How is everybody doing in this world today? I am not too hot but at least I'm not suffering. I've got an edge on life right now! Okay, not really but I'm just happy to be alive and working on these projects. Enjoy! And don't forget to leave me some feedback to sink my teeth in!

-X-

December 9: Amano Manor – 12:30 PM

"Why do we have to stay behind while Tai and the others duke it out on Digital World travel plans?" Kazu groaned as he leaned back on the Italian imported furniture. Unlike everyone else, he wasn't afraid of ruining anything there. "I don't exactly trust either Takato or Henry to ensure that the Tamers get to go on the life or death mission."

Matt shook his head. "You know that you still have school to worry about, right? I already talked it over with Tai and we both agreed that it would be better if the older kids went off and you kids stayed behind and focused on your schoolwork."

"Well, that sounds hypocritical," said JP. "You and Sora still have college, I doubt that they'd let you stay if you miss out on several days of school. At least in high school, the limit of absences should be about two months or so."

"True enough," Thomas nodded. "If anything, then it'll be Tai, Marcus, Yoshino, Samson, Megumi, Miki and I to go which isn't exactly a force to be reckoned with."

"Not to mention you'll only have Marcus for navigation and he doesn't exactly seem like the type who has a good sense of direction," Rika remarked.

"Rika!" Jeri chided lightly.

Yoshino giggled. "No, she's absolutely right about that."

Kiriha took a sip of tea that one of the butlers had served to the large group. "Either way, it's not up to us to decide how the groups are divided. Personally, I would love to go back to the Digital World but in the end, we just have to wait for Taiki and the others to come up with the decision themselves."

"It's like waiting to hear the outcome of an international summit," Mimi half-squealed. "Well, actually, more of a national summit rather than an international one."

With so many people in one huge living room, there was no space for silence as everyone had something to say and yet, somehow, no one interrupted another from getting out what they wanted to voice. It wasn't long before the group discussion broke off into smaller groups and some decided to just do a little exploring around the house.

Sora paused in front of the fireplace where various knickknacks were placed on top of and stared at a photo of a beautiful young woman who strongly resembled Nene. Not only that, but she looked very familiar to Sora but she wouldn't quite put her finger on it. "Hey, Nene… Is this a photo of your mother?"

Nene paused and looked up. She slowly put her cup of tea back down on the coaster before approaching the older girl. "Yes… It is…"

"Well, she's certainly very pretty and she looks a lot like you," Sora smiled before noticing how crestfallen Nene looked. She glanced over to Yuu and noticed that he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk about his parent either.

Everyone else in the room felt the sudden tension so they put a pause to their own conversations to see what was happening. Mimi stood up and joined the two girls at the fireplace and gasped a little when she saw the photo.

"Isn't that Nana Hakobe?" Mimi gaped. She dialed it down when she remembered a crucial fact concerning this woman. "The famous idol… I heard that she…" Mimi took a cautious look at Nene before continuing. "She died in a plane crash nearly ten years ago."

"I remember Nana Hakobe," Yoshino blinked. "She was in my favorite TV show when I was little."

Nene nodded. "Yeah, my mother was loved by a lot of different people from all over the world actually. She was even in the most popular Japanese drama twenty years ago, playing a pretty big role. And now, I'm in a remake of that drama, playing the same character."

"Ah… You're talking about Mizuki's best friend, Saki, in Dark Moon," Ryo realized as he stepped up next to his fellow actor. "I almost forgot that it was Nana Hakobe who played the original character twenty years ago. Could it be that you tried out for the role to see if you could surpass your mother?"

Nene hesitated before responding. "Yeah… I actually wanted the role of Mizuki but I was told that I would be too young since her love interest was going to be Tsuruga Ren. They thought it would be better for me to play the role of Saki." She traced the frame of her mother's photo. "But… I don't think I'll ever be able to become a good enough idol to ever be on equal ground with my mother. Not the way I am now at least."

Akari suddenly felt her curiosity growing as she suddenly realized that she had no idea why Nene even decided to become an idol. Being in the limelight and traveling around the world seemed like pleasant perks but they didn't exactly sound like things the General would typically want to do.

"Hey, Nene, why did you want to be an idol?" Akari asked. "Was it so you could be like your mother?"

