Going back to school life after all that had taken place over the weekend was a feat that Taichi didn't realize he was capable of. He suddenly felt immense sympathy for the second generation of Chosen Children. They had marched into the Digital World to save it from catastrophe day in and day out without fail, but he didn't know if he was capable of balancing such extremes. Being aware of the adventures of his fellow Chosen Children was one thing, but stepping into their shoes and living a similar experience was something else entirely, and Taichi wasn't exactly prepared for how much it caught him by surprise.
The first part of the school day pressed on in a drag that made Taichi exhausted just to think about. He found himself glancing over in Meiko's direction more than before though, and she often returned the favor. When he looked closely, he could see her Digivice peeking out from the space between her skirt and top, the blue object attached firmly to her waistband. Taichi reached for his own Digivice whenever he caught sight of it just to make sure that he hadn't lost the most important item he owned at some point in the day. He hated how damn paranoid he had become over the past week. It felt like he couldn't relax all of a sudden, and he hated the way that the anxiety attacked his nerves and grated on him without anything even loosely resembling mercy.
Lunch had consisted of an intense discussion regarding the events from the second half of the previous day. Sora and Mimi had been all too happy to tell Taichi and Yamato about their encounter with Brachiomon, and Meiko chimed in every once in a while to offer her quiet feedback. She still struggled with finding the confidence to communicate openly, but she was at least making an attempt.
Taichi had left them behind at the regular time when the five dispersed to go to class, and he had run a hand through his brown hair to keep himself from getting too caught up in his own thoughts. Doing something else was good. It prevented his own mind from running rampant.
He slid into his regular seat in Daigo's class soon afterwards, and Taichi let out a small sigh. The teacher was sitting on the floor at the front of the classroom as he wrote quickly and elaborately on a piece of paper. Daigo hummed to himself with a strange sense of jubilation that Taichi had to confess he wouldn't have seen coming from someone like that. Daigo didn't seem to notice him for a while, focusing on blowing the ink down on his piece of paper. He preferred to write with brush and ink rather than a normal pen or pencil, and Taichi couldn't tell if that was a testament to Daigo's potentially traditional values or if it was simply yet another quirky fact for him to keep in mind about his already peculiar teacher.
When Daigo did finally rise to his feet, he had seemingly written something important on his page. He didn't lift it into the air to examine it the way that he usually did, but Taichi decided that it wasn't his business to snoop into what Daigo was doing anyways. Instead, he simply watched carefully as Daigo turned on his heel to face his student with a gentle smile. As usual, his eyes were weary and never seemed to find true happiness. Taichi didn't understand how someone with such a bright voice and demeanor could be hiding so many demons, but once again, he knew that it wasn't something that he should have been investigating intensely. It was Daigo's business above all else, and he didn't want to push where he knew that he wasn't wanted or needed.
"You seem stressed," Daigo commented as soon as he noticed that Taichi was staring at him. He let out a small humored laugh when his student perked up with something between curiosity and panic blooming in his gaze. "You don't need to worry about it. I know that a lot has been happening as of late. Just yesterday, we had another one of those monster attacks everyone has been so worried about."
If Taichi was being honest with himself, the previous morning didn't even feel real. It felt like some distant figment of his imagination that he wasn't even supposed to know about, much less come into direct contact with on a regular basis. He was aware of the fact that he had encountered Meiko as a Chosen Child for the first time the previous day, and that had come along with his meeting with the rest of his team and their brief conversation with Qinglongmon. Still, it seemed as if there was a divide between all of that and what had happened in the afternoon. He hadn't been this used to eventful days in a long time, and Taichi prayed that he adapted sooner rather than later. He was getting pretty damn tired of having to put up with the tricks his mind played on him, and it had only been a week or so since this disaster started. Could one week last an eternity? Taichi was really starting to wonder.
"It's been interesting to see," Taichi told Daigo instead of mentioning any of his actual fears. He was still intent on making sure that Daigo didn't know about his identity as a Chosen Child due to the agreement that he had made with his teammates ages prior. They didn't want to tell anyone about their identities unless they absolutely had to. Meiko was different since she was one of them, but outside people, those who fell into a similar category as Daigo, weren't on the list of those who Taichi was eager to talk about this with. Somehow, Daigo's questions, probing yet vague as they were, felt as if they were piercing directly to his chest to try and get answers about this subject in particular.
"Interesting?" Daigo echoed. He retreated to his desk and opened up his bag. He hadn't yet pulled his candies for the day away from the messenger bag that he used to carry his supplies in, and that led to Daigo shoving his hand into the side pocket and fiddling around before he was able to pull out a small hard candy. A few moments later, Daigo twisted the wrapper off and popped the treat into his mouth. Daigo's expression softened at the taste of the sweet, and his exhaustion seemed to subside into something almost childlike for a few precious moments. Taichi was positive that it wasn't going to last for long, and he watched Daigo with intent curiosity as he waited for the weariness to return. It was only a matter of time as far as he was concerned.
"Yeah," Taichi answered simply. Daigo's gaze went back to its regular status, and Taichi looked away to keep from getting too distracted by it. "I've just been thinking a lot about all of the recent things that have happened. Everyone is confused, and this hasn't happened in a long time."
Daigo hummed in response as he leaned against his desk. "Yeah, not since the events in Hikarigaoka back in December of 2002," he commented. "Well, there was that one time something happened out over the bay, but that wasn't a recurring event the way that this has been. It's been a while since this was regular, and I don't think that anyone is quite used to it yet."
