Chapter 8: Angel's Wake

Hikari had been polite enough to tell them that they needed some space and left with Takeru for the Kiyomizu-dera gardens. Mamoru could not really care at this point. Not long after the battle ended, his head had started pounding. Shortly after he found just standing up tedious. It was a vast improvement that Hagurumon could stay as Wisemon for over twenty minutes. In heated combat no less. Though he knew it would be impossible to manage this if he had to Digivolve to ultimate level regularly.

There were spots of black in his vision that came and went. It was like being drunk without any of the actual inebriation that made it bearable. Mamoru was keenly aware of his inability to walk unsupported. That task fell embarrassingly to Reina who had to help him down the temple stairs. Mamoru struggled not to actually rest his weight on her. She could probably take it since his lack of athleticism made him light for a guy. That still did not make it any less burdensome for her.

"Hey!" Reina's call came too late to prevent his legs from giving way.

Mamoru only managed to stop his fall by tightening his grip around her neck. Reina let out a grunt as she tried to hold him up. "I told you, just rest your weight on me. This really hurts."

"Sorry," Mamoru groaned. He stood up, still only lightly resting his arm around her shoulders.

"You're gonna pull my neck at this rate." Reina sighed. Before Mamoru could make his feeble reply, she grabbed his wrist and forced him to tighten his hold on her. He could feel the tip of his ears heat up in embarrassment. Despite his desire to protest, Mamoru accepted that this was necessary. Reina would only be even more aggravated if he fell again.

As they walked through Gion, Mamoru's condition began to improve. He still felt weak in his legs, but his headache was subsiding. It had eased from a sharp hammering to just a dull throb. Mamoru had expected more people to be staring him limping along, being propped up by Reina. If it were any other day, he would probably be right. Today there just happened to be something much stranger. Everyone they passed in the shopping district was either deep in conversation among themselves or glued to their phones.

"Reina, can you check the news." Mamoru croaked as they reached the bus stop on Higashioji Avenue.

After letting him down gently onto the seat, Reina began searching on her D-4 for what they both knew was the likely buzz. Sure enough, social media was exploding with videos of Takeru and Hikari's Digimon rocketing skyward, wrapped in golden light. Most comments focused on the beauty and magnificence of the sight. Though some people had begun to suggest that this had something to do with Digimon.

The sheer number of people that had seen the two angels ascending over Kyoto was drowning out the other reports of Digimon. Buried behind the front page were people reporting Digimon appearances all over the city. They were starting to draw the implicit connection between this sighting and the sudden surge in appearances.

With the worse of his fatigue subsiding, reduced to just general feelings of exhaustion, Mamoru messaged the LINE group checking up on everyone. Nagato informed everyone that he was proceeding to north Nishikyo alone. Kodai was in no shape to continue, having been forced to Digivolve to ultimate level twice today. Noriko and Yasushi reported that they had found the Digimon in Minami and sent it back to the Digital World. Though there was already a crowd gathered around it. Despite everything that had happened, Kyoto was no longer in danger.

"I'm on the wrong side of the road," Mamoru said as he tried to stand up. He was still a little unsteady, but it was nothing he had not managed before after a night at an Izakaya.

"You're not seriously intending to head back to Yoshida, are you?" Reina had a stern look on her face.

"Why wouldn't I? There is still class tomorrow." Mamoru started to walk towards the pedestrian crossing up the road.

"I'm not letting you go back alone."

"Right, we still haven't had dinner."

Reina's fierce expression broke down upon hearing that, letting out a giggle. Mamoru wanted to believe that he intentionally said that to make her laugh, but he knew he was so drained that he just spat out the first thoughts that came to mind.

"Get on my bus," She said, smiling, "I'll walk you back home."

Mamoru felt embarrassed at this reversal of social norms. Typically it was the guy who offered to do this kind of thing. Reina even stayed in northern Uji. She would have to go out of her way to send him to his house south of the river.

"I've got instant noodles in my dorm."

"Enough of that," She huffed. "If you really want to eat trash that badly we can grab some food from the convince store near your house."

There was a hint of regret at revealing where he stayed to the group. "It's not the end of the week yet, I can't go back to Uji."