Nene was about to shake her head but paused. "Well… Kind of. You see, my mother died on my birthday, when I tried to call her to come back to Japan to celebrate with me. It was because I was all alone on that day; ten years ago and I wanted someone to be with me. My mother dropped everything on her European tour and flew out to see me, except, her plane never landed."

"All alone," Kiriha muttered before glancing over to Yuu. "What about Yuu? Why weren't you there with her?"

Relena answered in the younger boy's stead. "Nene is the illegitimate child of Nana Hakobe and Yusihika Amano, a relationship in which Nene's grandmother did not approve of. She, acting as the head of the Amano group, forced the couple to separate, even pushing Nene away from the family so that it was only Nene and Nana for a long time. Yuu was born out of a forced marriage between two powerful business groups and thus Yuu was deemed to be the heir of the Amano group while Nene was left somewhere where she received minimal contact with the other half of her family."

Nene nodded to show that Relena was correct. "I forget that you knew Yuu's mother."

Zenjirou was tearing up after he heard that story and he tried to embrace Nene for her childhood but Akari held him back since they all knew that he was going to go overboard with his blubbering. "N-Nene! I can't believe you had to suffer so much all because of this plague of the wealthy!"

"Grandmothers in rich families can be especially plaguing," Relana sighed, remembering how her own grandmother tried to find Thomas a bride but when she died, all those plans were cancelled. "Almost every single decision is made for you. School choices, childhood, marriages, and even your future… It's almost as if nothing is your own."

Nene smiled a little. "Well, it wasn't all bad. Yuu was allowed by father to visit me sometimes in secret whenever grandmother was away somewhere. And it's not like I was dirt poor like you'd think in a drama. Remember that my mother was a famous idol so it's not like I had a depressing childhood." She turned her attention back to the photo. "But… back to the original question… I wanted to become an idol to make up for being the indirect cause of her death. I know I couldn't change it but if I hadn't called her…"

"Ugh!" Rika groaned causing everyone to jerk their attention to her rudeness. "Are we going to have another depressing talk about how we blame ourselves for someone else's death? Can we just skip it and get to the cheering up and relating part?"

Nene giggled a little. "Yeah, I guess so. I know it wasn't my fault but still… Those types of thoughts enter your head all the time, don't they?"

"True," Ken nodded. "But I'm not quite sure what you mean by making it up to your mother by becoming an idol?"

"If I can surpass her… then I'll be able to make the tears of the fans who mourned her death into cheers for me," Nene told them. "You see, if there was one thing my mother wanted, it was for everyone to be happy. That's why she became an idol and now, I want to do the same."

Ryo chuckled a bit. "It seems that everyone wants to become famous for family reasons instead of just wanting attention nowadays."

Jeri blinked. "You too?"

Ryo nodded. "How many of you have heard of the Akamiya group?"

There was some confused chattering until Ryouma suddenly spoke up. "That infamous yakuza group that terrorized Kyushu?" The Hunter was able to piece the rest together pretty easily after that. "You're the heir to a gangster family?"

Everyone, aside from JP who had already put it together not too long ago, gaped at the Tamer, unable to believe what their minds were processing. Kazu was the first to recover, stating how cool it was while others were talking about how scary it sounded.

"How can someone so pretty be involved with criminals?" Yolei pouted. "Then again, it does sound pretty hot, actually."

"I have never heard a shallower sentence," JP muttered.

Zoey pinched Kouichi's ear. "Is there a Minamoto yakuza group? Because it's my theory that the Warrior twins are the spawns of Satan but the sons of the leader of a yakuza group is a close enough call."

Tommy shuddered from a distant memory of a few months ago. "That would explain their demonic anti-stalker methods."

Things were silent at first and Joe was the first one to speak which wasn't a normal thing even among his own group. "We thought you guys were strange enough with your elemental powers and enhanced senses but now you're just confusing us."

Ryo ignored this. "Anyway, I didn't want to follow the family business despite what my dad wanted but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in life. Suddenly, I was scouted by this talent agent who thought I could be a model so I decided to go for it. After modeling, I found myself thrust into the acting world and I fell in love with acting on stage and becoming a new character. So, I decided to become an idol to avoid the yakuza business."

"That does explain why your dad didn't seem to greet you in the friendliest of ways when we came home from the Digital World," Kenta remarked. "I just thought that he was a really strict guy but I never expected him to be the leader of a yakuza."

"It also explains why it was so hard for you to find a manager," Jeri added. "I'm guessing when they saw your family name and did some research, they didn't really want to be involved with you in fear that they might get hunted down if they make a mistake."

