Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digimon Trinity

Chapter: 171/ Episode 24: Discovery

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be skipping school and still pretending that I'm going to it.

Takato reflected on the absurdity of his packing his school bag as though he were going about his usual day. He understood the logic behind it. Appearances had to be maintained in front of his parents after all, but at the same time, he understood that if he told them about Guilmon, he might very well not have to engage in any duplicity at all.

Or not, Takato reminded himself. Mom would probably ground me for life and put a chain on my door.

His brow furrowed. It didn't feel like a fair thought. But then, nothing about this whole ordeal had been 'fair' so far.

No parent would ever want to see their kids getting into fights, he thought, remembering all the times he freaked out about Guilmon getting hurt or escaping from his home or otherwise just not being where he should be. That thought gave him pause in his packing. Although he had always known that on the surface, it suddenly struck him on a deeper level that his parents, his mother especially, only wanted what was best for him and to keep him from getting hurt. No parent in their right mind would ever consider allowing their children to fight fifty-foot tall, world-destroying monsters.

Yet, that's precisely what the digital world required in order to protect both worlds.

"It's not fair," he said in a soft voice, slowly zipping up his bag.

"Takato, I hardly think having you go to school is qualifies as not being fair."

Gasping with surprise, Takato whirled about to find that his mother had snuck up on him while he had been lost in thought. She was wearing her work clothes still and had a stern expression on her face. Clearly, and understandably, she had come up to check in on his progress. Hastily gathering himself, he shook his head.

"No, it's not that," he said. "It's just…"

He trailed off, his throat locking up as he did so. Mei cocked her head to one side, seeing his sudden hesitation and the shadow that passed over his expression.

"Takato, are you alright?" she asked, her mother's worrying senses springing to life. While he never spoke much on the business with the digimon attacks and his Digidestined teacher being fired, those storm clouds hovered ominously over the little life they had here. Since the pig monster she had broached the idea of moving to her husband, but he had shaken his head.

"Where would we go that's safe from digimon? And it's not like we can just start over. We have a life here. A community. Friends. Anyway, the Digidestined will come up with something. I'm sure of it."

Mie wanted to cringe at her husband's optimism. Like her, Takehiro had born witness to some of the terrors of the War. There wasn't a single person in Japan who hadn't been affected by it to some degree. Now there was trouble again and her son – her baby – was being impacted as she and Takehiro had been.

I'm going to have to talk to Takehiro about moving again, she thought, pressing her lips together tightly as she waited for her son's response. Maybe I can talk some sense into him.

Takato's eyes lifted up at her. "I'm fine," he said, and Mie felt her heart plummet a little. Whatever her son had on his mind though, he was trying to hide it. Not very well of course. Her baby never could hide anything from her. Or from most people for that matter. But she also knew that, like his father, he could dig his heels in when pressed and in either case, he needed to get going to school.

"All right," she said carefully. "You'd better be going then." A pause. "Just…promise me that you'll be safe getting there."

"I will," Takato nodded fervently, a part of him feeling like a heel. He was skipping school. Skipping school and he was lying to her about it. Granted, he had kept secrets in the past, but the lies about his being a Tamer were weighing more and more on him and each battle drove it further home to him.

What happens if I get killed and she doesn't know that I'm a Tamer? How will she react if that's how she finds out?

He felt a cold river of guilt flow through his veins, making him shiver.

"Well, hurry up!" Mei said, giving him a hard look. "I swear, sometimes getting you to go to school is like pulling teeth, Takato. Honestly, you'd better get that out of your system before you get to college or else."

"S-Sorry," Takato blanched. Snatching up his bag, he slipped it on. He looked once more at his mother. Again, Mei saw a shadow cross his features. Her instincts rose up in her again and all at once she felt as though she needed to sit him down until whatever was on his mind could be talked about. The urge was strong. Almost overpowering in fact.

"Takato," she began, preparing to say just that. But before she could get further, Takato sidestepped around her, pausing only long enough to whisper out a single sentence that was heavy with emotion.

"I love you, Mom."

And just like that, he was gone, his feet carrying him down the stairs with loud, wooden creaks.