"If I can commute to school every day from Uji then you can survive it too." Reina's harms were crossed matching her tone, but the smile on her face threw him off.

"You really want dinner, huh?"

"Would you stop bringing it up?" She sighed. "It's not funny anymore. So, are you going to go home, or do I have to force you?"

Mamoru gave a tired smile and raised his hands as they continued to wait for the bus. It took them to the Kyoto Daiichi Hospital, where they alighted and walked to the Tofukuji train station. Rush hour had ended, and passenger traffic on the Nara Line had died down. Mamoru constantly fought the urge to doze off as they sat next to each other silently. After accidentally nodding off a few times and slouching over onto Reina's shoulder, she apparently had enough of it.

"You want to come to my house for dinner?" Reina said, pushing Mamoru's head upright from her shoulder.

He blinked hard to wake himself up. "Didn't you say your parents weren't cooking dinner for you?"

"They heard about the Digimon attacks, so they came home worried."

"Your parents weren't planning on going home tonight?"

"They were planning to work overtime at the studio. Then they saw the news and rushed home, hoping I would be there after my last message." Reina was not looking at him, or even his reflection in the window opposite their seats. She was just staring off into space.

Mamoru did not respond, waiting for her to continue. But she continued to look out into the night, seeing the lights of houses along the train tracks flash by. He saw Reina's eyes flicker as if her mind had just returned from wandering outside her body.

"They're fine—" She hastily added, "I told them I was okay before we left the temple. They made dinner since they were at home. Before going back to work."

Mamoru was still unsure of this, now for multiple reasons. "You sure you don't want some time for yourself? I'm feeling better now."

"Please, you can hardly stay awake." Reina scoffed. She was clearly avoiding his question.

Mamoru decided to push ahead anyway. "Are you alright?"

She paused for a moment before turning to him. "I should be asking you that."

"I'm just exhausted. You, on the other hand…"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Reina narrowed her eyes, now looking directly at him.

"Don't pretend like you're all okay with what happened at the temple." Mamoru stared back at her.

"You're getting more daring," She said, turning away. "bring this up immediately."

"I've always been concerned… So, do you still want me over for dinner?"

Reina gulped before giving her answer. "Why not. I can't just let you go off by yourself. You'll probably just turn around and head back to Yoshida." As she paused, a smile came to her face. "You really want dinner, don't you?"

"Sure, let's go with that." Who was really the one that should not be left alone?

As they exited Obaku station, it brought back memories for Mamoru. It was only a few steps from his house, but he had not been to this station since he left high school. For three years, it had been a part of his daily routine to walk to and from this station. Now the place almost seemed foreign. The only familiar presence was Reina who he had seen occasionally over the years.

"This way," She said, pointing away from the direction of their old high school. "I live up ahead near the temple."

Mamoru was not sure what he was expecting. Unlike himself, she stayed in a house instead of an apartment. It had the façade of an old Kyoto Machiya townhouse, but it was clearly a modern building. For someone who could quote from classics like The Tale of Genji, it made sense they would live in such a traditional-looking building. The interior of the house had modern western fixtures like a dedicated living and dining room which further confused Mamoru. It must have taken special effort to build a home in the style of a Machiya; only to have it furnished in a modern fashion.

"We can eat in my room," Reina said, taking a tray of onigiri from the kitchen. "Can you grab two glasses and the oolong tea?"

Mamoru shrugged and did as he was instructed. The kitchen was quite a mess anyway. There were piles of paper all over the dining table with the odd pencil lying about.

"Sorry, my parents work for an animation studio. It can get pretty messy when they do their work at home." Reina said as they climbed the stairs to her room.

The floor was completely lined with a light green tatami, and most of the furniture in Reina's room had a wooden finish. There was not a single chair in the room, and even her desk sat low to the floor. The walls were sparsely decorated with only a few ukiyo-e prints and the odd poster. Most of the colour in the room came from her multiple shelves which were a kaleidoscope of different book covers.

"Reminds me of my dorm," Mamoru said, thinking aloud.

"And why exactly?" She had an inquisitorial tone.

"The only decorations are books," He said as he pointed towards the massive collection behind them.