"So he found a manager who wasn't afraid eventually?" Cody inquired.

Rika waved her hand to bring their attention back to her. "My grandmother decided to become his manager actually." She then laughed a little as she leaned back into the chair. "The Akamiya group was more scared of her than she was of them."

"What?" Kristy said in disbelief. She remembered meeting Seiko and she knew that the old woman was very kind so why would a yakuza group be afraid of her? Did they actually have morals and refused to hurt an old woman or something? "Why's that?"

Izzy was already looking things up on his laptop so he already had the answer on his screen. "Rika, by any chance, is Seiko the divorced mob wife of the leader of the Karasuma yakuza group? The one that had broken up after the mob boss's wife decided to leave them but not before supposedly sending over half the group to the hospital to be put into full-body casts and get stitches?"

Rika nodded proudly as she looked to the Tamers who didn't know this fact about her family, meaning everyone aside from Ryo and Jeri. "Well, now you know where my tough girl genes come from."

"That sweet old lady?" Suzie stared. "No way, I can't believe that."

"You mean, the sweet old lady who lives in a traditional Japanese house that many yakuza groups live in?" Rika questioned. "You mean, the sweet old lady who always wears a kimono which is usually the style of dress usually preferred by mob wives? You mean, the sweet old lady who destroyed a wooden support with a swing of her broom because Kazu surprised her by accident?"

"I remember that dark day," Kazu shuddered. "She nearly sliced my head off with a stick! It's a more embarrassing death than I would've liked so I'm glad I lived to tell the tale."

"Why did she leave?" asked TK.

Rika's smirk disappeared. "She left because her husband, my grandfather, wanted to sell his own daughter as a prostitute. My mother was beautiful at the tender age of sixteen and filthy men, who wanted to rent sex workers from the Karasuma group, often saw her and tried to request her for a night. My grandfather brought up this idea and my grandmother refused to accept, she wanted my mother to choose her own path and not one like that.

"So, she fled. She took my mother and my mother's boyfriend who eventually became my father, away from Kyoto and took them all the way to Shinjuku, Tokyo to get away from all of that. I was born in Shinjuku and the rest is pretty much history."

Soon enough, everyone began to chatter over this and about their own familial situations. Whether it was by complaining about their nagging mothers, busy fathers, or saying how lucky they felt, knowing that their parents weren't so controlling or born into tough situations like others were.

While that was happening, Nene just kept her focus on her mother's photo, trying to think up some happier memories with her parents, when her mother was alive. Not many came to mind but she was grateful for everything that had happened to bring her to this moment, in this room with so many friends.

Ryo walked up next to her and took a look at the photo as well. "We're finishing Dark Moon's final scene next weekend, right? After that, the drama is pretty much over for us and we'll have to look for other jobs."

Nene nodded. "I still can't get Saki's character right though. I kind of wished I had more time because at the moment, I'm just copying my mother's performance as Saki and that's not what I want. Especially not after seeing what the other actors have done with their own characters to surpass the originals."

"I know what you mean," Ryo chuckled. "Tsuruga Ren had a lot of trouble with his role as Katsuki, but when he came in that day with that new character of his, I was truly impressed. Kyoko Mogami made an incredible Mio too, I wasn't expecting that from a newbie."

"How can I ever hope to surpass my mother when I can't even surpass a novice?" Nene huffed.

Ryo took a moment to think about it. "You know, when I first met Tsuruga, he asked me why I entered the acting world. I told him it was because I wanted to escape the chains of my father as soon as possible and he sympathized with me. He gave me some valuable tips on how to go about it too. He said that if I truly wanted to be the best, then I need to challenge myself in various roles and watch other great actors to learn from them. So don't think that you'll only have yourself to count on, make use of Kyoko's and Tsuruga's abilities and watch them closely. Use them to get higher in show biz, high enough so you can look back down and smile with pride at your position in the world."

Nene was stunned but then she laughed which was not the reaction Ryo had been expecting from her.

"You're not at all as lazy-mouthed as Rika says you are," Nene giggled.

Ryo felt a metaphorical cinderblock hit his head. "She can be so cruel at times…"

December 10: Crier Residence – 3:12 AM

Keenan's eyes fluttered open and he wondered for a moment, why did his body decide to wake him up in the middle of the night, when he had school in a few hours. He got up to go to the bathroom when he realized what it was. Actually, it was a 'who' that had woke him up, not a what.

