsible. "Sorry."
"We'll be more quiet," Sora said softly. She cast an apologetic look towards the bedroom door despite the fact that she had not been among those talking, and Miyako would be unable to see her.
A slip of paper slid out from the sliver of space between the bedroom door and frame. "Koshiro, I need more parts than what I brought along with me," Miyako said, her voice calm. "Please bring me back what's on this list. Thanks."
Koshiro stared at the list for a moment before he took it, flinching when she immediately slammed the door shut afterward. He blinked at the closed door, staring for a moment before he read the piece of paper, a frown slowly forming. "I guess it's going to take a while for Miyako to finish the repairs."
Hikari looked towards Koshiro's bedroom, disliking how helpless she felt at that moment. "So what do we do while we wait?"
"I know!" Mimi said eagerly before snatching up the list from Koshiro's hand. "We'll all go shopping for that's on the list! It's better than just standing around here doing nothing, and I'm really great at shopping."
Taichi shared a grimace with Yamato. "Shopping?"
Yamato glanced to Taichi. "I don't think she knows what kind of store we're talking about…"
"No, that's not it," Taichi whispered in Yamato's ear. "She's talking about shopping. You know, shopping with girls."
"I know," Yamato said, with a slight grin. "But I don't think she realizes there's a difference."
"Now let's see…" Mimi said as she scanned the list. She hummed softly then tilted her head to the right, as she looked it over a second time. After a moment, she cocked her head to the left and tried again. Finally, turned the list upside-down before her eyes crossed and she let out out a perplexed sound. "What is all this stuff?"
Koshiro took the list back from Mimi with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I can buy everything myself. I should be back in an hour or so."
As Koshiro left to comply with Miyako's demands, the rest of the Chosen stood about in his apartment, an awkward silence hovering over them. The atmosphere was heavy from the new information that weighted them all down. The very idea that the government had shown interest in them – it was nearly overwhelming for the Chosen Children. In a way, it made the days of dealing with psychotic puppets, badly singing egomaniacs, and huge demon vampires with inappropriately placed faces look like simpler times.
The Chosen of Hope looked at the others as he stood in silence. While part of him thought Mimi had a point, most of him agreed that it was a bad idea. As fantastical as Daisuke's fears sounded, they were probably very close to the truth. Digimon could be very dangerous – the Chosen Children knew this better than anyone. There was a good chance that the government would decide that Digimon were too dangerous to have around, or worse – decide that they wanted the Digimon for their own purposes. There was the very real possibility that the Digimon would be confiscated, turned into weapons for whatever war was in style at the time, or worst of all, experimented on.
Takeru could lose Patamon again.
Takeru snatched television remote from off the table and looked for something to chase such dark thoughts from his mind, though he did turn the volume down low so that it would not disturb Miyako. He noticed the curious looks the others sent his way and smiled sheepishly. "Hope you don't mind."
"I don't," Daisuke said, "but Inoe will probably give us all one of her lectures or yell at us again."
"I'll keep it down," Takeru said, lightly. He flipped through the channels looking for something interesting when he stopped on a news station. "Hm?"
The instant Daisuke caught sight of the television, he snatched the remote from Takeru's hand. "Hold it! I wanna see this!" He turned the volume up louder than what was necessary, immediately forgetting about the fact that he just warned the other boy about Miyako's reaction in favor of the news broadcast.
A female reporter in her thirties was in front of a school that Takeru failed to recognize. The place looked rather fancy, as the reporter was in some sort of foyer with well-manicured grass and a large ornate fountain behind her. The only hint that the place was a school were the students wandering about in the background, each dressed in light gray uniforms accented with a school pin.
One of the students stood with the reporter – a young man with shoulder-length and neatly trimmed lavender hair and gray eyes. The smile he gave the reporter was as charming, as though he was perfectly at ease being in front of the camera despite carrying a massive gold trophy that was at least half his height.
They tuned into the program while the reporter was laughing, with the student quietly, almost modestly, laughed along with her, as though she and the boy standing beside her had just shared an amusing joke that the Chosen missed. "Well, be that as it may, winning this award at such a young age is simply astonishing. Do you think you'll dedicate more time to this miracle program of yours?"
The corner of the student's mouth quirked upward as he let out a small chuckle. "Well, it's certainly one possibility. I'm truly honored to win such an award, but as a full-time student, I can't really say."
"Well," the reporter said cheerfully, "I've heard that you're captain of your school's soccer team." She paused for a moment, as though building up dramatic suspense. "Perhaps your coach would be willing to let you retire?"
The student blinked at the reporter as his expression took on the air of innocent confusion. "Hm? Retire?"
"Daisuke, Daisuke!" Chibimon said as he grabbed his Chosen's arm. "That's Ichijouji, right? Ken Ichijouji!"
"Yeah, it is!" Daisuke shouted, unable to contain his excitement. However, a moment later a frown marred his features. "Wait, what? Retire? From soccer?! He can't retire! I haven't played a game against him yet!"