Reina huffed, ignoring his statement. From the look on her face, she must find it hard to tell if it was an insult or a compliment. As they ate at the Kotatsu in the centre of the room, Mamoru realised that he had been going on nothing but coffee for the last few hours. Although he wanted to continue their conversation, he became too caught up with dinner.

"Your mom's a good cook," Mamoru managed between bites.

"I made most of the ingredients," Reina said flatly. "All my mom did was cook the rice and shape the onigiri."

Mamoru looked at the filling of bonito flakes at the centre of his rice ball. "How do you manage this and travelling to school every day?"

"Reading on the train." Reina was looking at the ceiling, glass of tea in hand.

"You're really not interested in talking." Mamoru sighed as he finished the last of the onigiri.

"I'm just making sure you're okay. Since you've polished off five rice balls, I am guessing you are." Her tone was not quite aloof, but it was also apparent she wanted to disengage.

Mamoru stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be on my way then."

"Wait—" She let out a long sigh. "You don't need to get angry."

His move was only partially calculated; a part of Mamoru was genuinely angry. "You keep saying you want to make sure I'm fine, but you also want to pretend like today was no big deal." Mamoru drew in a large breath. "It was the first time I've seen that too… A Digimon being destroyed."

"Why do you want to talk about that so badly." Her voice cracked up.

"You were willing to talk to me about this a few hours ago." Mamoru was not sure if he should be forthcoming and voice his concern about her state. It could backfire tremendously and make her clamp up even more.

"Didn't what happen at the temple just prove your point." She turned away dejectedly.

"That doesn't mean you have to be okay with it." Mamoru's voice was starting to rise. "Fighting and hurting Digimon is one thing. Killing them is a real escalation."

"You make it sound like I can actually do that."

"Reina… I'm not saying you're a killer or anything like that." Mamoru grasped his forehead as he sat back down. Even after dinner, he was not sure he had the energy for this.

"That's not what I mean." She turned back to him with a scowl on her face. At least she was not going to cry, the anger he could handle. "I've never felt so powerless before."

"Gatomon saved Wisemon and me during the fight." Mamoru offered as he sat back down.

"We wouldn't have been able to do anything ourselves." She buried her face into her hands. For someone averse to fighting, Mamoru found that she was exceedingly frustrated by a lack of combat ability.

"There were over a dozen Digimon. None of us would have been able to handle it."

"I was the only one not able to Digivolve any further." Reina clutched her Digivice tightly.

"Most of us can't." Mamoru was hesitant, keenly aware that he was speaking as someone who could Digivolve to ultimate on command.

"You saw Angewomon. How powerful she was." Reina was now looking blankly into space again.

"It feels contradictory," Mamoru said, looking directly at her. Though her gaze still did not turn to him.

"Is that wrong?" It made him flinch.

"No, no," Mamoru began, only now realising his statement could be interpreted as a criticism. "It was just an observation. I kinda get it. Wishing that you had more power, but also not wanting to use it."

"Those Digimon," Reina leaned back, letting loose her soft black hair. "Did they really deserve to be deleted?"

"I don't know," Mamoru's mind would ordinarily have been racing the moment the battle had ended, thinking of its implications. But he was dead exhausted today. Even now, despite the seriousness of the conversation, it was difficult to keep his eyelids open. "but they were the most vicious I've ever seen them."

"The attack in Gion was actually a good thing." Reina bordered on mumbling.

"It's true, but pretty ironic." If the temple had been full, the Digimon might have broken off to attack other guests instead of focusing on them.

"I didn't know that Salamon's ultimate Digivolution would be an angel type Digimon."

"Well, Wisemon looks nothing like Clockmon. I guess the only thing they have in common is that they are both space-time Digimon."

"She was beautiful with that prismatic aura around her." Reina seemed mesmerised by the thought of Angewomon.

"You'll get there," Mamoru said.

"I don't know if I should, or if I actually want to. We need to get stronger to protect Kyoto, but…"

"It also means more fighting and potentially killing Digimon."

"I don't want to delete them, or even hurt them" Reina clearly did not want to say it out loud: that Digimon was being killed.

"But you want to defend Kyoto," Mamoru sighed.