"Marcus?" Keenan muttered when he saw his temporary roommate shifting around in the bed. He was having a nightmare of some sort. "Hey, Marcus, wake up."

It was then that Keenan noticed that both Agumon and Falcomon were awake too. Falcomon was really tired but Agumon looked extremely concerned for his partner's wellbeing since Marcus had never looked so distressed before except for that encounter with Barbamon at the graveyard.

"Boss, wake up!" Agumon snapped, he stabbed one of his claws into Marcus's arm but not hard enough to break skin.

"Ow!" Marcus awoke with a jolt. Usually, he'd be mad at his partner for giving him such a rude awakening but he was too shaken up to really do anything about it. He took a look at the three pairs of eyes looking at him with worried expressions. "Sorry… Did I wake you guys up?"

Keenan shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What were you dreaming about?"

"I didn't think someone like you ever had nightmares," Falcomon commented.

Marcus laughed wryly. "We all dream, Falcomon. And it's not always something you can control."

"Well… What was it about?" inquired Keenan.

Marcus paused so that he could think of the best way to respond. He didn't want to lie to the younger boy so he decided to just tell the full truth. "It was about the reason why I need to punch out Digimon in order to get my DigiSoul out. And it was also about… the day Kristy was kidnapped."

Keenan was shocked. "She was kidnapped once?"

Marcus nodded. "Yeah, but she doesn't remember it and she was brought back the next morning so mom never suspected a thing. I, myself, thought it was just a dream but now I realize that it definitely wasn't. It was real, all too real."

"…What happened, Marcus?"

Eight year old Marcus Damon heard someone moving about the house so he stuck his head out of the covers of his bed, leaving the flashlight and the comic book forgotten underneath him. He had already spent a few years without his father so for a moment, he got excited, thinking that his father had come back home. He jumped out of bed and snuck out of his room, hoping to surprise his father.

As Marcus stepped into the dark hallway, he realized that the sounds were coming from his little sister's room. It was then that he was able to figure out that it wasn't his father who had entered the house. He crept to the door and saw a cloaked man pick up his four year old sister so carefully as not to wake her up.

Marcus's body just started moving on his own as he burst through the door. "Let go of her!"

The cloaked man was startled and Kristy woke up with a fright, she was about to scream when the stranger did something. Marcus wasn't sure what. He just remembered grabbing onto the cloak, and suddenly, they were no longer in Kristy's room. They weren't even in the Damon household anymore.

"Marcus! Help! I'm scared!" Kristy cried out as the cloaked man passed her over to some other figures hiding in the shadows.

Marcus took in his surroundings in that instant and was able to see that they were in some strange laboratory of sorts. There were charts and graphs that he was unable to understand and the machinery was incredibly sophisticated. But what really caught his attention were the tanks and inside, they were filled with children floating in some mysterious liquid. He didn't know how he ended up there but he didn't really care. All he wanted was to free his sister and get out of there as quickly as possible.

He stood up quickly just as the cloaked man turned around to face him. Marcus shot forward and swung a fist as the man who reeled backwards in order to avoid getting hit.

Marcus gasped and his eyes widened considerably when he saw the hood of the cloak fall back to reveal the man's face. Whoever he was, he looked more like a demon than a human. His skin was a pale grey color, his eyes were blood-red, no pupils, just red, he had midnight blue hair that fell over his face in a mess, and he had a pair of devil horns attached to his temples. Marcus also caught a small glimpse of the man's teeth and took note of how sharp they were.

"You've been a rather annoying child, haven't you," the man muttered.

Marcus recovered from his initial shock pretty quickly and he started throwing a wild barrage of punches while screaming for him to return his sister. The man dodged every attack with ease and blocked the ones he couldn't evade smoothly.

"Stay still!" Marcus snapped.

"That wouldn't be very beneficial to me," the man replied.

Marcus was getting winded and he stopped punching, kneeling down as he tried to catch his breath. He noticed two other figures come out from the darkness; neither of them were wearing their hoods so he could see their faces in the dim lighting.

One was very elderly and he had wrinkles everywhere on his face as well as a really long, white beard streaked with gray lines. His bald head showed many age spots and he had a rather narrow face and a long nose. His eyes were a bold grey color, and like the kidnapper, he had no pupils.