Daisuke's voice was so loud that the reporter's words were barely audible to the Chosen in the room. "So that you can spend your time focusing on making more scientific marvels," she said cheerfully.
"That's right, that's right!" Chibimon said. "How can Ken Ichijouji retire before Daisuke's beaten him at soccer!?"
The student, Ken Ichijouji, chuckled politely. "Oh, I assure you, I wouldn't dream of retiring."
The reporter laughed lightly then leaned back to put a hand on her hip as she gave the boy an approving nod. "Well, I suppose your team would be lost without you, but some people believe if you focus more time in computer science you might wind up winning a Nobel Prize one day."
Daisuke glared daggers into the reporter and freed a hand to shake a fist at the television. "Stop trying to talk him into quitting!"
Takeru stared at the news broadcast before turning to Daisuke, surprised by the other boy's ire. "Just who is this guy–?"
"Ken Ichijouji!" Chibimon said. "Daisuke's rival!"
Ken continued to smile as he shifted the weight of the trophy in his hands. "That may be so, but I'm afraid I simply cannot bring myself to abandon my responsibilities. I have yet to miss a game, and I do not intend to start."
Taichi laughed as he took in Daisuke's intense expression. "You're still obsessing about that guy?"
Daisuke clenched his hand around the remote and nodded sharply as he continued to stare intently at the television. "Of course! They say he's the best soccer player who ever lived, but I'm going to beat him someday!"
"I suppose so," the reporter said, "but I doubt anyone would hold it against you if you changed your mind." She laughed lightly.
Chibimon growled. "Daisuke would!"
"You better believe I would!" Daisuke shouted. "I'd hunt him down myself and keep going after him until he played a game with me!"
The door to Koshiro's bedroom opened slightly and from it came Miyako's booming voice. "If you can't keep quiet, then get out!" Her harsh voice completely drowned out whatever else Ken and the reporter discussed. "I'm having enough trouble working with insufficient parts and a critical time crunch without listening to Motomiya gushing on and on about his mancrush on Ichijouji!"
Daisuke yelped and jumped, only to lose his balance and fall roughly onto the floor, dropping the remote in the process, which changed the channel to masked fighters battling against a rubber suit monster. His cheeks turned pink as he gawked towards the bedroom. "C-c-c-crush!? I-I don't have a crush on Ichijouji! I like Hi–" He practically bit his tongue when stopping himself, his eyes instinctively drifting towards Hikari before he forced himself to look away.
Miyako let out a snort, with one lone, narrowed eye barely visible between the door and frame, which rolled with exasperation. "That crush isn't exactly a secret either, Motomiya. Either keep it in your pants and keep quiet or leave." With that, the door slammed louder than ever.
Daisuke's face went from pink to bright red. He tried to come up with a retort, but all he could do was sputter.
Hikari slowly removed her hands from her ears, as Miyako's yelling had been too loud for her to tolerate. She looked at the door, feeling rather awkward. "Maybe we should go," she said quietly. "There isn't much we can do here anyway."
Chibimon glared daggers into the door, as though his gaze could somehow get through it to pierce Miyako. He grunted in frustration, knowing well enough that now was not the time to teach her a lesson, so instead he tugged on Daisuke's shirt. "It's okay, Daisuke!"
"I think Hikari has a point," Yamato said. "Much as I hate to admit it, I don't think any of us can help them right now. We may as well go rest up and wait until we hear news – hopefully good news."
Mimi shifted in place as she looked around at her friends. "I guess… There isn't anything for us to do just standing around here except talk."
Taichi exhaled deeply as he crossed his arms. "Yeah. It's not like we can go after the next Digimentals right now anyway."
Takeru slowly looked around as the others began migrating towards the front door before his eyes settled on Daisuke. While he was still confused about this supposed 'rival' of Daisuke's and why the other boy cared so much, he imagined that the mood for conversation was fairly dead. Miyako had seen to that, though he could not exactly blame her for getting angry. "I guess… all we can do is wait and hope."
The Kido apartment was quiet when Shin returned home late from his internship at the hospital. His normally neatly trimmed green hair lost its glossy shine, many strands jutting out in frazzled fans, and both his glasses and clothes were in need of a good cleaning. "I'm home," he said when he took his shoes off in the doorway, not daring to raise his voice too loud, as he was uncertain if anyone in his family was still awake at this hour.
Much to Shin's surprise, Jou was sitting quietly on the sofa in the living room, the lights set to dim. His younger was slouched back against the cushions, his eyes fixed on the television screen. Normally, that would be an ordinary sight, but what made it worrying was the fact that the television was off.
Beside Jou was his duffle bag, which served his medical kit. He made it a policy to carry that bag with him to every time the Chosen gathered for a meeting, and it came in handy more often than not. It lay haphazardly on its side, the zipper partially open, which allowed a few rolls of gauze and a sealed bottle of alcohol to fall to the floor.
Jou did not answer Shin's greeting. He did not even look up or give any indication that he realized his brother was there at all.
The sight brought Shin completely to a halt. He stood in the entryway staring at Jou, holding one shoe half-off his foot until he started losing his balance. He quickly swapped out his shoes for slippers before moving swiftly into the living room by his brother's side. "Jou? Are you okay?"