"People are afraid, I imagine," Taichi muttered. It was a reality that he didn't want to face, if he was being honest. He hated the idea of others out there being terrified of the Digimon thanks to all that had happened recently. Back in 1999, everyone had practically cheered on Taichi and the rest of his team to fight alongside their partners and save Earth from catastrophe. Even if their partners were powerful and kind, that didn't erase the newfound gut instinct to fear the things that the people as a whole didn't understand.
"You can say that again," Daigo agreed as his eyes slipped shut. "People don't understand what's been happening lately, so some have been scared of it. Still, I'm not as worried as some others are. I understand that the same people who have helped us out of these binds in the past are going to come out of the shadows to make sure that everything is okay. They've kept us out of trouble thus far, and I don't think that it would be right for us to lose our confidence now."
Taichi nodded, wondering if Daigo would ever come to understand the irony of his statements. There he was, saying that he trusted the people behind the defense of Earth, and Taichi was sitting right there, listening as if it didn't apply to him. Even if Daigo did know that he was talking to one of Odaiba's frequent saviors, would it change anything? Given how laidback Taichi's teacher was, he had to wonder if Daigo would bother changing his treatment of his student. Taichi decided that he didn't want to know after a few moments of curious wondering.
"It isn't as if we have any reason to give up on the people who have kept us safe thus far, so I'm not going to lose my confidence yet. Besides, the attacks have been taken care of by those mysterious people before any of the monsters could hurt the people that live in Odaiba. I think that's a sign that everything is going to be fine," Daigo continued. "Everything has been fine for a long time, and having all of that peace fall apart isn't easy to see from the outside."
Taichi nodded his agreement once again. Daigo didn't know the half of it. Taichi would never go so far as to say that he didn't want to save the worlds again, but it felt like the past week had been a slap to the face. He wanted to protect those who needed it, but he also couldn't help but feel surprised that all of this had come out of nowhere with next to no buildup. A bit of advance warning would have been nice, though he supposed that there wasn't a way for him to know about what was coming until it was too late. At least they were aware of what they had to do next. That was a good first step, wasn't it?
But at the same time, Taichi knew that they still had a long way to go as far as finding out the answers behind recent events. All that had taken place between Earth and the Digital World created the idea that there was a large puzzle that had yet to be fully pieced together. Then there was the matter of the attack Sora and Mimi had spoken of from the day prior. Silphymon could be formed from the Crest of Passion, but that didn't truly remedy the fact that there was another brand of the dark data patches as far as Taichi was concerned. If size could be influenced by their enemies, what else was under their control? Did he even want to find out?
Daigo stretched his arms above his head and allowed them to come to rest at his side. "I guess that we can think about all that later though. For now, I know that I could use a break from this serious talk. Class is going to be starting soon anyways. I hope you're ready," he commented with a light snicker that betrayed the exhaustion in his eyes. Daigo didn't wait for Taichi to respond before he started moving around the classroom, getting the space ready for what was to come. He tossed the wrapper from his candy into the trash and began to organize stacks of paper, hitting the bottom edges of the pages against the table below to make sure that they were all neatly stacked in line with one another.
Taichi, meanwhile, decided to dig into his schoolbag and look around at the contents of the container. He didn't think that he had anything of particular interest, but he was willing to look at anything if it would keep him from thinking about what was happening in the rest of the world. If there was one thing Taichi hated, it was feeling helpless. While he was sitting in school, what was happening in the Digital World? Even if there was nothing directly wrong going on with the other side of the barrier, Taichi was going to worry regardless. It was the suspension of knowledge that bothered him the most. He hadn't known about the incident with the Kaiser until after the conquest of the Digital World had already made significant enough progress that many occupants of the other realm had given up. Taichi doubted that something as significant as that would happen in the blink of an eye, but at the same time, he had been sure that nothing else would happen, and then it did.
Taichi took to examining the pages in a book that had been put in his bag that morning for the sake of one of his classes. He couldn't quite bring himself to care about what was fully involved with reading it, instead choosing to flick to the page that had been last marked. His eyes scanned across the page, but he didn't fully process any of the words that were written down on the white paper. Taichi's feeling of desperation was starting to come back, and he wanted nothing more than to go to the Digital World to figure out just what was going on. If answers wouldn't come easily, he would go to search for them on his own for better or worse.
He only chastised himself internally when he realized just how awful of an idea that was. He couldn't get too caught up in his own concern that he forgot himself. Koushiro had everything under control, and it had only been a day since their conversation with Qinglongmon. They would receive all the information they could have asked for and more soon enough, and Taichi would realize that he was being paranoid. All he had to do was wait for the proper moment of his revelation to arrive.
Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done, so Taichi continued to press himself into reading the words on the page before him. He scanned over one line at least five times before the words were finally rammed into his skull. Why did the day feel so long all of a sudden? He glanced up to the clock and saw that it had only been a few minutes since lunch ended. Somehow, that knowledge only made him feel worse, and all he was left to do was hope that time decided to push forward in its steady advance soon. He was getting tired of all the waiting that came with recent events, and Taichi needed to know what was going on for his own peace of mind as soon as possible. It was just a shame the universe simply didn't want to listen to his pleas that day.
After the school day ended, Daigo let out a small sigh. Working day in and day out was exhausting, but it was something that he had gotten used to over the years of his work as a teacher. His eyes were drooping already, and he still had a few hours of other things to take care of before he could truly consider the day over. It was upsetting, but it was part of the job, and Daigo knew it all too well.
Daigo walked over to his desk and began to slide his things back into his bag so that he could leave without struggling to carry anything. He hated how heavy the bag got when he put all of his supplies inside, but it wasn't as if he could help it much. Not even Daigo's extensive past in soccer was able to save him from the weight of paper, it seemed. The great Daigo Nishijima was bested by something so trivial, and as far as he was concerned, it was the pinnacle of irony.