The second one had long blond hair that reached down to his elbows. He had a rather pleasant smile and a remarkably handsome face but the thing that marked him as a nonhuman was the third eye on his forehead. He had pupils but his third eye was purple and it kept shifting around the room, as if it was desperately searching for something.

"You can't even take care of one human child, Wrath?" the old man scoffed. "You really have gone soft."

The man, who was now called Wrath, didn't comment as nastily as one would expect. "What does it matter what I do with him? He's not even worth killing."

The handsome one took a bottle of fine wine from out of his sleeve and poured it into a slender wine glass slowly. When he was done, he put the bottle back in his cloak and took a sip from the glass. "You are the embodiment of rage. I would think that a small child finding you and following you here would make you mad enough to destroy the lab."

Wrath just rolled his eyes, or so Marcus thought, it was hard to tell without the pupils. The demon turned to the old man. "Never mind that, Greed, what are your thoughts on this new subject?"

Greed took a moment to look at his notes on his clipboard. "She has an unusually high digital signature and a very powerful DigiSoul compared to most human children her age. I'm surprised that we hadn't found this specimen earlier."

"I did my research," Wrath replied. "She's the daughter of Spencer Damon." He then glanced down to Marcus. "This one is the son but his intelligence didn't have much potential as it seemed he doesn't have much motivation for academics and he doesn't care for athletics much either. Trying to implant a spore in him would just be a waste of time and materials."

"I see," Greed nodded before turning to the only unnamed member of their trio. "Pride, we'll leave his disposal up to you. Kill, maim, keep as an entertaining pet or an obedient slave, send him home; it'll be your decision to make."

Pride tilted his head and pouted a little. "You guys always make me do the tedious work."

Marcus clenched his fists and bit his lower lip. Not only had these three been talking about him like he wasn't even there, but they even had the nerve to insult him right then and there. He also heard his father's name so this meant that they knew him somehow and that didn't sit right in his stomach. He was mad. Mad that they called him a waste, mad that they treated him like nothing, and mad that they had taken Kristy for some messed up experiment of theirs.

Pride reached down, about to pick him up when a DigiSoul burst out from the boy for the first time in his life. He sprung onto his feet, filled with a new energy as he launched forward, faster than Pride could react to and threw one powerful punch on Wrath's stomach.

Wrath doubled over and he actually fell to his hands and knees. He coughed up blood as Greed grabbed Marcus and restrained the human boy.

"I've never seen a DigiSoul that strong before," Pride mused, clearly impressed. "And to have dealt enough damage to make Demon Lord lose blood? That is quite a feat for a human. Not to mention most humans can't even tap into their DigiSouls until they reach adolescence."

Wrath slowly stood back up and raised his hand as if he was about to hit Marcus but stopped himself. He held back a couple of coughs and just walked out of the room, not even bothering to hold his head up high since that was more of Pride's thing. "Just get rid of him already!"

Pride sighed dramatically. "Geez, one child later and he becomes so boring. How lame." There was a pause as he pressed the palm of his hand to his cheek, as if in deep contemplation. "What do you think he did with that child anyway?"

"You don't think he actually killed him?" Greed asked.

Pride scoffed. "You don't actually believe that story of his, do you?"

Greed shook his head. "No, I don't." He then looked back down to Marcus. "As for this one… He may prove to be trouble with that DigiSoul of his, in the future. We may want to seal it away though I don't know how long it'll last."

"Good thinking," Pride nodded as he drew an upside down star in the air. The symbol became red as he drew a black circle around it and pushed it towards Marcus. Suddenly, the red DigiSoul stopped pouring out of his body and Marcus felt weak again. "There, my job is done."

Greed let go of Marcus who instantly leapt forward, just because he didn't have the same strength as before, didn't mean he couldn't still fight. He threw a punch at Pride who blocked it with his palm but, surprising them all once more, his DigiSoul came back out in his fist.

"How?" Greed gaped. "It's not possible for him to break the seal just like that."

Pride flicked Marcus's forehead and the boy felt a strange rippling go through his body before going limp. He couldn't move his body anymore and he felt his eyelids growing heavier as he started drifting back into sleep. He tried his hardest to stay awake but he failed, he only heard Pride's voice before falling asleep.

"Let's just get back to the experiments. If Spencer's son is this powerful at such a young age, than the daughter might show promising results."