Seconds ticked by and Jou remained silent and unresponsive. Finally, before Shin could start to panic, he blinked and turned his head in his older brother's direction, though he did not raise his eyes. "Welcome home."
Shin plopped down onto the sofa beside Jou. "Did something happen? You don't look so good."
Jou's response was slow in coming, but at least he did not seem distant this time. His expression was just a little tight, hinting at some internal debate he had over the answer. Finally, he looked away, returning his gaze to the blank television screen. "I couldn't help the injured Guardromon."
Shin blinked. "Guardromon? You mean another one of your Digimon got hurt?" He was unfamiliar with the name, but anything that ended in 'mon' almost certainly meant Digimon. He rooted around in his briefcase. "Well, good thing I got more of these." He pulled out an orange colored bottle of pills and held it out to Jou.
Jou turned to look at the prescription pills. He was strongly considering telling Shin that they were no longer needed, but stopped himself. His brother was taking a huge risk, putting his entire future on the line for their sakes. The thought humbled the Chosen of Honesty enough to accept the pills even if they would never be used. "Thank you."
Shin reached out to clasp his little brother's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Hey, it'll be okay. Believe me, I know how hard it is seeing patients come in, especially if you know them, but after a while, it gets easier, you know? And you know you can just ask me or dad if you need any help or a second opinion."
Jou had no reply for Shin – he did not really feel as though he could. It felt impossible to explain the turbulent thoughts churning through his mind right now, particularly when he was not even certain himself of what he was feeling.
While it was true that a large part of the pressure to become a doctor came from his family, one of the things that helped keep Jou motivated about such a career was the hope that his education could help the Digimon as well. After seeing so many injuries and death that he could have prevented if only he had the skills, the Chosen of Honesty had taken his studies even more seriously than before. Those efforts finally paid off when he had tended to Tailmon and Palmon; it was proof that he was accomplishing something, that he was useful.
Or so he thought.
"Digimon heal after evolving," Jou muttered. "Why did I never notice that...?" When that bombshell happened, the Chosen of Honesty had been stunned, bewildered even, before a terrible crushing realization settled on top of him.
All Jou's efforts had been pointless.
Still, Jou had tried to recover from it. He had told himself that even if the Chosen Digimon did not need him to heal them, surely other Digimon they came across would. His efforts still had a point.
Then something else happened to shake Jou's faith. At least with Palmon and Tailmon he could say that he eased their suffering and made it easier for them to recover. With the Guardromon, there was not a damn thing he could do.
Jou's expression darkened along with his thoughts. He noticed Shin looking at him with obvious concern. The sense that he was worrying his brother made him divert his gaze. "Y-yeah. I... I just need... Gomamon. I need to find Gomamon and it'll be okay."
Not that he was ever that useful with Gomamon. For all the talk of him being the leader of the Chosen Children, Taichi or Yamato fit that role far better than he did. They were the ones who could evolve their partners to Ultimate. They were the ones who could combine their Digimon into Omegamon. They were the ones who did the heavy fighting. Taichi and Yamato were the ones that everyone depended on, not Jou. When Diabolomon had attacked, Jou had been taking a test, completely oblivious about the bombs that were readying to fall down onto their heads. Once again, the leader was useless.
It was worse without Gomamon. Without his partner, Jou felt as though he was slipping away. He never had such self-destructive thoughts with Gomamon. Now that his best friend was gone, he was truly realizing just how useless he was.
"Gomamon," Jou mumbled.
Shin wrapped his arm around Jou's shoulders, the half-hug bringing the younger boy back to the present. "Hey, it'll be okay," he said softly. "You and your friends took on much worse things than a kid on a power trip. Gomamon will be back raiding the kitchen for midnight snacks and hogging the bath tub again before you know it."
Jou hesitated before he started to tremble. "T-th… that's right… Gomamon will be…!" His vision grew blurred as he felt a wetness forming in his eyes that quickly began to trickle down his cheeks. The Chosen of Honesty sniffed hard before he removed his glasses, wiping furiously at the wetness in his eyes. "Gomamon–!"
"Oh geeze," Shin said in a near yelp, startled by the sudden onslaught of tears. He used both arms this time to give Jou a proper hug, patting his little brother on the back. "It's okay, Jou. It's going to be okay."
Jou's body shook as he sniffled again. He could not explain himself at all to Shin. He just felt as though he was coming apart at the seams. Even as he chided himself for worrying his brother, he found himself unable to stop the flow of emotions that he had bottled up inside. "O-okay, it's… all going to be… okay…"
The words felt like a lie even when Jou repeated them. Despite the fact that he and the other Chosen Children had made it through impossible odds, somehow those memories offered little comfort. Every step of the way on their adventure, Gomamon had been by his side, protecting him, and helping him grow stronger. Without Gomamon or even the slightest idea where his partner was, the Chosen of Honesty was lost, helpless with the knowledge that he was no use to anyone right now – especially not Gomamon. He was completely useless.