"You ready to go?"
Daigo nearly jumped out of his skin when he looked up and saw that Maki was standing in the doorway of his classroom. His heart immediately began to pound a fierce beat that showed just how terrified he had been, and Daigo sent one hand to his chest, dropping a handful of pens in the process. Maki didn't seem to realize what she had done until it was too late, and she winced as the pens hit the ground and were sent scattering in a thousand different directions. "Sorry," Maki said apologetically as she walked over to him and crouched down before starting to gather the utensils.
"It's fine. I just got distracted," Daigo told her with a yawn. He held up one hand to hide his mouth from view, but tears formed in his eyes when his lips spread too wide. He found himself sliding down to the ground soon afterwards so that he could help Maki to gather the pens, and he let out a small sigh.
"You haven't slept enough," Maki told him, her voice not quite accusing but still bordering on something agitated. "Is it everything that's been happening lately? I know that it's been a lot to put up with, but you still need to try and get as much rest as you can."
"I know," Daigo muttered. "I just got to thinking, and once I started, I couldn't stop. That's how it is on days like this. I didn't think that we would wind up in situations like this again, and yet, here we are. It seems like we can't ever escape it. Even if we signed up for all of this, it's still not easy to deal with."
Maki nodded with a small hum. "You can say that again," she agreed. "All we can do is make sure that we stay out of trouble where possible. It's what we have to do for the sake of our jobs and our own lives. If you want to spend some time with me tonight, I would be more than happy to come back to your apartment. Mine's too damn lonely sometimes anyways."
Daigo smiled at her offer. "Thanks, Maki," he whispered. In all honesty, he didn't know what he would do without her. She truly was the one thing that he needed most on days such as this one, and without her, he surely would have fallen apart a long time ago. They were good for each other in a way that Daigo scarcely knew how to describe to other people, but at the same time, he knew that he didn't have to.
As Maki grabbed the last of the pens, she reached into her purse, which Daigo noticed was dangling halfway off her shoulder, and pulled out a rubber band with her free hand. She collected Daigo's pens from him before tying them together with the band and dropping them into his bag. Maki was always prepared, something that Daigo had come to greatly appreciate about her over the years. She didn't have a reason to carry around rubber bands, but she did anyways, and she always seemed to have not only those but anything else that he needed. It was almost miraculous how easily she was able to keep herself composed in the face of heavy situations.
"How are they handling all of this?" Maki questioned as she reached for a stack of papers teetering on the edge of Daigo's desk. It seemed that he had almost knocked them loose when she startled him a few moments prior, and Daigo silently thanked Maki for noticing before they wound up with yet another mess on their hands. The pens had been enough of an irritation for one day.
Daigo paused to consider how he wanted to phrase his response before he shrugged. "Mm... I don't know for sure," he finally answered. "It seems to me like they're still intent on keeping things to themselves. I can't say that I'm surprised. After all, everyone has secrets that they'd rather not share with anyone if it can be avoided."
Maki's silence was pointed, telling him that she understood exactly what he was talking about. "You can say that again," she whispered. "It's just a matter of time before they realize what we know. Either they're going to tell us about it or we're going to have to tell them. I'm leaning towards the latter being more probable, but all we can do is see how it all plays out. It's not as if we can see the future or anything. We're just doing what we think is best."
"We're preparing for the future even if we can't see it," Daigo told her, a light smile creeping across his face as he repeated a handful of words that he had heard from Maki more times than he could count. He lifted his bag off the floor and placed it onto his chair before closing the clasps. When he hurled it onto his shoulder, he realized that it was even heavier than he remembered. Perhaps his lack of sleep was making it harder for him to manage.
"Exactly," Maki replied. She watched Daigo struggle with his things for a moment before looping her hand around the strap that could be found on top of the messenger bag. She gripped it tightly, taking half the weight off Daigo's shoulder. He let out an immediate sigh of relief, and Maki smiled gently in his direction to show that she was more than happy to help.
Daigo yawned and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. "So, what's on the agenda for today?" he questioned, trying not to think about how wonderful it would have been to go back to his apartment and fall asleep. He was exhausted enough that he likely wouldn't have to worry about dealing with his own paranoia and anxiety, but his job demanded that he turn his attention to other matters.
Maki's expression softened as soon as she realized how tired he was. "We're going to be meeting with Hiraku. He says that he has a few new pieces of news for us. I don't know how he does it, but he's probably the most competent member of the entire team," she replied with a fond shake of her head.
Daigo grinned as well. "Yeah, you can say that again," he remarked. He knew exactly how Hiraku did it. Maki did as well, but hiding the truth was part of the work for both of them. They had gotten used to it as soon as times began to change for them both, but Daigo had to say that it still felt strange to have to lie to the world even if it was just the two of them. Maki had agreed with him once that they couldn't discuss anything out of the ordinary unless they were behind closed doors in either one of their apartments. Daigo knew that it was for the best, but he still hated how he had to feign innocence constantly.
"We're just going to have to see how everything is going," Maki told him, snapping Daigo out of his temporary daze. "I hope that you're able to get through everything tonight. I can tell that you need more sleep than you've been getting, and if you push yourself too far, you're going to make yourself sick. I don't want that. None of us do, and you shouldn't either. My offer to come back to your apartment with you after work is finished still stands. I think we could both use the extra company."