Mie stood there, feeling as though she had missed something important. Taking off her apron, she surveyed his room as if it would tell her something about her son's behavior. Not finding anything out of the ordinary beyond his usual, silly drawings of a red dinosaur, she shook her head and stepped out.

###

Takato hurried through the park at rapid speed, bags of day-old bread clutched tightly in his hands for Guilmon to devour. They were sure to get quite the workout patrolling the city for any sign of a portal so every bit of energy was important.

His face fell a little, thinking back once more on his mother, but he quickly forced himself to brush it aside. He had a job to do and it had to be done. The safety of the world depended on what he and his friends found in the coming days and it had to be soon!

That didn't stop him from feeling guilty however.

"Guilmon!" he called upon reaching the stairs that led to his partner's hut. Climbing them two at a time, he quickly found the familiar gate waiting for him.

Strangely – or perhaps not so strangely, he mused – no Guilmon.

"Guilmon! Where are you?" he called again, reaching the top of the stairs. Unlatching the gate, he slipped on in, concern starting to grow in his chest. "Guilmon?" he prompted again, this time in a softer voice. He soon jerked to a halt at the door as, before his eyes, he found that the already wrecked floor had once again been ripped open and not only that, had expanded even further into the back. Concrete splintered like a spider's web and dirt lay everywhere, as if flung about by some rabid bulldozer. His gaze traced along the great hole, dug wide into the back wall to allow someone of his size to enter and going back at least a yard if not two, delving into the hill that the concrete bunker sat up against.

"Someone's been busy," he observed. Setting the bread bags down, he took a cautious step forward, allowing his eyes time to adjust to the light change. "Uh… Guilmon?"

"Takatooo!" came Guilmon's echoing call, causing the boy to start with surprise. He heard him from what sounded to be inside the hut but he couldn't see him.

Where…? he began before finally spotting the source of the call. Between the gaping tunnel where the wall used to be and the broken-up floor there was another hole, this one smaller. Hurrying on over, he peered over the edge and down into the darkness within.

"What's up?" he called, finding Guilmon standing at attention with a proud smile on his face. "Why did you dig this deep?"

"Well, come down and see!" the crimson dinosaur laughed before turning and making his way into the tunnel. Kneeling down, Takato grasped hold of the ledge and, after making sure the ground would support his weight properly, he let himself down.

"So, what did you find, boy?" he asked, taking a moment to look back up as he heard the sound of loose soil above him. "Buried treasure?"

"The portal," Guilmon replied, pausing in place to glance over his shoulder with a smile. Squeezing himself in after his partner, Takato was about to ask where when he saw it. There, floating directly in front of his partner was a sphere of sparkling light, golden-hued with odd, pink and purple wires and cube-like structures, holographic in appearance, sticking out of it.

"Look." As if to provide further evidence, Guilmon lifted an arm and placed it within the sphere, and the limb blurred, becoming transparent. At once, Takato gasped in terror, remembering the incident in the tunnel. Leaping forward, he snatched hold of his partner's arm and yanked it away from the area of the portal.

"Hey, no!" he exclaimed, half expecting the blurry, translucent effect to crawl up Guilmon's arm and claim him into its otherworldly dimension, just as it happened before. When he saw his partner's arm return to normal, Takato swallowed his heavily beating heartrate and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I smelled something and it wasn't the muffin I buried last week," Guilmon said, paying no mind to his partner's panic. "So, I started digging and found this." He glanced at the sparkling portal, his golden eyes contemplating. "It's really surprising that it was right under my house, huh?"

"It really is surprising," Takato agreed, wondering a little at the sheer, random chance of a portal appearing here of all places. The why and how escaped him, but he found himself wondering if it really mattered as long as they at least found a portal that would take them to the digital world. "Good job. Do me a favor. Just keep away from it for now, okay?"

"Okay, I promise," Guilmon nodded. "Should I make the tunnel a little bigger though? Not everyone is going to fit in here."

"Just as long as you keep clear of the portal," Takato agreed. Widening the hole made sense and they didn't know how long the portal would stick around. The fewer problems they had with everyone going through, the better. "I'd better call the others."