"Isn't that what it means to be a DigiDestined?" Reina gave him the same sad smile he had seen throughout the day.

"We didn't choose this though,"

"That's what's important to you, isn't it?" Was Reina just saying this on a whim? Or was this a conclusion that she had seriously thought through?

Mamoru decided to deflect the question back unto her. "Isn't that why this is so difficult for you? Being forced to fight because you happened to have a partner?"

"It's the price for having Salamon, then it's one that I can live with." There was a twinge of sadness in her voice. Even if she wanted to see it that way, it still avoided the fact that Digimon was thrust upon them.

"Do you love Salamon that much?"

"Don't you feel the same about Hagurumon? They've changed our lives." Reina looked to her Digivice, on her home screen was Salamon's sprite fast asleep.

Their Digimon had changed their lives, having a constant companion with them. Mamoru would be lying if he said that their lives were not made more interesting by having partners. Even if they had not gone on any incredibly adventures to the Digital World like the Tokyo DigiDestined, it was anything but boring. The price was that it made having any conventional life goals difficult.

"You can't honestly be thinking about whether you value your own Digimon partner." Reina seemed to be teasing the expression he had while he was thinking.

"It's not that simple." Mamoru shrugged. It had taken him quite a while to get through his train of thought. He badly needed to rest.

"It never is with you."

As he thought up a reply, Reina stood up and began to clean the table. She had decided that their conversation was over for tonight.

"What time's your first class?" She said, carrying the tray and glasses towards the door.

"Eleven in the morning," Mamoru said before yawning.

"Your getting kind of slow," She chuckled at her own words, "no way you'll go all the way back to Yoshida now."

"Just wait and see,"

"I'll put this back in the kitchen then we can go."

"We? I can make it home on my own. You should get some rest."

Reina seemed to sense that he would not take no for an answer. "We'll talk about this at the door."

Mamoru flinched as he felt someone push him over.

"Stop groaning, we're gonna be late." It was Reina's voice. He must have fallen asleep while she was downstairs.

He scrambled to get up. It must almost be time for the last train. Reina probably thought she was being considerate, letting him rest for so long. Although he may now have to end up walking home. Mamoru felt his back was sore from the position he was sleeping in. It was a struggle to turn his stiff neck. What kind of position had he been sleeping in for it to be this bad?

As he opened his eyes, he saw that Reina was now dressed in jeans with her ever-present purple cardigan. Her hair was slightly damp, making it appear like soft gleaming obsidian. No wonder it was so late, she had even taken a shower. His eyes were beginning to adjust when Reina drew open her curtains, flooding the room with sunlight.

"Wait— what time is it?" He said, rubbing his eyes.

"Just past nine in the morning, we better get going." She said nonchalantly as she began to pack her laptop into her bag.

"You didn't wake me up?" Mamoru felt blood rush to his face. He could not decide if he was more irritated or embarrassed. "Your parents are just okay with this?"

"They worked at the studio overnight. It's not uncommon." As much as she tried to sound unphased, Mamoru could hear little jumps in her tone.

"No wonder my back hurts," Mamoru grumbled.

"Sorry… You were asleep by the time I finished cleaning up. I didn't want to wake you up, so I just went with it."

Mamoru searched for his Digivice to check for the exact time. As he rummaged through his pockets, Reina moved over to her desk to unplug something.

"Here, I charged it," Reina said, handing him back his phone. Hargurumon's sprite was still fast asleep on his home screen as he unlocked it to check for the time.

"I hope no one is going to realise that I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday." Mamoru shrugged. He was still quite perturbed but decided not to make an issue out of it. Reina was trying to be helpful, even though it had come out as awkward and inconvenient.

They made it in time for the rapid train to take them back towards Tofukuji where they would change to the Keihan Main Line. Demachiyanagi station where they would be alighting was to the north of Kyodai. Too far away from his dorm, south of the university campus, for him to make a quick stop before class to freshen up. Mamoru had become a bit spoilt, living walking distance from all his classes. At least it was well-passed rush hour, and seats were easy to find on the train.

Reina tapped his shoulder as the train rushed past Tachibana High School. "Look at the news."

