Y/N: Here's Ken's last one-shot.

Title: Digimon Adventure: Moments

By: YukiraKing

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

Chapter 31: Trust

2027

Ken Ichijouji:

"Sorry about that," Michael said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, watching a young couple walk away, chattering happily to one another. "I really thought the hat and sunglasses might be enough to hide myself."

"You're wearing sunglasses at night, walking with me," I pointed out. "I look like a bodyguard or something."

"You're a private investigator," Michael said. "Whatever. We look cool."

"Your fans think so too," I said with a short laugh.

"I didn't think I'd be so popular here," he said.

"Digimon is a hot topic here in Japan," I said. "Takeru's latest book's first printing has sold out before it's even been released. The public is desperate to know what else we did to help save the world. It's the end of it all too. They'll finally get an inside account of just what happened with Yggdrasil. Katsue's documentary has only given them a taste."

"Oh my god! It's Michael Washington!"

Michael sighed and turned to the young boy that had just escaped his mother's grasp. Michael gave him an award winning smile—literally, he won an award for it.

"You're so cool," the boy said staring up at Michael with awe. "No one's ever gonna believe I met you. Did you really go to the Digital World? Or is that just fiction. Mom says it's fiction, but I can't believe her. The books are too good and detailed to be fake."

"They're not fake," Michael said happily.

"Wow," the boy said. "Oh Wait!" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of digimon cards, shuffling through them until he found the one he wanted.

The cards were a hot commodity that Takeru couldn't help but sign an agreement for. His publishers arranged it all. He was too excited about having a card with his eight year old face on it. He refused to have newer pictures, stating that he wanted us to be able to keep what little was left of our privacy. We were all quite thankful. And the digimon each claimed to have the coolest cards of their own. Miyako and Daisuke had actually entered a card tournament and came in third place in the team category. They were so mad, but it was hilarious to see the "great digidestined" pouting about losing.

"Could you sign this?" the boy asked, bringing me back to the present.

"Sure can," Michael said looking down at the card with his young face on it. He pulled a marker from his pocket and quickly signed his name before handing it back to him.

"Oh wow," the kid said. I had a feeling that card was getting framed. Michael looked a little uncomfortable with the encounter, but was playing it off well. I thought he was just embarrassed to have this happen—yet again—while he was with me.

"Leave the young man alone," the boy's mother told him sternly as soon as she caught up with him. "I'm sorry. I hope he wasn't bothering you. Apologize to the gentlemen."

"I'm sorry," the boy said looking to the ground, embarrassed to be chastised in front of his hero.

"No problem," Michael said still smiling. We watched until the boy and his mother turned the corner and slipped out of sight.

"Should I just announce to the world that you're here?" I asked wryly.

"No," he said, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. "Is this better?"

"You look less like a movie star in hiding and more like a common street thug," I told him. "If a thug dressed in high end fashion."

"Shut up," Michael said bumping into my shoulder. "So, you've got your hands busy with three now, eh? What's that like?"

"Yeah. It's a lot harder than I thought," I agreed. "Mai and Osamu are very excited. They're always trying to help."

"I'll bet," he said. "Everyone's getting excited about there be another little baby at the reunion in August. Louisa has been begging to come over and babysit. I wouldn't recommend it though. She watched her brother once and they broke the bird bath."

"I'll keep it in mind," I said with a laugh. My laughter died quickly though. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a gleaming white pillar of light. "What's that?"

"Suspicious is what it is," Michael said. "Let's go."

We rushed through the streets and came to the park. The light was shining down into the middle of the fountain, and there was a crowd of people just staring at it. Michael elbowed me and pointed to the base of the pillar of light. There was a collection of people and digimon walking out of it. A boy with messy hair and goggles, a taller boy with blue hair and an orange vest holding the hand of a small girl dressed in pink, a tough looking girl with her hair pulled into a ponytail at the top of her head, a boy with blue hair and glasses walking with a boy with the crest of faith on his shirt and a visor on his head. There was a girl with dead eyes and a yellow puppet on her hand and a boy that looked surprisingly familiar. A Terriermon and Lopmon were there, and a MarineAngemon. A yellow fox digimon, an Impmon, a strange red dinosaur, a robot, and a Monodromon were there as well.

"Those must be the kids Hikari was talking about," Michael commented. "The ones that went missing from her class."

"Miyako and Momoe have been frantic in their attempts to hunt them down," I said. "She's been called in to work so many times. It's really taking at toll on her. She wants to spend more time with Taro. She was supposed to get a year off for maternity leave, but they were so desperate for her assistance."

"She should get that time off now that the kids are found," Michael said.