Giving his partner's head a loving pat, he made his way back out of the tunnel and hoisted himself up and back out onto the surface where light awaited him. Takato breathed in the fresh air, thinking about who he should call first. Ken and Rika were his best bets, he felt. Ken especially, as he had everyone's cellphone number. With that decided, he hurried down the steps and in the direction of the nearest payphone.

I should have enough, he thought, patting his pocket. He smiled, finding that he had just enough yen to make a call. Two things going right for me today. All right. Now let's…

"Hey!"

With a start, Takato whirled about at the harsh, angry-sounding voice that had hailed him. He found a boy probably no older than seven or eight approaching him, with odd, gold-colored eyes that reminded him of Guilmon's, only angry. His hair was a messy, reddish-brown and he wore a red, short-sleeved hoodie. About his neck, was a necklace of some kind, but Takato didn't spend much time focusing on it. The boy's aggressive body language held his complete attention.

It's like looking at a bull preparing to charge, Takato thought, feeling himself grow tense. He ran his tongue over his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry. "Uh… Can I help you?"

The boy dipped his head a little bit, gritting his teeth.

"You're one of those Digidestined or Tamers or whatever that's been fighting all the digimon that have been attacking, right?" he asked. "Don't try to deny it, I saw you online."

"Uh…" Takato tilted his head, completely befuddled by what was going on. Why did this kid ask him if he was a Tamer? Unless…

"Hang on," he began, raising his hands in a placating gesture while throwing up a smile. "We're the good guys. We're trying to protect people from the bad digi-"

"I don't care," the boy interrupted, raising his fists suddenly. "Fight me."

"Say wha…?"

"I said, fight me!" the boy growled, falling into a stance, his knees bending a little as he spread his legs apart. "I'm going to be the Ultimate Fighter someday, and I'm going to take on all comers! Human… Digimon… Whoever! I don't care if it means I get to protect my mom and sister! Bring out your partner! I'll take him on, too!"

Takato's mouth quirked a little as he processed this sudden turn of events. "I…don't think this is a good idea. Besides, Guilmon wouldn't want to fight you anyway."

That somehow seemed to strike a nerve with the boy and Takato could already find himself knowing what was going through his mind without even having to guess. Not want to fight him? The Ultimate Fighter? That besmirch upon his honor was not something he could stand.

"It's fighting time again!" the boy yelled before charging headlong at Takato, one fist rearing back to deliver a punishing blow.

Aw nuts… Takato thought, dodging out of the way.

###

Rika ghosted through the park, her school bag bumping up against her hip. She hadn't planned to come down this way, but thoughts about Takato and Henry skipping school weighed on her mind. Although she had dressed the part – if only to escape answering awkward questions from her mother – more and more she felt she should join them.

I should just call Grandma and have her tell the school I'm sick or something, she thought, giving her bag strap a tight squeeze. I stuffed my day clothes in here anyway, so it's not like…

"Rika," Renamon's voice intruded abruptly on her thoughts. "Trouble ahead."

Rika lifted an eyebrow. Her partner didn't sound particularly alarmed despite the warning. "Trouble? Like what?"

Without Renamon even answering, she found that she could already hear commotion coming from near Guilmon's home. Worry flashed through her that Guilmon's home was being targeted by anti-digimon activists and she picked up the pace. Reaching into her bag, she drew out her digivice and the belt containing her card box. She wasn't too keen on fending off humans, but she wasn't about to let Guilmon be harassed or beaten on just for being a digimon. Snapping the belt about her waist, she steeled herself for what was to come. Rounding the corner, she whipped out her digivice and drew an Option card from her deck box – High Speed for a quick disabling – preparing for the worst.

She didn't expect to find Takato fending off a howling seven-year-old boy.

Rika blinked, taken aback by the sight. Her goggle-wearing friend was holding his own quite well, easily blocking and dodging the younger boy's blows as they came. The smaller boy was quick and appeared experienced with fighting, but whatever he dealt with, it paled tremendously before the battles Takato had gone through. His smaller size didn't help him either. All in all, it was a very one-sided match that even Rika could tell should have been over a while ago if not for the fact that Takato was too busy trying to ask what was going on while continuing to fight wearing proverbial kid-gloves.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Takato exclaimed, leaning back as the smaller boy swung a wild haymaker at his chin. "Why do you even want to fight me in the first… Hey! Will you cut it out?!"