Daigo let out a small sigh. Maki coming over wasn't just a matter of having company to combat his darkest thoughts. It would also give him the chance to ask her about everything that had taken place as of late. Life had been so chaotic that they weren't able to get into detail about their thoughts regarding the recent Digimon attacks. Daigo knew that he had to talk about everything and get his curiosities out in the open as soon as possible so they didn't continue to weigh heavily on his shoulders. The sooner he was free of such a burden, the better.
"I'd love that," Daigo confessed as he continued to smile in her direction. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Maki. Thanks for everything." He glanced down to the bag and saw that she was still helping him to carry it. Daigo could tell by the strain on the handle that it was just as heavy as he remembered, and he couldn't help but admire just how incredible Maki was to him.
Maki shrugged nonchalantly. "There's no reason to thank me. It's what I'm here for," she assured him. "I'm more than happy to help you out in any way that I can... Besides, I think that we're going to need each other when we get to work. We have a lot ahead of us. Being a teacher is just the half of it for you, but... Let's just say that things haven't been easy with what happened this past week."
Daigo tried and failed to suppress a sigh that quickly transformed itself into yet another yawn. With three attacks on Earth in the past week, it felt as if his life was crumbling to sand between his fingers. He wasn't sure of how he was meant to get through it, but he was still going to try his best. "We'll see how it goes," he murmured, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other so that he didn't completely fall apart.
"Just like we always do," Maki told him with a fond smile of her own. She glanced down to their feet, and he realized that their footsteps had fallen into sync. Daigo appreciated it far more than he expected to, and all he could do was wonder what in the world he had done to deserve someone as incredible to him as Maki Himekawa.
Miyako swung her bag off her shoulder and onto the couch after arriving in her apartment. Her shoes had been slid off her feet, leaving her only in socks. She reached down and pulled the socks free of her toes, a light sigh leaving her lips. She ran one hand through her hair before glancing around the apartment. "Hawkmon?" she questioned when she didn't see anyone there immediately.
Hawkmon appeared from her room soon afterwards, and he had an attentive sheen to his gaze. Miyako smiled at him as soon as he entered her field of vision, and she took a few steps towards him. "It's nice to see you," she greeted simply. She could feel a few other sets of eyes on her even if she knew that nobody was going to be in the apartment at this time of day. Miyako sighed again and leaned her head backwards so that her face was tilted towards the ceiling. "You can go on and come out."
A trio of small Digimon appeared from the other rooms of the apartment, a Babydmon, a Pusurimon, and a Wanyamon. Miyako watched them all fondly before shaking her head. "What am I going to do with you three?" she whispered to herself.
Babydmon, Pusurimon, and Wanyamon were the partners of Miyako's three siblings, Mantarou, Momoe, and Chizuru respectively. Her sisters had become Chosen Children in spring of 2003, and Mantarou had followed in summer of the same year. Even if they were Chosen Children though, none of them had much of an interest in fighting, instead electing to spend time with their partners off the battlefield. That was another thing that made Meiko's introduction to the team so jarring; the other Chosen Children that had been uncovered, including Miyako, Daisuke, and Jou's siblings, held no interest in combat, but Meicoomon was experienced enough to get involved. There had been other Chosen Children that appeared in the years since 2002, but none of them had fallen into the same category as the rest of the team that Miyako chose to align herself with as far as fighting was concerned.
"I've been doing my best to look after the little troublemakers, but you know how Baby Digimon can be," Hawkmon told Miyako, glancing up to her with eyes that seemed so unfitting when coming from someone who Miyako knew was capable of the same crimes he frowned upon so intently.
"They're vacuums when it comes to food," Miyako finished for him, trying to not show that she was thinking of how obsessed he was with food when in the form of Poromon. Instead of telling him how peculiar his choice of words was, she glanced down to the three Baby Digimon waiting at her feet. "The three of them are working down in the convenience store, aren't they?" When Babydmon nodded his confirmation, Miayko began to unzip her bag. "Got it. That's better than them causing problems around here."
As if on cue, the door swung open, and Miyako could tell based on the telltale pattern of footsteps that her sisters had returned. She lifted her backpack away from the couch before setting it onto the floor, knowing that Momoe and Chizuru were both going to ask for spots on the cushions rather than the ground. She sat down and found that her legs were beyond relieved to be given a few moments to relax after the walk home from school. Miyako missed Takeru and Iori's company on the way back from class, and it made the journey back to her apartment feel way longer than it had any right to.
"You're home," Chizuru commented simply as she sat down. She leaned her head back against the cushion of the couch, a sigh leaving her lips. "You sure do seem stressed. Would it have anything to do with the recent Digimon attacks?"
Miyako opened her mouth before pressing her lips shut, realizing that there was no reason for her to lie. Every member of her family was well-acquainted with the idea of Digimon, and Miyako was all too used to going through the dizzying cycle of conversation that came with bringing them up. She had been forced to spill everything she knew as soon as her sisters gained their partners, and from there, she explained all of the little details involving her past adventures in the Digital World. It hadn't been easy, but she was still happy that she was able to get it out of the way. She had been the only member of her team to continue hiding her partner from her parents after the events of December 2002, and her sisters finding their partners certainly took a weight off her shoulders.
"You've had a lot to do with them, huh?" Momoe questioned. She leaned down and reached out her arms, a clear prompt for Wanyamon to jump into her grasp. She stroked gently at the top of her partner's head, and Wanyamon purred at the gentle contact. The other two Digimon hopped onto the couch, and Miyako found herself staring down at the ground quietly. The three Digimon had come back to Earth at the same time as Hawkmon since they missed their partners, and while Miyako was glad that the apartment was a little less empty, she couldn't help but feel unnerved about it all. Maybe it was just the stress of the rest of the world getting to her. She couldn't say for sure, and she wasn't going to ask any questions unless she absolutely had to.