Mamoru was expecting it to be more news on what was had happened yesterday over Kyoto. Instead, the bulk of the coverage was on a Digimon appearance in Shinagawa that Hikari had mentioned. The battled had happened during rush hour near the massive rail interchange. The video coverage was shaky and grainy, but he got the gist of what was happening. What looked like a gigantic maroon beetle firing lightning at robotic dinosaur with two massive cannons on its back.

"That's probably Koshiro-san's ultimate level Digivolution," Mamoru said, thinking out loud.

"Keep watching," Reina said, continuing to hold out her Digivice.

A small pink fairy-like Digimon swooped in from above, binding the machine dinosaur with a lasso made of flowers. Mamoru assumed that she was probably Mimi's ultimate level Digivolution. The footage continued showing two more Digimon joining the fight that Mamoru had never seen before one. One was a crimson feathered humanoid Digimon that fired a blazing attack from the wings on its back. The other was much harder to describe. It looked vaguely draconid with its light blue legs and arms. Though it also appeared almost insect-like with its forearms being protected by thick, carapace-like, black gauntlets. As the other Digimon pinned down the wild Digimon, the dragon-insect Digimon seemed to finish it off with two cannons attached to its hips.

"I guess this caught more attention than seeing a bright light over Kyoto." Mamoru was impressed at the level of coordination he had seen in the video. The machine Digimon looked too strong for the Kyoto DigiDestined to even attempt to take on. The original group in Tokyo had managed to subdue it in a crowded area without injuring anyone.

"That's not all, NHK is airing a report from America." Reina swiped to another tab on her phone.

There was more amateur footage of a Digimon attack in New York. A ridiculous orange monkey was running amok. Its attack appeared to be sound-based, pulling out a microphone and singing into it, causing the windows in the surrounding buildings to shatter. Out of the Hudson river emerged a massive red sea serpent with a golden metallic head plate. It fired a bolt of lightning from the blade-horn protruding on its forehead. Despite missing the monkey Digimon, it pushed it into the path of two oncoming missiles. Hovering a few stories off the ground was a rabbit-like Digimon clad in green armour. The cannons on its arms must be missile launchers. These two Digimon must be the partners of the American DigiDestined Mimi talked about.

Reina put down her phone as the video finished. "Kodai wants to meet us today."

"Are we discussing all of this?"

"I guess…" Reina sounded incredibly reluctant.

"Are you going to bring up what he did yesterday?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, we can decide on that later." Mamoru regretted bring it up so thoughtlessly. He did not have anything prepared.

"He wants to meet right after lectures. You don't have any tutorials afterwards, right?"

"No, I'll be free by lunchtime. Though I really want to change and take a shower."

"Kodai sounds determined," She said, checking her messages. "He'll probably be willing to go to your dorm."

Mamoru raised his eyebrows, turning towards her to see if she was serious.

"Unless you don't want us there." She shrugged. There were quirks in her tone, but it was different from the hesitance before. It was almost like she was teasing him.

"There is nothing much to see," Mamoru began. "but I guess you guys should see where I live."

Reina did not respond to him verbally, sending a text to their group informing Kodai of where they were meeting. Despite all his concern about her condition, there were pressing issues to discuss.

He barely arrived on time; the lecture hall already packed with people. Mamoru had been forced to borrow a spare notebook from Reina to take notes since he left his laptop in his dorm. It was a frustrating experience to sit in the worst seats at what he discovered to be a crucial lecture. It was the only time they would be covering Nicomachean Ethics this term even though it was an essential text. Not to mention Mamoru was so dishevelled from sleeping on the floor that he attracted the stray looks of people. Maybe they thought he was hungover.

As he walked back to his dorm after the two-hour lecture, he attempted to review the notes he had taken. The irritation of them being handwritten instead of typed was the least of his worries. Some parts were unintelligible, and others were literally him scribbling down what he already knew. All this a product of a poor night's rest and the pressure he felt from all the stares.

By the time he arrived at his door, he was already seething. Digimon had just been a drain on his time before. Now it was actively interfering with his studies. He had even cleared out the previous evening. Yet it still ate into the next day by running him into the ground. Mamoru's anger briefly flashed towards Reina for letting him sleep on the floor. Though he realised that if he had gone home or to Yoshida, he would have probably not woke up for the lecture at all.

His Digivice buzzed with a message saying that Kodai was on his way. It was only a thirty-minute bus ride from Nijo to Kyodai. Mamoru groaned at the lack of reprieve. He would have to clean up the mess of books and notes in his room before they got here in addition to washing up.

Reina was still as considerate as ever, standing outside in the growing autumn chill for over fifteen minutes to give Mamoru some space. When he came down from his room to discover her just standing there, he felt a twinge of guilt. This morphed into mild anxiety when he saw Asuka was standing outside talking to her.

"Mamoru," Asuka said in her cloying voice, making Mamoru brace himself mentally. "not even I have seen your dorm, and we've been friends throughout high school."

"Sorry about that," Mamoru said drily.

Her exaggerated expression changed to mild surprise when she finally got a good look at him. "Geez, you look terrible." Mamoru appreciated Asuka speaking normally after she realised he was not in any condition for their usual back and forth. Though he still had to resist the urge to retort at her restatement of the obvious.

"We had a long day," Reina said with an apologetic smile.

"We?" Asuka said, narrowing her eyes at him. Mamoru started thinking of a reply to dissuade her from concluding what he assumed she would. Before he could manage something, Asuka took out her phone. "Does it have something to do with this?"

It was a video she had taken herself from the Kyodai library of Takeru and Hikari's Digimon over Kyoto. "I wanted to message Mamoru about it," she said before turning to Reina, "but it seemed even too weird for you and your Digi-animals."

Neither of them bothered to correct her. "It's a long and complicated story." Reina offered, knowing that Asuka was nosy as well.

Asuka pushed up her red-rimmed glasses and pulled her tote bag over her shoulder. "You promise to tell me eventually?" To her credit, she also knew when prying would become antagonistic instead of irritatingly endearing. Noriko could learn something from her.

"I will," Mamoru said.

Asuka saw her bus approaching and began to hurriedly walk toward the bus stop, waving as she went. "And I expect to be invited to see your room!"

Once Kodai arrived, Mamoru led them to his dorm room on the third floor. It was only slightly larger than Reina's room and even more sparsely decorated. There were no ornaments of any sort. The only additions to its original furnishings were a mountain of books from the library and a stash of instant food on his shelf. They settled around the low table at the centre of his room. The tatami floor was still cold, the heater having only been turned on less than an hour ago.

"You look like shit," Kodai said, looking at right at Mamoru. He was direct as ever.

"You don't look so good yourself." Kodai had bags under his eyes. It was unlikely that they had just developed after what happened yesterday. Even if he did exhaust himself even more by Digivolving twice in only a few hours.

They began to settle in, Kodai distributing the food he had brought. It was convenience store food, which seemed to be all he and Nagato ever ate. The onigiri was good, but it paled in comparison to the homemade filling Reina made. Mamoru turned to see her shiver a bit.

"Sorry, they don't give us kotatsus here," Mamoru said. "Do you want to use my blanket?"

Reina politely declined by waving him off, continuing to eat silently at the table. She must be still thinking of whether to bring up what Kodai did yesterday.

"Could be worse, I thought you were staying at the old Yoshida dorms?" Kodai said.

"That ramshackle place? It's only two thousand five hundred yen rent, but you get what you paid for."

"Doesn't your school want to tear it down?" Mamoru could not tell if this was Kodai just making idle conversation or if he was also still thinking about how to address what happened.

"The student committee is fighting them over it. Though if I were on it, I would probably just try to get the place renovated so that it could actually be preserved."

"Why aren't you on any committees?" Kodai asked.

"No time," Mamoru shrugged. Between school and all the Digimon running around, it would be insane to take on more work.

"Yeah, we need everyone to concentrate more on handling the Digimon appearances."

Mamoru could understand why Kodai said what he did. It did not particularly lack tact, at least from what he could conceive as Kodai's perspective. But it was possibly the worst time for him to mention something like this. Reina seemed to have noticed, and she looked poised to say something. He wanted to let her attempt to defuse the situation, but his frustration boiled over.

"Yesterday was so shit that I got screwed out of my lecture today." Mamoru spat.

"It's just one lecture—"

"Isn't that the whole the whole damn point of going to university?"

Kodai sat upright. "Is school that important to you?"

"Shouldn't it?" For a person who was pursuing a degree that was essential to the career they were hoping for; Kodai's lack of ability to comprehend this was astounding to Mamoru.

"There are more important things. You saw what happened yesterday." Kodai's voice echoed in the small room.

"That's not our job."

"Then who the hell else will do it? Not like we can just go out and ask for volunteers."

"We didn't volunteer either."

"Then why the hell did you accept that Digivice?"

"What, I should have refused?"

Maybe Kodai was right but could anyone really have refused in front of everyone? Especially when, as Kodai had already put it, only they could do it.

"I don't know what you think being a DigiDestined is, but it's a responsibility we've been given. We can't just ignore it."

"You act like you chose to have Bearmon as a partner."

"You're right, none of us originally had any choice. That doesn't mean you can't still choose it."

"I didn't choose to have to limp back to Uji and sleep on the floor."

Kodai paused, seemingly taken aback. "Why?"

In the lull, Mamoru realised that he was probably confused instead of being shocked. "The same reason Nagato had to help you back."

"Why would you sleep on the floor at your own—" Kodai turned toward Reina. "It's lucky you were there to drag him back to Uji. Imagine him trying to stumble his way back here or to his house."

Despite the atmosphere in the room simmering down, Reina still looked hesitant to intervene. Her eyes were wide, but she maintained a passive posture, sitting stiffly in a seiza position. Kodai's compliment seemed to have put her more at ease.

"It's in our name, Mamoru," Kodai's tone was much more subdued now, though it did not make his statement any less confusing. All Japanese names had meanings, but it was strange to think of it as something they needed to live up to. "We're DigiDestined, it is destiny that we have this responsibility."

Mamoru knew that still did not answer the fact that none of them chose this. Destiny could be thrust upon them, but they did not need to just accept it. That would be saying he had no agency, that he could only go along with what was meant to be. Though it seemed that Kodai was right about one thing. It did not matter to him if he was chosen or not, he freely embraced it anyway.

"We need more power; we need mega evolution." There was a look of resolve in his eyes as he stared directly at him. "You saw Seraphimon take out all those rampaging Digimon from across the city. Even if we can't reach that kind of power, yet, there were so many ultimate level Digimon that day that we need any amount we can get. You're the only other person who is close to reaching the final Digivolution stage. You need to do this."

For a moment, Mamoru felt a surge of resolve. That what he did was not just important but irreplaceable. Kodai could talk him into anything if he were not more careful. Doubt entered his mind as he examined what he said. Even if GrapLeomon was reaching power levels comparable to Takeru and Hikari's Digimon, Wisemon definitely was not. Mega evolution was a world away.

"Kodai, what about the rest of us?" Reina was dejected. "Aren't we important to this?"

"You are," He said, backpedalling. "If everyone could reach ultimate level, it would be helpful. But as Koshiro-san said, the power growth is exponential. Reach mega level would help us the most."

Mamoru found that insensitive, even if it was probably right. Even though Kodai did not have the benefit of yesterday's conversation with Reina, he should be able to pick up her insecurity. He knew that they had seen Digimon destroyed for the first time, but Mamoru doubted he could really comprehend it until he saw it firsthand. Much like how he could only realise why Reina was so concerned with her lack of power after seeing Angewomon himself. Somehow, he still doubted that Kodai would have a problem with killing Digimon if it came to it.

"I'm going to meet with Takaishi-san and Yagami-san on Saturday. Do you guys want to come?" Kodai asked. It seemed that he had finally picked up on the unease from them.

After waiting a few seconds, Reina finally nodded.

"You don't have to give me an answer now," Kodai said, waving his hand. "You look like you could use some rest." Kodai got up and began to clean up the table, apparently ready to leave.

"You look like you could use some rest too," Mamoru said, finally looking up at him.

"Can't," He replied as he walked to the door. "This is too important."

It reminded Mamoru of what he would say to Asuka whenever she told him to take a break from studying. Kodai smiled as he left, leaving Reina and Mamoru alone again.