The smaller boy refused to listen and instead, with a snarl, he spun about, delivering what should have been a brutal kick to Takato's midsection. Takato's reflexes however were too well-honed now by his experiences, and he easily shifted to the side, evading the sneakered foot. Rika furrowed her brow as she continued to watch the dance between them play out. There was something about that boy that looked familiar. Something about his face and hair…

###

Her footsteps traced down the streets and through neighborhoods. Without her even realizing it, she found herself in a residential area similar to where she lived, and what was more…she recognized the place.

Looking around curiously, she continued on, wondering what it was about this neighborhood that felt so familiar.

"Marcus!"

Rika looked up to see a six-year-old boy with a mess of reddish-brown hair running recklessly across the street toward a tall woman with amber-colored eyes and light-brown hair. She held a two-year old girl in one hand, looking curiously around her. Rika stopped to stare, her lips parting slightly, but not at the sight of these three. Not at first, but rather at the house that stood behind them.

I know this place… That's…my dad's home. The one he went to live in after he separated from Mom…

"Marcus, did you fight again?" the woman berated, glowering at the youth before her, who rubbed the back of his head with that odd kind of amusement where one knows that they've been caught.

"The kid deserved it," the boy – Marcus – replied, wiping at a scuff mark on his cheekbone. Rika could see features in his face that were so strikingly familiar now. His hair, the look in his eyes were all eerily reminiscent of her father. "He was talking about how Dad ditched us! I know he didn't! He'll be back from the digital world someday!"

###

Rika's eyes went wide as memory hit her like a truck. Her half-brother was attacking Takato! She felt Renamon prodding at her through their connection, wondering what the holdup was and whether she should intervene, but Rika was already moving forward.

"Hey!" she shouted, tucking her card and digivice away. "Just what do you think you're doing, you little brat?!"

"Rika?" Takato looked away from the smaller boy for half a second as he registered his friend's presence. That half second was all the child needed to throw a mean blow right into Takato's face, sending him staggering back, clutching at his nose with a surprised cry.

"Gotcha!" the boy crowed excitedly, pumping a fist into the air triumphantly. Rika's eye twitched.

Oh, that does it…

She didn't know how she moved so fast, but the world about her became one angry blur. In the next moment, her brother was lying on the dirt a good distance away, rubbing at his cheek and looking up at her, more startled than hurt. Rika however felt her knuckles burning with pain and it took her a second to realize she had slugged him.

"You get out of here," she seethed, realizing that she was shaking with anger. Marcus, however, smirked and climbed to his feet.

"Nice one," he said. "I'll take you on too!"

"How about no one takes anyone on?" Takato demanded, his voice muffled behind his hand. Rika took a second to realize blood was streaming down his wrist and between his fingers. "Come on, this is stupid! What's even the point of all this?"

"I told you, I'm going to become the Ultimate Fighter! If you weren't such a coward, you wouldn't have gotten punched! I thought you were a Digidestined or something! You're so stu-"

"Marcus Damon!"

The boy cringed suddenly at the loud shout and Rika's eyes snapped up at the brown-haired woman approaching them, a young child held tightly in her arms.

"M-Mom!" the boy stammered out.

"Marcus! I told you to stay close! What were you…?" The woman gasped, taking in Takato's condition. "Marcus…"

"It's not my fault he got distracted!"

"It is totally your fault!" Rika snapped. If her recollections were right, the boy had a habit of picking fights and had decided on Takato as a target in his quest to be the 'Ultimate Fighter.' Apparently, his being a Tamer made him a tempting stepping stone.

Rika felt a certain bitter irony in that.

"Look, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot," Takato interceded, trying to calm the waters. All the while, blood still flowed down his arm despite having pinched his nose shut. "Really, it's okay."

Rika gave her friend a hard glare. Okay? Okay?!

He just gets punched by my lunatic brother and he says it's okay?!

She opened her mouth to give the hapless boy a piece of her mind, unmindful of the family in front of them, but before she could even begin, he grabbed hold of her hand with his own unstained one and began to pull her after him.