Miyako nodded. "Yeah, I have," she said quietly. She could still remember well how her parents and siblings hadn't approved of her throwing herself into danger at first, but as soon as they realized that she wouldn't be deterred, they had thrown in the towel and allowed her to continue her duties as a Chosen Child. The life of fighting wasn't for anyone else in her family, but Miyako knew where her duties rested, and the answer always sent her back to the battlefield.
"Do you think that you're going to be able to work everything out there?" Chizuru asked as she looked down at her younger sister with a frown. "Three Digimon attacks in the span of a week... It's all that anyone has been talking about. People are wondering if it's going to be happening again."
Those words were enough to nearly give Miyako a headache, and she leaned forward with her face on the verge of being pressed into her hands. "I'll figure it out," she grumbled, not wanting to continue this conversation for any longer than she absolutely had to. She had seen too much stress over the past few days, and the last thing she needed was for it to get any worse.
Miyako heard her phone emit a shrill beep at that moment, and Miyako thanked the device silently for the distraction. She pulled her phone out of her bag and saw that a message had appeared from Hikari asking if Miyako wanted to hang out that evening. The second generation was apparently going to gather at the Yagami apartment to try and take a bit of the edge off from the recent attacks.
As soon as Miyako saw the words written across the screen, she typed out a quick response, glad to have something else to do besides just sit in her apartment and deal with her siblings' pressing glares. Miyako felt frustrated by how much they were silently asking her for answers. She didn't know anything, and she had told them practically a thousand times since the Digimon attacks began. She wished that they would understand her when she said that there was nothing she could tell them. She was just as clueless as they were on the front of the recent attacks. The incident with Brachiomon had only complicated things, and Miyako was left to wonder how one week could last for a thousand years.
"I should get to work on my homework," Miyako declared abruptly as she got to her feet. "I'm going to see Hikari later tonight, so I need to get it done as soon as possible. Talk to you later." Miyako curled her fingers around her backpack's straps and took the bag towards her room. Hawkmon bowed to her sisters and the three Digimon before following her, and once they were both inside, Miyako was all too happy to push the door shut.
Her bedroom felt like salvation, and Miyako walked to her bed before setting her backpack on the floor with an unceremonious thumping sound. She sighed and pulled her glasses off her face before rubbing at her eyes. When she accidentally pressed down too hard, stars dotted her eyelids, and Miyako hissed before allowing her hands to recoil away. "This is a mess," Miyako declared after a few moments of silence. She reached for her glasses and took to cleaning them on her school uniform's skirt when she noticed just how messy the lenses had gotten.
"Much has changed in a short span of time," Hawkmon agreed with a nod. He sat down on the bed beside Miyako before reaching one feathered wing down to unzip Miyako's bag. He began to remove the folder that she had taken to using for her homework, and he set it in his lap, waiting patiently for when she would be ready for it.
Miyako held her glasses up to the light to make sure that they were clean. When she realized that she had missed a smudge, she wiped it free with her skirt before repeating the raising gesture. Upon realizing that her glasses were clean, she slid them back onto her face. "I don't think that any of us saw this coming," she commented to herself as she pulled the folder out of Hawkmon's grasp. She began to flick through her assignments, grateful to see that her memory had served her right to say that there weren't many things for her to do that evening.
"Peace has covered both worlds ever since BelialVamdemon fell," Hawkmon continued. "The brief incident with Diablomon the following year was nothing more; an incident. It happened once and then never repeated, and that gave us reason to believe that everything would be safe for quite some time."
"Then again, I suppose that the original eight thought everything would be fine after they defeated the Dark Masters," Miyako muttered. "After a while of waiting, they were called back all over again, and that was when the Kaiser began to cause problems. From there, everything spiraled out of control and went back to normal. Before all of that, there was the Hikarigaoka incident, and before even that, I think there were other Chosen Children."
Hawkmon hummed to himself at her words. "Koushiro mentioned once that he heard from Gennai there were Chosen Children long before any of you appeared. They come from a long gone time, and nobody knows who they are or where they are now. They must have been humans, but the details outside of that obvious fact continue to elude us," he replied.
"I wonder about them sometimes. I wonder what it was like back then. I mean, Koushiro and the rest of his team thought that they were the first ones to brave the Digital World. I bet that they were trapped on the other side for a long time," Miyako remarked as she pulled a piece of paper out of her folder. She glanced around for a pencil before her gaze settled on Hawkmon. He had grabbed a utensil while she was distracted. Miyako gave him a thankful smile before looking back to the assignment at hand.
"It's something that we can continue to question, though I doubt that we will ever find the answers we truly seek," Hawkmon told her. "We've never heard any details beyond what you just mentioned, and I have to wonder if perhaps any information about them still does exist. They were around before any of us, and since the Digital World's perception of time was likely still accelerated in those days, that means that they were probably present in the Digital World hundreds of years ago, if not thousands of years ago."
"We don't even know what year they went to the Digital World in human terms," Miyako commented. "It would be hard to figure out anything given how little we know, but I guess that we shouldn't get too deep into it. After all, times are hectic enough with only one mystery and all of its related unsolved questions."
"We're going to find the truth behind all this," Hawkmon assured her. "For now, all we can do is take it one day at a time. You should focus on getting your homework done so that you can go to spend time with your friends. I know that you need a distraction, and if all goes well, they will be more than happy to provide."