Marcus woke up in his room and since Kristy was still there and acting like everything was normal, he dismissed the events from the night before as a bad and weird dream. But it did make him realize something. He wanted to become stronger so that he could protect his family, after all, he promised dad.

Marcus clutched his necklace as he thought about his vow to become the strongest. "Crazy… huh…"

Keenan nodded numbly when the story was finished. "Wow…"

December 12: Makino Residence – 10:17 AM

Rika had spent the day before pondering on whether or not she should come here in her usual punk/rock style or formal clothing. She then decided that the formal clothing should wait for a dinner with the prime minister, this was her dad she was thinking about here. She needed to show him that she didn't need his approval to be with Renamon.

Rika tentatively knocked on the door. She had asked Renamon to remain hidden for the time being considering the many problems that occurred when the vixen was by her side. As she was walking the streets, she was stopped multiple times by people asking about her involvement with Digimon. There were also a couple of crazies who screamed at her and told her to send her 'monster' back where it belonged.

Rika wished she had responded to them with some sassy or nasty remark but knew that it wouldn't do any good so she kept them to herself.

"Note to self: use 'I don't think I can send you back to your mother's womb so it looks like we're both out of luck', when appropriate," Rika muttered.

The door swung open and Risa ushered her sister inside. Rika slowly removed her shoes and the pair walked through the hallway and into the living room where a man about twice their age sat. He looked up when he heard them enter and smiled warmly when he saw Rika.

"Hey… dad," Rika greeted with a small smile.

Her father quickly stood up and pulled his daughter into a tight embrace which Rika returned before slowly pulling away. Mr. Makino got his offspring to sit down on the couch while he went to get them tea before they talked about the more serious stuff.

Rika took that moment to look around the room as she removed her coat. "I see that you offered a lot of decorating tips to the painters."

"You could tell?" Risa giggled. She then started looking around. "Is Renamon around?"

Rika called out her partner's name and the bipedal fox appeared next to her, almost giving Risa a heart attack. She wasn't used to the Digimon's magical way of teleportation.

Mr. Makino soon reentered the room and almost dropped the tray of tea when his eyes fell on the strange Digimon standing in the apartment. He quickly regained his composure and tried to smile at Renamon who only nodded in acknowledgment in return.

"Dad, this is Renamon," Rika introduced. "She won't harm you and I already asked her not to speak unless you have something to ask her personally. Or if I ask her to answer."

Her dad muttered something under his breath that sounded vaguely like 'Quite well trained for a monster'. It was a good thing Renamon didn't get insulted very easily, she just leaned against the wall while coolly observing her new surroundings and studying the man responsible for half of Rika's genes.

"She won't get fur anywhere, will she?" asked Mr. Makino.

Rika shook her head. "Mom was worried about that too."

"Well, that's your mother," Mr. Makino smiled briefly. "Anyway, Rika… I'm sure Risa told you about why I wanted to talk to you."

"You don't want me to be a Tamer," Rika droned as she took a sip from her tea. "To be honest, I never believed I would have this conversation with you. I thought you'd let me do what I want but I understand how you feel. I've heard a similar speech Takato's parents made to him."

"Takato?"

"A friend and fellow Tamer."

Mr. Makino sighed and scratched the back of his neck, wondering where to go from there. "You won't listen to me no matter how much I ask, will you."

It wasn't a question.

"No," Rika replied calmly. "Even if you started making promises of being there for me, I would never leave Renamon. She's become too big a part of my life for me to let her go. And not only that…" Rika glanced at her partner. "But she was probably the one who helped me learn to love again, after you left."

Renamon blushed under her fur which she was grateful for having. She wanted to thank her partner for those words but remembered to stay silent though she made sure Rika noticed her grateful smile.

"I've seen how much Renamon means to Rika," Risa added. "There's nothing wrong with Rika being a Tamer."

Mr. Makino looked between them and he sat back, thinking to himself. He looked over to Renamon and decided to take his daughter up on her offer of asking the creature some questions directly. "I understand that you will protect my daughter's life no matter what, is that true?"

Renamon was told to answer honestly, no matter how hurtful the truth can be. "Yes. But I'm afraid I'm not very efficient as whenever I get hurt, so does Rika. We are connected in such a way. So it probably wouldn't be wise to have me thrown away or something bad could happen to me. That's why I try to stay as close to Rika as possible because I know that she will work as hard to protect me as I will for her. And I am truly grateful to have someone like her as my partner."