"Sorry. We've got to go. We've, uh, got things to do. Like school! And Christmas shopping! Yeah. Ah… Merry Christmas!"

"Takato!" Rika started, almost tripping over her feet as she stumbled after him. "What are you…? Takato!"

###

The hasty explanations came later and as well as they could while Rika read Takato the riot act for letting Marcus go so easily despite his heinous and reprehensible assault. A matter made difficult on Takato's part when his nose became clogged with blood. Before too long however, the pair found themselves back outside Guilmon's home, Rika dressed in her normal day clothes and Takato with his nose stuffed with bits of tissue paper courtesy of a nearby restroom. Somehow, his nose hadn't been broken, though Rika doubted his mother would find that comforting at all.

What am I going to do with him? she wondered, climbing the stairs after her friend. She shook her head, half-remembering the strangely warm and strong feel of his hand in hers and how natural it felt. He hadn't hesitated. Hadn't even seemed to have thought about it since then. Rika scowled, wondering if her attention to that particular detail was just her overanalyzing it or if there was something more behind it, like his dream about her.

Still, Takato's reasoning for cutting in on her angry rant at Marcus rang true in her head. They had more important things to do and she was more than glad to have the excuse to continue ignoring how the gogglehead had held her hand.

"So, you're telling me we searched every block in the whole city and it was here the whole time?" she asked with a bit of an annoyed huff. "Typical."

"I know, right?" Takato laughed. "It's really weird. I wonder if Guilmon being a Hazard digimon has anything to do with it. He does kind of draw trouble like a magnet."

"You draw trouble like a magnet," Rika amended with a humph. "I swear, if it weren't for me and Henry, you'd be…"

"Did someone say my name?"

"Hey, Henry!" Takato called with a wide smile, waving at the half-Chinese boy as they reached the top. "How's it going?"

"Oh, the usual," Henry nodded before arching an eyebrow at Takato's nose. "Uh… Should I even ask?"

"Momentai!" Terriermon chirped, hopping up onto Henry's shoulder for a better view. "I'm sure it's Rika's idea of a date or something." The long-eared digimon giggled, seeing Rika's baleful glare. "What? I'm just kidding!"

"The stupid Gogglehead got jumped by some brat with an attitude problem," Rika harrumphed, crossing her arms together.

Terriermon tapped a paw against his chin. "That sure sounds like you," he said before, upon seeing Rika's renewed glare, quickly amending, "I mean, besides the brat part."

"It's not a big deal," Takato said, giving a light, if strained laugh as he was eager to move the conversation onward. "Anyway, Guilmon found a portal to the digital world!"

"Is that what the big mess is in there?" Henry asked. "Sorry, I only just got here and Guilmon was nowhere in sight. You're saying he found it beneath his home?"

"I did!" came Guilmon's tired, laughing voice as he emerged from his concrete house, covered head to toe with dirt. "I just followed my nose and suddenly there it was."

With a grin, Henry nodded at the dinosaur in awe. "Guilmon, I don't know how you got to it without a bulldozer, but I'm impressed."

Laughing, Guilmon rubbed the back of his head. "Why thank you!" he chirped.

"So, that's it then," Rika said, unfolding her arms. "No more searching. We just pack a few supplies and get going."

"Well, first we've got to let the Digidestined know," Takato began, only to stop at Rika's frown.

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

"What do you mean?" Henry asked as Terriermon hopped down from his shoulder.

"Just what I said," Rika replied. "After yesterday, do you really think they're going to let us go? They've been acting like they're our babysitters ever since the beginning."

Takato's face fell, remembering his mother and his own thoughts about parents and their worries. "She's not wrong," he said, looking at Henry while Rika arched an eyebrow, a bit surprised by his support.

Henry's eyes dipped down, frowning as he remembered his own father as well and the clashes they had ever since the first Deva came through and attacked the real world.

"I don't like it," he said, choosing not to voice his own agreements. "We can't do this without support and we need to tell them about the portal. Ms. Kamiya is still out there and they need to find her. If they split up trying to look for us…"

"Who says we have to tell them that we're sticking around?" Rika asked. "We can take off after they go."