Miyako let out a playful groan. "I hate it when you're right," she murmured before shaking her head and turning her attention to the subject at hand. It was math, and Miyako found herself trying to not roll her eyes at the mention of systems of equations. They weren't difficult to work through, but there were a thousand other things that she would have rather been doing. Miyako closed her folder and walked over to her desk, setting her things down before getting to work. Hawkmon watched her intently, and Miyako wished that everything would just resolve itself before she started to lose her mind. The buzz of seeing Silphymon appear through the Crest of Passion had already worn off, and she wanted nothing more than to see her enemy, whoever they were even supposed to be, forced to pay for all the trouble they were causing.
A few hours later, Mimi and Palmon stood outside the Mochizuki apartment, and Mimi glanced down to her partner with a light smile. "I'm sure that this is going to be fun," she told Palmon. "Meiko's family could still use the help moving in and getting all of their things settled, and you'll be able to spend more time with Meicoomon before our next mission."
Palmon smiled in return. "I'm sure that it'll be fun!" she chirped before watching as Mimi knocked on the door. The light-brown haired girl pressed her arms behind her back and began to rock on her heels and toes as she waited for someone to appear.
Meiko arrived a few moments later, and Mimi watched as she straightened out her skirt and smiled somewhat nervously. "It's nice to see you here, Mimi," Meiko greeted simply before opening the door wide enough to let them both inside. Mimi nodded her thanks before following Palmon into the apartment, and Meiko shut the door behind them.
Mimi smiled as she glanced around the apartment. "I'm glad to be here to help. It seems like your family has made a lot of progress since you first moved in," she commented when she noticed that there were a few pictures hanging on the walls. Many of them featured Meiko throughout her various stages of life, though there weren't any that starred Meicoomon. Mimi assumed that it was because they were trying to ensure that nobody uncovered the truth of Meicoomon being a Digimon. It seemed as if the Mochizuki family was well aware of the urgency that came with being associated with a Digimon, something that Mimi never would have expected at a first impression.
"Yeah. My mom and I have been working really hard to make sure that everything goes where it's supposed to be," Meiko told her. She reached for a cardboard box nearby and opened it slowly. Meicoomon leaned into the box before pulling out a small throw pillow. Meiko set it down on the couch before shifting her attention to the nearby wall. "I wish that my father was available to help us out more often, but I know that he's busy with work. I don't think that I can ask too much of him given his position."
"His position?" Mimi echoed with a tilt of her head. She realized that she hadn't heard much about Meiko's father, and she realized that this was likely the perfect time for her to hear everything she needed to know as long as Meiko was alright with sharing.
Meiko nodded. "Yeah. He used to work as a researcher for technology. He worked on troubleshooting various issues during the day, but on the side... He wound up doing what he could to try and find out more about Meicoomon and where she had come from. We didn't know all that much at the time, and he said that he wanted to do what he could to help us figure out more about her," she elaborated. "He's the reason that we moved here to Odaiba, as a matter of fact. He hasn't been able to tell me all that much about it because of the nature of his job, but I heard that he's been working to research Digimon professionally."
Mimi felt her jaw drop before she could stop herself. "Wait... Seriously?" she asked, trying to hide the fact that alarms were screaming in her head. She had heard a few years prior that Gennai had erased all traces of the existences of Digimon from computers to ensure that the humans of Earth didn't use them for evil. She hadn't realized that such a fact had changed, and it unsettled her more than she was willing to admit.
"Yeah. I don't know any of the specifics, but that's what I can tell you," Meiko replied with a loose shrug. "I wish that he was around here more often, but I suppose that it can't be helped. He's been working with a group trying to find out more about the Digimon. He was recruited because of how much he was able to figure out about Meicoomon. They've been trying to find out more about Chosen Children as a whole. I asked him about it after I learned that there were more of us, and he said that right now, the main focus of his work is to make sure that everyone who has a Digimon partner stays in line and doesn't cause problems for others. If I had known about it sooner, I would have told you and everyone else, but I guess that it's better to say it late rather than never." Meiko let out an anxious laugh, and Mimi wondered just how prevalent this nervous habit was in her friend's life. As far as she could tell, it was a larger issue than Meiko was willing to admit.
"I see," Mimi whispered as she turned her attention to the box that Meiko and Meicoomon were already looking into. "As far as I know, the number of Chosen Children has been doubling every year for a while now. There are a lot of us now, and I guess that it isn't quite so easy to keep everything hidden from the general public when Digimon are popping up everywhere."
Meiko nodded. "Yeah, exactly. It's something that we're going to have to work through, I suppose. I didn't realize that there were other Chosen Children until after we moved here and learned about it from you. It wasn't until after he changed jobs my father had access to more information, and that was how he was able to tell me more about everything too," she said.
"I understand," Mimi told Meiko with a gentle smile. "We'll work through it together. That's what we've always done, and we're going to keep it up for as long as we have to. Now, how about we keep unpacking everything? I can tell that you still have a lot to get through, and maybe you'll be a bit less stressed once everything is set out in its proper place."
"It will certainly make this place feel more like home," Meiko agreed. "Before coming here, I had lived in Tottori all my life. The move was sudden, and I don't think that anything could have really prepared me for it. I think it would be best if we did try to make it feel like what I'm used to."
"This is a drastic change, that's for sure," Mimi laughed. "Tottori is nowhere near as crowded as Odaiba. I'm used to city life since that's all I've ever known, but I can see how it would be jarring to suddenly be thrown into out of nowhere like this. Still, you aren't alone, and I think that you should count that among your blessings. We're here for you no matter what happens."