Rika gave her partner a similar grateful grin as Renamon had worn before.

"You get hurt too?" Mr. Makino asked, worry etched into his features.

Rika noticed that Risa had the same expression. "Yeah… Same goes for Takato and Henry actually. It's dangerous work, we know. And I don't like being cautious but I'm no masochist, so I prefer to fight as little as possible nowadays. I'm only getting involved in quick battles or ones where I'm seriously needed."

Mr. Makino exhaled in relief, he then grinned. "At least you're being more responsible than you used to be. The last time I saw you, you climbed out a window and started running on top of the roof."

"I was trying to escape one of mom's dress shows," Rika laughed.

Risa giggled at the old memory. "Do you remember when we were kids and you wanted to see if your hair was flammable?"

Rika shivered a bit. "The first time I ever screamed so loud since being an infant."

Renamon wasn't around during either of these memories but just hearing about how her serious partner was like when she was younger, made the fox chuckle a little. It was a surprising action according to Rika's expression. It wasn't long before the entire group ended up talking and laughing together. It was fun. Rika really missed this, feeling like a real family again.

December 12: [A Different] Kimura Residence – 3:24 PM

Kouichi paused at the gate when he saw his cousin practicing shooting with a BB gun at a wooden target that was shaped like some sort of octopus creature. Cthulhu, maybe? But Cthulhu was more terrifying and the smiling face painted on that target did not look in the least bit scary.

"Justice!" Kouichi called out as he opened the gate.

His cousin flinched, sharply turning around and shooting the BB gun, hitting the spot right in between Kouichi's eyes. It stung like crazy but Kouichi was more than capable of withstanding a little pain now and them.

"Ow!" Kouichi yelped.

"Kouichi! I am so sorry!" his cousin said as he went over to the Warrior of Darkness. "And why did you call me by my real name? You know I don't like it."

"I'm fine," Kouichi chuckled. "And I call you by your real name because it's your real name. And it's funny whenever people turn to look at you, wondering why you were named 'Justice'."

"It's not my fault my police officer parents loves justice that much," he sighed. "But can you please just call me Masayoshi?"

Kouichi grinned. "Okay, Masayoshi, whatever you say."

The cousins walked into the house after they removed the target and stowed it away in the younger boy's closet. The two of them sat on the couch with the TV on in the background while they talked. Both of Masayoshi's parents were out so Kouichi was able to talk to him about what he wanted to.

Kouichi leaned back and locked eyes with his younger cousin. "Masayoshi… I wanted to ask… Why are you playing with BB guns when you're about to enter high school?"

Masayoshi hesitated before answering. "Well, you know all the Digimon stuff going on? Well, there's a monster teaching my homeroom class and he has threatened to blow up the Earth in a few months unless someone in the class is able to kill him. BB guns are one of the few things that can affect him as regular knives and firearms won't work. He moves at Mach 20 speed and has multiple tentacles he keeps under his robe. He loves sweets, is incredibly sleazy, and a massive pervert."

Kouichi was silent for a long time before laughing. "Have you ever thought about becoming a writer? That could make a great story!"

Masayoshi nodded along. "Yeah, I know. Anyway, why did you really come here?"

Kouichi wasn't exactly sure how to broach that so instead, he decided to stall for a bit. "Before we get to that, I was wondering how school was going. Is Kunugigaoka's Class E as torturous as the rumors say they are?"

"The past ones are," Masayoshi laughed. "But this year, the entire class gets along really well and we've really broken down the student-teacher barrier with all the teachers of Class E. And to be perfectly honest, my grades have never been better thanks to that class."

"Wow, I have to say that I'm impressed," Kouichi nodded. "So, are you going to go to Yagami next year?"

"If I pass the entrance exams," Masayoshi laughed.

Kouichi took a brief moment to think about how Takuya had guessed on a quarter of the exam. "Someone with your grades? You'll probably make it into Class A, no problem. What about your friends, have any idea where they're going?"

"I think most of us are planning on going to private schools still. What about you? How's high school life been treating you?"

There's a lot to talk about there. "Stressful, really, really, stressful. Especially after our homeroom teacher was ousted by the Chosen Children for being some evil mastermind. Crazy stuff is going down at my school."

"What's it like anyway, to be around so many of those DigiDestined guys? I heard that Henry the Tamer and Ken the bearer of the crest of kindness are in your class."

"Absolutely insane," Kouichi replied honestly. He still couldn't believe that there were other DigiDestined aside from the Legendary Warriors even if it has been three months since they had all first met. "But, Masayoshi, I need to ask a favor from you."

Masayoshi nodded. "Shoot."

Kouichi took a deep breath before coming out with his request. "Soon, I'm not sure when, I'm going to be going away for a few days or maybe even weeks. I'm going to need you to take care of my mother for that time because I'm afraid that something bad will happen to her while I'm away."

Masayoshi nodded understandingly. "You're one of them, aren't you?"

"A different sort, but yes," Kouichi nodded. "Mother already knows but she really doesn't want me to leave her. But I have to…"

"I understand," Masayoshi said with a small smile. He put a comforting hand on his cousin's thigh. "I'll make sure to protect your mother while you're gone. You can trust me so long as I can trust you to come back from whatever this mystery trip is about."

Kouichi exhaled and nodded gratefully. "I will…"

Masayoshi then took his time to ask the next question on his mind. "Is Kouji one too?"

"Yeah…"

"Tell me about it."

Kouichi smiled. "Sure…"

December 12: Shibuya Gym – 6:58 PM

Marcus felt sweat fall from his brow and onto his arms as he threw continuous punches at the sandbag in front of him. He wanted to work out all the bad memories that had accumulated over time, all of them having to do with the Demon Lords. There were just so many things bothering him with this whole situation.

The Dark Spore experiments and how his sister was one of them but for some reason, Masamune Kurosaki is only interested in Henry. What made the Tamer so special? Furthermore, what about those weird men from that time Kristy was abducted? They called themselves Demon Lords but they certainly didn't look like the Digimon, they appeared more human than that.

Were they actual demons? If digital monsters could exist, then what about the possibility of actual underworld denizens?

Ugh, he was thinking way too hard about this which wasn't something his brain was accustomed to. He stopped his fists and walked over to the bench where he left his towel and water bottle. He took a sip from the bottle and when he put it back down, he finally acknowledged the commander standing nearby.

"Samson, what's up?" Marcus asked. "This is the first time I've ever seen you in a gym so I can only assume that you're here for me."

"That's correct," Samson nodded. "I went to the Criers but they told me that you were here. Won't you miss dinner?"

"I'm an adult, I can just buy something on my way home," Marcus replied offhandedly.

"I guess so…"

"So, what did you need from me?"

Samson took a moment. "When this is all over, I plan on retiring."

Marcus wasn't surprised by this but it's not like he was expecting it either. "You miss the peaceful life?"

"Yes… And I was wondering if you would take my place as commander of DATS when I retire," Samson continued.

"Weird, I always thought you would give that position to Thomas," Marcus chuckled.

"He's certainly capable but he's much too busy as the heir to the Norstein group and as a doctor," Samson explained as he watched his subordinate go back to abusing the sandbag. "What do you think?"

"I think I'll pass," Marcus replied as he threw a right hook. "Not to say that I don't want you to have your much-deserved rest but because I don't think I'll make a good chief. I'm reckless and I don't think about things before rushing into them. However, I'll only be commander on two conditions."

"And those are?"

Marcus gave the older man a side smile. "First, Tai has to agree to be my co-commander so that I have a voice of reason. And second, that you're there on standby in case we ever need your support or advice on something. You may think that you're a bad leader but that's not the case, you're one of the few men I admire, old man."

Samson was genuinely surprised by such a candid answer that he was actually speechless. He closed his mouth, smiled, and turned away. "Then I guess I'll just have to ask Tai about it first then. I'll get back to you later."

"You go do that," Marcus smiled before stopping his exercise once more. "Oh, and Samson?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for believing in me. I promise that once I take over, I'll do my best to protect Japan, no, the Earth."

"…I know you will…"

-X-

Well, so we received a little more back story from these kids! Nene became an idol in order to surpass her mother. Ryo is the heir to a yakuza group and Rika has some yakuza blood in her own veins. Marcus's DigiSoul was sealed away by beings calling themselves Demon Lords but they aren't Digimon, what's that about? Rika's patched things up with her dad and Kouichi is already packing for the Digital World. What will happen next? Tune in to Digimon: Children of the Present to find out!

So, there are two references here and one was already used a while ago. But it was too good for me to just let go. So I hope you all enjoyed and don't forget to leave a review!