Now it was Takato's turn to frown. He didn't like deceiving the Digidestined.

"No. We have to tell them. Even if we go against their decisions, we should tell them. They've done right by us so far and we should do the same. We're part of a team and we can't act like we're not."

Rika pressed her lips together unhappily, but she couldn't argue against his reasoning. Thinking past her impulsive need to go to the digital world and find Calumon, she knew she wouldn't like being lied to.

"Fine," she grumbled.

"You know, she does raise a good point," Terriermon said. "Even if we just tell the Digidestined we're going, I doubt they're going to just let us go."

"That's assuming that they even tell us to stay behind," Henry noted. "Anyway, we can't really come to a decision on anything until we let the others know and gather up supplies. I suggest that, for now, we get ourselves ready."

"Right," Takato nodded in agreement. "We don't know how long that portal's going to be there. The sooner we're ready to go, the better. We don't know what we'll find in the digital world, so we have to bring food and anything useful." He grinned. "So, remember to pack a toothbrush."

"I'm bringing an air freshener," Rika grunted sarcastically, folding her arms together again. Still, in spite of her misgivings, she already had a few ideas on what to bring. She had a pair of binoculars she knew would helpful. She glanced at Takato. "Should we leave the food to you?"

Takato nodded hesitantly, and she could see in his eyes that this meant more than just getting bread. He was going to have to reveal Guilmon to his parents to impress on them the seriousness of the situation.

"In that case, I'll talk to Ken and let him know about the portal," Henry chimed in.

The three friends looked at one another, as if to say more. A heavy atmosphere had settled over them and each understood that they were now standing at the edge of a precipice. Going to the digital world wasn't just a thing to talk about now. It was for real. And once started, there would be no turning back.

"All right," Rika nodded gravely. "I'll see you here later."

With that, Rika and Henry parted, leaving Takato and Guilmon alone at the hut. Taking a deep breath, Takato took out the tissues from his nose. He sniffed and waited. Everything felt dry and no blood came out. That was a good sign because he really didn't want his mother to have one more thing to panic over. He looked over at his partner.

"So, you ready, buddy?"

Guilmon turned toward his partner, feeling suddenly a bit nervous. They had spoken on and off about his being revealed to Takato's parents. Now it seemed, at long last, was the time.

"Yeah?" he said before hiccupping anxiously. He clapped a clawed hand over his mouth, embarrassed.

###

"Thank you, come again," came the sound of Mie's voice as Takato and Guilmon sauntered up casually to the main entrance to his home. The automatic doors parted with a sigh, revealing a woman who was one of their regular patrons. Takato's stomach made squirrely flips as he fought to keep a calm expression. He hoped that by appearing as though Guilmon was a normal, everyday occurrence, that she wouldn't panic and go running for the hills.

Unfortunately, the way her face twisted into horror at Guilmon's presence, he knew he had failed utterly at this. A second later, she took off screaming, confirming his fears.

I hope she comes back, he thought, making his way over to the cash register, where his mother stood at attention, appearing a bit confused by the customer's reaction before turning to her son.

"Huh. Takato," she began. "What are you doing home alrea… Oh dear lord!"

Takato sighed inwardly. He had played and replayed this scene in his mind so many times and so far she was reacting precisely in accordance to script.

Better actually, he mused. At least she's not trying to hit him with a pan or broom.

"Don't freak, Mom," he said as she inched away from Guilmon.

"It's too late for that!" she exclaimed as Takehiro poked his head in to see what the commotion was all about.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he began, causing Guilmon to whirl about on him.

"Hi!" the digimon chirped in greeting, causing the man to balk in surprise.

"Uh! Is that what…was in the cardboard box?!" he stammered out, his mind doing cartwheels and fitting pieces together. The cardboard box. Takato staying out late. The hideout with the bakery's bags.

Feeding a pet? He was feeding a digimon!

While the two adults gaped in fear and astonishment, Guilmon turned worriedly to his partner.

"Oh, boy," he said as Mie let out a terrified scream. So far, this wasn't turning out the way he thought it would. He turned to his partner, hoping to see if he knew how to make it all right. Instead, the boy looked depressed.

"Takato?"

"Can we talk about this in the kitchen?" the boy asked. Takehiro looked back and forth between the dinosaur and the bakery, quickly checking for customers. There were none, though he didn't know if that meant they had been scared out or not.

"Y-Yeah," he said, his face becoming serious. "I'll just…close up a little early."

"Takehiro…" Mie sobbed. "You're not…not seriously thinking about…talking to that…that…" Her eyes darted over to Guilmon, who looked at her with wide, pleading eyes. Yet, in her mind's eye, all she saw were the monsters rampaging across Shinjuku.

Didn't… Didn't one of the large, metal ones look like this one? she wondered, remembering a particularly massive digimon with axes attached to cybernetic arms and emblazoned with a hazard sign on its chest. This digimon had one as well. Did that mean it turned into that beast? Her son was…?

No. No. Don't… Don't tell me that he's… Her mouth quavered. Her mind found itself unable to even think the word that hung at the edge of her fears.

Partner. This digimon was her son's partner.

The sound of Takehiro locking up the door and putting up the closed sign snapped her back to attention.

"All right," the man said, returning to them, suddenly sounding surprisingly calm. "Let's go have a talk."

Why isn't he doing anything?

"Honey…" Mie whispered. The man glanced at her and nodded. In his eyes, she could see that he too was terrified, but was holding it in check. She swallowed. Her fear didn't recede, but seeing that her husband wasn't about to throw the digimon out onto the streets and that the digimon wasn't about to eat them, she knew she was outvoted on the issue.

At least for now.

Filing into the kitchen together, Takehiro and Takato sat down across from one another. Mie took up position directly behind her husband while the digimon sniffed about, paying particular attention to the TV screen that reflected his image right back at him. He bumped his nose against it, taking a deep breath and upon discovering that there wasn't another digimon trapped in the TV box, he smiled.

"Hello, handsome," he said before turning to Takato's side, beaming at the boy with a look of utter adoration. Mie looked at Takehiro for reassurance and found that he was watching the digimon with a touch of curiosity.

"His name is Guilmon," Takato began. "He's a digimon I created. I drew pictures of him and one day he just appeared and I kept him a secret cause I knew you wouldn't let me keep him. You don't even let me keep goldfish."

"Isn't it like that horrible monster from the other day?" Mie asked, thinking again about the terrifying battle she saw on the news reports.

"Monster?" Guilmon whined, looking at Takato as if for reassurance. Mie shook at hearing him talk. She had never actually been around digimon before, not even when meeting with Takato's former teacher, Ms. Kamiya. Seeing one on a documentary or on the news was one thing, but in real life? Takehiro on the other hand wasn't fazed in the slightest.

"Let's hear what he has to say," he said calmly.

"My friends Henry and Rika have digimon too," Takato continued to explain. "They're nothing like the bad digimon. In fact, Guilmon's the best friend I've ever had. If you want to know the truth, we and our digimon keep the bad ones from making trouble. I never told you, well because you'd ground me for life. And I didn't want you to worry. But now a little digimon called Calumon has been kidnapped and we have to go to the Digital World to rescue him."

"You can't!" Mie exploded suddenly, unable to take it anymore. "Especially not with that creature!"

Takato looked at her with a pained expression.

"But, see, Calumon has these powers which the bad guys might use to destroy the city. And besides, Calumon's my friend too."

"Stop!" Mie cried. "I don't want to hear that!"

"Calumon is our friend!" Takato insisted, his eyes hardening. Why… Why can't she see? "If we don't do anything, we don't know what kind of disaster could happen!"

"Nonsense! Why can't a grownup deal with this? A…A Digidestined!"

Takato looked down. "Well, they've tried. And some of them are hurt now. Others are missing and we don't know if they're trapped in the digital world or somewhere else." He thought about the prophecy Takaishi had mentioned earlier. "All I know is that we're the only ones…who can do anything about it. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

Mie looked as though she were about to faint.

"We don't know what we're in for," Takato continued, the words tumbling out of his mouth faster than he could keep up with them, "so I'll need to pack as much food and bread as possible. I know this is asking a lot, but I need you to trust me just this once!"

His mouth felt so dry and his heart was hammering hard in his chest. How he had managed to speak so fluently without a trace of his usual nervous stammer he would never know.

"Stop joking around!" Mie burst out, suddenly slamming her hands on the kitchen table. "This is out of the question! You're not trapsing into goodness knows where with these monsters! Do you understand what you're saying, Takato?!"

Takato closed his eyes and nodded slightly. "Please let me go," he said softly.

It was at this moment that Takehiro made a small hum and rose to his feet. Without so much as a look over his shoulder, he made his way around the corner and over to where they baked bread. Mie looked at him helplessly, confused as to why he was so silent. Scrambling for something…anything with which to keep her son from going into the digital world, she looked back at him.

"In any case, I can't let you miss school!"

It was a feeble excuse and she knew it. Takato's answering protest came straight away and without preamble.

"But Mom, if we don't do this soon there might not be a school to go to! Don't you get it?"

From around the corner, Mie heard Takehiro open a cupboard. Whirling about, she stormed after him. She found him already at work making the beginnings of bread dough. Her mouth fell open. He…He was seriously going to help him?

"Honey, what are you doing now? say something!"

"Let him go," Takehiro said simply, and Mie found herself dumbfounded by his response.

"Obviously, he's been able to take care of himself so far," Takehiro continued as he worked. "And this is the first time I've seen him with such a serious expression."

"But…he's just a baby!" Mie protested, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. "He's a child!"

Takehiro looked up from his work, his eyes thoughtful. "Years ago, that was young enough to go on a journey. The sort of journey the Digidestined went on." He smiled. "That look he has reminds me of when I served in the Self-Defense Force. The Digidestined and the Tamers that I met there… They all had that look. They all went on that journey. When Takato says that he has to do this, I believe him."

Mie could only look at her husband. The words she wanted to say failed to come to her she was so upset! This wasn't just some journey! This wasn't something out of a story and there was nothing romantic about where Takato was going. That digital world brought nothing but pain and death ever since it first intruded into the existence of Earth.

She knew though that even as she felt that deep in her heart, nothing she could say would assuage either her husband or her son. The tears that threatened to spill forth now did so, and she threw herself at her husband, grabbing hold of his arm and burying her face into it.

"But he's still my baby…" she sobbed, crushing herself against him as she poured out her heart to him.

"Takato's Dad?" came Guilmon's voice, shocking her out of her crying. With a startled gasp, she quickly released her husband and jumped back, trying to put as much distance between herself and the digimon while she searched for a weapon or something with which to defend herself.

"So, you're Guilmon," Takehiro said calmly, straightening himself up and smiling. "Now it makes sense. One of Takato's friends wanted me to make 'Guilmon Bread.'"

The digimon's ears rose up at that, clearly surprised. "Bread shaped like me?" he asked before suddenly waving his arms about with glee. "Ohhh… I'm going to be a bread roll! Yummy!"

Mie peered over her husband's shoulder, taken aback by the digimon's sudden expression of happiness at having bread shaped like him. It looked so…childish. In a way, it reminded her of Takato when he had been just a little tot, sticking food up his nose in an attempt to make her laugh.

"I'll even make it life size," Takehiro grinned. "Just look out for my boy and make sure you come back, okay?"

"Promise! I promise!" Guilmon beamed happily at the man. "Guilmon bread! I can't wait! Can it have peanut butter filling? Huh? Pleeease?"

From around the corner, Takato watched the scene unfold, his expression a mixture of relief and concern. His father… He hadn't known that he had served in the Self-Defense Force. He never said anything about it. Had it been during the War? He mentioned seeing Digidestined and Tamers so it sounded like he did. In retrospect, it made sense. The War demanded entire countries to mobilize their populations against The Darkness. It would have been unlikely that his father wouldn't have served in some capacity.

He didn't know why his father never told him about it though, but it was clear that the experience was the reason why he decided to help him rather than hinder.

"Thanks, Dad," he said solemnly. "I won't let you down. I promise. And I'm sorry…Mom."

He bowed his head while Guilmon continued to gleefully dance, asking if he could help with the baking.

12