"I know," Meiko assured her as she pulled out another photo from the bottom of the box. It was wrapped in tissue paper to ensure that it wasn't damaged, and Mimi watched as Meiko's expression softened at the sight of the picture in questions. It was a photo of Meiko and Meicoomon from a few years prior, and Meiko walked with it into her room. Mimi assumed that the logic behind such a decision was that fewer people would be able to see it as long as the picture was in her room rather than the main area of the apartment. They had gotten used to being able to let Meicoomon roam freely in Tottori, but that was no longer an option in Odaiba.
Mimi pulled out another pillow that had been used as an extra buffer for the picture and set it down on the couch. It was a sweet soft green color, and Mimi couldn't help but smile at the sight of it. In a way, it reminded her of Palmon, and her partner beamed when Mimi gave her yet another flash of a grin out of the corner of her eye.
As soon as Meiko returned to the room, both her and Mimi got back to work, exchanging casual stories along the way. The world seemed to pass them by, but neither one of them truly minded it. As long as they had one another to lean on, they knew that everything was going to be alright.
Night had fallen by the time that Daigo slipped his key into the lock of his apartment, and he trudged inside while practically dragging his bag on the floor. Maki trailed after him, managing to keep her reputation as the pinnacle of grace despite Daigo's notable exhaustion. She shut the door before taking Daigo's bag from him effortlessly and setting it down on the small table for two in the kitchen area.
Daigo knew what he was supposed to do, and he sat down on his couch with a small sigh. Maki would have made sure that he got off his feet even if it meant pinning him down, and he decided that it would be best to escape such a fate before she found herself bold enough to follow through. One hand came up to his temple to rub at the skin there. He had found a headache a few hours prior, and it had only gotten worse with the countless meetings that he and Maki were hurled into after his work as a teacher ended. He was starting to remember why so many people had said that working multiple jobs was an awful idea.
"What do you want for dinner?" Maki questioned as she made her way over to Daigo's fridge, more than at home in his apartment. It seemed as if she was there at least once every two weeks, though Daigo could tell that the frequency of her visits was only going to increase given all that had taken place as of late.
Daigo shrugged in response. "Anything is fine," he replied. Neither he nor Maki had been given the chance to eat much of anything because of their constant meetings throughout the afternoon and evening, and Daigo was positive that his hunger was teaming with his exhaustion to make his headache so miserable. He was inwardly glad that the lights in his apartment weren't all that bright since they would have only made him feel worse.
Maki pulled out an instant dinner before getting to work on making it, needing not instructions to find her way around Daigo's kitchen. For a while, neither one of them said anything, simply not seeing a point in it. Daigo enjoyed the silence, he had to confess. He hadn't ever been fond of perfect quiet, but if someone else was there with him, it suddenly became much more bearable. Maki, his closest companion, was the best person for him to spend a sleepy evening with, and he was beyond relieved that he had accepted her offer to spend time together that evening.
"I'm going to have to go home early tomorrow to catch up a few extra things before work," Maki told him, seeming to understand that he wanted her to stay longer. If they hadn't been forced to stay so much longer than usual after work, Maki likely wouldn't have assumed that Daigo wanted her to spend the night, but given the situation, it was the only way that they would have been able to truly enjoy one another's company sufficiently.
"I have to get ready for classes tomorrow anyways," Daigo murmured, hating how much his syllables were starting to slur together already. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he thought. He leaned his head backwards against the cushions, and he allowed the soft sensation of the fabric to lull him into something that felt an awful lot like the precursors of sleep.
Daigo didn't know for sure if he actually drifted into slumber or not, but when he next opened his eyes to end his dreamless haze, Maki had set a plate on his lap. She had also elected to turn off the overhead lights and go for a lamp instead, and the illumination that coated the room was even softer than before, a perfect way to lessen Daigo's headache further. She understood him too well, but Daigo had no reason to complain. What would he do without her?
"We have a lot to discuss," Maki told Daigo plainly as she brushed out the wrinkles of her pencil skirt. Daigo could tell that she was far from being at home in such formal clothing. While she did enjoy wearing nice outfits that others would consider elaborate, Maki was not a fan of business attire in the slightest, and even after spending years wearing a suit for work, she hadn't truly gotten used to the feeling of something so restrictive.
"Yeah," Daigo agreed, hating how tired he sounded to his own ears. He looked down and saw that Maki had made one of his favorite meals, and Daigo began to maneuver the food from his plate into his mouth. The sensation of food immediately made him relax, and Daigo's shoulders released tension that he hadn't even realized he was holding inside.
Maki began to eat her own food soon afterwards, and she sighed to herself. "Hiraku had a lot to tell us. He says that we're getting closer to catastrophe with each passing day. This has been mounting for a while, undetected by the rest of the world. He didn't even notice it until he started looking back into what's been happening behind the scenes these past few months. You know something has to be wrong if not even Hiraku picked up on it," she commented.
"You're right," Daigo muttered, hating how right Maki was. Hiraku had been another one of their close friends ever since they were young, and even if other members of their initial group had moved away to pursue other endeavors, Hiraku had stuck around. He was introverted and different from Daigo and Maki in demeanor, but his kind heart was still something that they both held dearly. Hiraku was also known for his affinity with technology, and both Daigo and Maki were fully aware that if something was giving even Hiraku trouble, then it was an issue that wouldn't be easily resolved.
"All we can do for now is wait it out. Maybe now would be the time to call in some other help from others," Maki continued to say. She glance dup to Daigo after taking a particularly large bite of her food, and she set the plate off to the side. Daigo was left to wonder how she had finished so quickly before realizing that Maki was probably more hungry than she had been willing to let on at a first glance. It was certainly in her nature, as much as he hated to admit it.