"I hope so," I said. I kept staring at the one kid. I watched as he walked over to his father with his Monodromon at his side. His dad didn't look happy with him, but I could see that he was glad the kid was okay. He was just mad that he disappeared. I would be too. Though I might wait awhile to show my anger. I'd be too relieved at seeing my child be safe to be mad right off the bat. There was still something too familiar about him. "That kid, do you know him?"

"Should I?" Michael wanted to know.

"Maybe…" I said. There was something about the red bandana around his neck, about the black clothing that looked well worn and about the grin on his face. I knew him. It was tugging at the back of my mind. Wormmon would know…wait. There was only one kid that Wormmon knew that I didn't. "Michael, I'm going over there. I know him. I know who he is."

"Who is he?"

"Trust," I said firmly.

"No way," Michael said shocked. "I thought Wormmon said the guy was older than you?"

"He was," I said. "I'm confused about that too, but it's him. I know it is."

"But he just finished his trip to the Digital World," Michael pointed out.

"They weren't in the Digital World," I said. "That's why it took so long for Miyako and Momoe to find them. They were in the Land of Dreams. But Trust hasn't been to Earth for ages. And his journey won't be able to end until he takes care of Earth's great evil. He needs to be here for it to happen."

"It's not over yet," Michael deduced. "Right. Give him the crest. I think I'll just stay over here. I don't want them to know who I am. It might be counterproductive."

"Good idea," I said. I stuck my hand in the pocket of my dark grey trench coat, feeling my fingers brush against the familiar crest—the one I'd been carrying around for years, waiting for this moment—and my badge. I took a breath and walked towards Trust and his father.

"Good evening," I said when I met up with them. "I'm Detective Ken Ichijouji." I flashed them the badge. "I need to speak with the boy."

His father looked at me suspiciously, but the boy just continued to grin.

"Okay," he said. "I'll be back dad. Don't miss me too much!"

The boy led me away from his dad and turned to me. "You're little Ken Ichijouji?"

"I'm not so little anymore," I said with a smile. "I don't remember you very well."

"I didn't think you would," he said. "You didn't know me from a hole in the ground when you left. I'm Ryou Akiyama."

"That's right," I said, remembering a flash of the adventure I'd forgotten. "You're also Trust."

"Am I?"

"You are," I said. "We've been waiting for you forever. I expected you to be older though…"

"Yeah," he said grinning. "I haven't aged in years. I spent a lot of time in the Digital World. A long time before you even came and a long time after you left. I've spent a lot of time in Neverland. You don't grow up there. I've been waiting for 2027 to roll around. I needed to get home."

"Mimi," I realized.

"What?" he asked.

"Doesn't matter," I assured him. "I have something that belongs to you. You'll need it in the near future."

"I didn't think it could be over this easily," he said sounding resigned to the fact. "It's never over. Not for me."

"Soon," I promised him. "You'll get a break soon. Peace, real peace. I used to feel the way you do, but I finished what the Digital World had in store for me. And you will too. I swear it."

"The hardest part is that my dad doesn't realize just how long I've been gone, you know? It's only been a short time for him. It could've been a day. Or a week. But it's not the years I've experienced. Well, I guess it's a tie between that and when the Digital World kicked me out."

"I was going to ask about that. How did you get to the Land of Dreams?"

"I was running from a rogue Kwuagamon and fell into a small pond. I got turned around under the surface, and when my head emerged I wasn't there anymore. I wanted to be though, and everything changed to look like the Digital World. I just kept it that way, because I understood the Digital World, but not this new world. It looked right, but there were these strange pillars of pink light that kept moving us around," Ryou told me.

"That would be Meiyomon," I realized. "Looks like the Queens were trying to help you after all."

"What?"

"It doesn't really matter either," I assured him before digging out the crest of trust and holding it out to him. It started glowing a warm, chocolate brown colour as it touched his palm.

"Cool!" he said grinning.

"You're going to need it when things go down," I told him. "You're a digidestined."

"I'm a tamer though…" he said confused.

"Not really," I corrected. "This will help you do what you need to do. You're the last digidestined. I wouldn't be surprised if Takeru hunted you down for an interview to write your story, just to complete the set."

"That would be interesting," Ryou said. "Maybe dad would understand what I've gone through if I did that."

"I'll let him know. He's gonna wait until you finish your journey though, so don't let me stop you," I told him.

"Okay," he said. "Maybe I'll look you up later, get to know this older version of you."

"My daughter's almost your age now," I said with a laugh. "You'll probably get along with her and her brother better."

"Maybe I'll be your babysitter," he teased. "I've got to go. Dad looks upset. See you later?"

"You can count on it," I promised, watching as he ran off to meet his dad. I couldn't believe that I'd finally found him. Trust. It finally had a home. And we'd just have to trust that he'd be able to save the world one final time.