Still, the idea of asking others for assistance certainly intrigued Daigo. It had been a long time since he last spoke with a few of their old friends, and if Maki thought there was a chance that they would be able to help with recent issues, Daigo thought it was worth a shot. He would have taken advantage of anything to get the chance to communicate with them regularly again. Life had sent them on different paths, but that didn't mean that they were destined to never interact again.
"I'll arrange it then," Maki commented as soon as she noticed that Daigo was intrigued. "I'll try to see if I can get a hold of them, at the very least. For now, you should get to bed. I actually got a full eight hours of sleep last night, so I can reach out if you need to get some extra rest. Besides, you have a full day of school tomorrow, and I don't want you to pass out in the middle of class. There's only so many favors that sugar can do for you.
Daigo couldn't do anything aside from grumble that Maki was right as he finished off his own food. He got to his feet and stretched his arms above his head, hating the way that his body immediately groaned in protest. "I'll see you later," he murmured as he started to shuffle to the bathroom to go through his nightly routine. "Don't stay up too late."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Maki told Daigo as she reached into her bag to pull out her laptop. She began to type away a few moments later without hesitation. Daigo gave her a fond smile before he disappeared into the bathroom. For the millionth time that day alone, Daigo was left to wonder what he had done to deserve someone so incredible as his close friend.
Ken didn't know what time it was when his D-3 began to shriek noisily. His cheek was pressed against his pillow, and he could feel Wormmon underneath his arm. Ken had draped his wrist lazily across his partner's back, and Wormmon's chest rose and fell steadily with the natural rhythm of his breathing. Ken rubbed at his eyes with his other hand, intent to not disturb Wormmon if he could avoid it.
As Ken shuffled to his feet, he reached for his D-3 to quiet its cries. He could see a signal on the screen, and he could have sworn that he felt his heart drop into his feet. It wasn't often that the program to detect rogue Digimon was used, but Ken was glad that Koushiro and Miyako had worked so hard to put it into effect after countless hours of research. He knew that was what this was even though he yearned for nothing more than to roll over and return to sleep without needing to worry himself with what was going on in the rest of the world.
Ken glanced over to Wormmon, cringing at the idea of having to awaken his partner. Still, he began to gently probe at the Digimon's side, doing what he could to pull Wormmon from slumber without frightening him too much. "Wormmon?" he asked softly.
When Wormmon began to stir, Ken started to search for a set of clothing that he could wear out in public. "What is it?" Wormmon droned sleepily. It took a few moments for him to pry his eyes open, and Ken found himself feeling guilty all over again for needing to wake Wormmon so suddenly. The past week had been stressful enough, and Ken didn't want to add more on top of that.
"There's a Digimon here," Ken told Wormmon. "My D-3 is going off. It has to be close." This had happened when Karatenmon first appeared, and Ken could tell that this was going to spell disaster. Digimon paired with Digivices didn't set off the radar, but those who lacked any connection with humans would be noticed immediately. It was a safety measure to prevent any incidents similar to what had happened with Archnemon and Mummymon, and Ken was glad that Koushiro's sense of caution had paid off once again. Their group truly would have been left to stumble around in the dark without him.
Wormmon was immediately attentive when he registered what Ken had told him. "Let's go," he chirped as he watched Ken slip into a loose shirt with matching trousers. Wormmon jumped off the bed and started moving towards Ken, prompting the boy to lean over and sweep his partner into his arms. They were dashing for the door of the Ichijouji apartment soon afterwards, uncertain yet still ready to face whatever was waiting for them outside the halls of their home.
Another week, another chapter!
This chapter is mostly about showing off the bonds between characters, and I like how it turned out. We have more content of Taichi and Daigo with their awkward student and teacher bond. Trust me when I say that we'll be seeing more than enough of that throughout the rest of the story. It's just a matter of time.
Speaking of Daigo, I love his dynamic with Maki. I really don't think that I can say this enough. Since many facts about them are different in this universe compared to the canon of Tri, their dynamic is less uneasy friendship and more sweet and pure, and I absolutely love that it's like this. Look at this, canon!Maki. This is what happens when you take time to go to therapy. Sort of. It's complicated. That's a story for another day.
Next, I want to talk about Mimi and Meiko. Yes, I know that I skipped over talking about the scene with Miyako, but I'll get to that in a moment. Mimi and Meiko's connection in Tri is another thing that I loved a lot, and it was sweet to see Mimi bring somebody as shy as Meiko out of her shell. Since Mimi is a kind person and has been showing Meiko around the school, it was only natural that they became fast friends. Meiko is a great foil to Mimi in my eyes, and it's nice to have such polar opposites interact in a positive way like this.
Finally, we've got the elephant in the room: that scene with Miyako and the Baby Digimon. This is a reference to audio drama stuff! To be more specific, it elaborates on content found in the Spring 2003 audio drama for Zero Two. During Hikari's segment, she states that Miyako's sisters, Daisuke's sister, and Jou's brother all got partners around the same time when she was trying to record an introductory course about being a Chosen Child. It never stated what Digimon Miyako's sisters had, so I went on and chose new partners for them. Since 2003, Miyako's brother has also gained a Digimon. The primary distinction between the aforementioned group and Meiko is that their partners haven't evolved beyond the Baby stage since it hasn't been necessary. Meicoomon is a fighter by nature where the others... Not so much. They don't have an interest in combat, so they haven't been as close with the rest of the group. In all truth, Meiko wouldn't have become so involved with the rest of the team if not for Mimi becoming her friend so easily, so once again, the Mimi and Meiko dynamic comes to the rescue.
That's about all I have to say about this chapter, so I'm going to round things off here. Next week, we're going to see what's going on with Ken in a chapter with a hopefully less cryptic title. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital