Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth IS Chapter 13: The Case of the Missing Person!, a X-overs + Anime X-overs Crossover fanfic

A/N: Heyo. Here is Chapter 13 of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth IS and after this chapter, it's time for the second anime filler chapter segment with Ranma ½, One Piece and Tenchi Muyo.

Chapter 13: The Case of the Missing Person! Arise ExVeemon and Stingmon!

Not long after saving Kirito and his group from Crabmon and Shellmon, our heroes made the trip back to the real world with their new friends in two while also explaining to them about their situation. While on their way back, Ichika and his friends also started telling about the location they're in and how Ichika saw them in his vision.

"Okay, so let's see if what you're telling us is true…" Liz began as she started to piece together what Ichika and his friends told her and the rest of the SAO players. "You're saying that this place we're in is called Kowloon and its part of this huge server called EDEN, right?" Ichika and his friends all nodded in response. "And those monsters that attacked us before are called Digital Monsters or Digimon for short, right?" Ichika and his friends nodded again. "And you saw us in a vision you had last night and came down here because we were in trouble?"

"Yeah, that's the whole story." Ichika answered her with a nod. "We figured you all might need our help after being caught in that earthquake and everything. Of course, we weren't expecting both Crabmon and Shellmon to attack you guys and I was worried we weren't going to make it in time."

"And boy, are we glad you guys did." Klein smiled in relief. "I thought we were as good as dead when those things had us up backed into a corner. If you all haven't showed up when you did, our goose would've been cooked for sure." His friends all nodded in agreement until everyone heard Leafa shouting.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Leafa yelled out in shock as Fukuyama's hands were on her breasts.

"My my, these are some fine breasts you have, my lovely fairy!" Fukuyama squealed pervertedly. "They have just the right amount of squishiness and are just great to hold in the palms of my hands! They could even match with Kirie's in terms of size!" He continues groping her breasts as everyone couldn't help but remain in shock until Kirito makes a move and kicks him away.

"Hey! Back off, you disgusting pervert!" Kirito yelled in fury. "No one dares do that to my sister and gets away with it! If you ever think of doing that to her again, I'll personally send you to hell myself!"

"Hey, what the hell was that about, you bastard?!" Fukuyama growled in anger. "I was having the time of my life with this radiate beauty! What makes you think that you can come between us like that?!" Before Kirito could answer, he felt a presence behind him as Kirie cracked her knuckles.

"Fukuyama… What did I say about groping other girls…?" Kirie warned dangerously. "Looks like I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson!" She then grabs Fukuyama by his shirt and lifts him over her shoulder while shouting "Go do your groping in hell!" And slams him into the floor.

"Well, glad to know there's someone who can put that pervert in his place." Kirito smirked. "Still, if he ever thinks of doing that to Leafa, Asuna, Yui or any of my friends, I'll be more than happy to live up to my promise." He then turns to Leafa. "Hey Leafa, how are you feeling? Think you'll be okay after that?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine after taking some therapy for the next couple of days." Leafa answered him with a relief smile. "Thank you, Onii-chan. I don't know what would've happened if that jerk kept on groping my breasts." Kirito smiled and gave her a thumbs up and she returns the gesture.

"Well, now that that's taken care of and Fukuyama getting his just deserts, let's keep going." Ichika smiled. "There's one more person we want to introduce you guys too and we'll explain everything there." Everyone nodded in agreement as Fukuyama stays on the floor and twitching in pain from Kirie's last attack.

Back in the real world, Kyoko was sitting at her desk and waiting for Ichika and his friends to return from their rescue mission. As she turns towards the TV, the screen started glowing brightly as she knew they were returning and their mission was successful. Just then, a bright light emits from the screen and appears in the center of the office as Ichika and his friends all materialized along with Kirito's group and Fukuyama who was still in pain.

"Whoa, that sure was one hell of a trip there…" Agil muttered. "I didn't think you could logout from that terminal back in there. Now I know what it feels like to be downloaded." His friends nodded in agreement as they tried to regain their composure.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to it later on." Ichika said with a smile. "Believe me, it took us some time to get used to it, but we were able to manage it." His friends all nodded in agreement.

"But how were you able to log out like that?" Liz asked confusedly. "Normally, you need a password and account to log out of anything like that. So how can you do that so easily?" Before Ichika could answer her, Kyoko spoke up for him.

"Let's just say, my assistant has a special ability for him to log out as he did several times before." Kyoko stepped in with a smile before clearing her throat and adding "But for how he has that ability, let's save that explanation for another time. I'm sure you'll be knowing the answers sooner or later." Everyone turned to face her as she looks over to Ichika and his friends. "Welcome back, my assistants. I trust that your mission was a successful one?"

"Yep, we made it to them just in time." Ling answered her with a grin. "We were able to save them just before Crabmon and Shellmon turned them into sushi. And on the plus side, Dorumon was finally able to digivolve into Dorugamon and helped us turn both Crabmon and Shellmon into crab cakes!" Her friends all nodded in agreement.

"I see, I'm glad to hear you and Dorumon were finally able to reach that level, Satoru." Kyoko smiled as Satoru rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I can see you're all getting stronger over the past week and are just about ready for our first real case, but we'll save it for tomorrow." Ichika and his friends all nodded while everyone else were confused. "And on that note, mind telling me who our new guests are?"

"That's a good question, we never really got their names yet." Houki agrees as she rubbed the back of her head nervously as she remembered something important. "We were too busy telling them about Kowloon that we never asked them their names."

"It's alright, we were too focused on your explanation that we didn't ask for your names either." Kirito said with a nod. "And since we're here, now's a good time as any." He then clears his throat as he starts to introduce him and his group. "My name is Kirito, nice to meet all of you and thanks for saving us again. Here's my wife Asuna, our daughter Yui, my sister Leafa, Silica and her dragon Pina, Liz, Sinon, Phillia, Klein and Agil." His wife, daughter, sister and friends all nodded and smiled.

"Wait, you said that Asuna was your wife and Yui's your daughter, right?" Tatenashi asked with wide eyes. "But how can you two be married and have a kid while still in high school?"

"We're not technically married, just married in game." Asuna answered her with a nervous smile. "It's a really long story, but we'll just say that me and Kirito found Yui and took her in as our daughter some time ago. Then after that, the earthquake just appeared out of nowhere and we were sent to Kowloon where we met all of you."

"I see, that does sound interesting to hear." Kyoko murmured while understanding what's going on. "But if that earthquake wasn't a normal phenomena, then something must be up." She then turns to Ichika and his friends. "But for right now, let's worry about that later. Our first priority is to find Kirito and his friends some place to live and where they'll be attending school." She glances over to Agil. "With one exception to that rule, of course."

"Hey, don't mind me. I'm more than capable of living it up myself." Agil said with a smile. "Perhaps I can open up a small cafe for us to hang out and meet up. That way, we can all hang out together."

"I'll have to let management know about that." Kyoko agrees before getting back to the subject at hand. "But right now, we need to find out where everyone else can stay. A hotel's far too expensive, even with the money we receive from cases."

"Hey, maybe they can come to the IS Academy?" Kirie suggested with a smile. "It has plenty of room for them and they can stay at the dorms for attending classes there."

"Not a bad idea, Kirie." Cecilia agrees, smiling as well. "That way, we can always be close together and met up during and after school." She then glances over to Leafa, Yui and Pina. "But Yui's still too young to attend the academy and I'm not sure how people are going to react to a dragon or Leafa's ears. What can we do about that?"

"Hey, I can have Leafa, Yui and Pina stay at my house and let them know its okay to come out." Ichika answered her with a smile as he snapped his fingers with that idea. "But, we may need something to hide both Pina and Leafa's ears so no one would freak out." He turns to face Kyoko. "Hey Kyoko, do you still have that cloak you had me wore when we first met?"

"Yes, it's still in my car in the backseat." Kyoko answered him while understanding Ichika's plan. "So you plan on having Leafa wear the cloak to hide her ears, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. She'll be wearing the cloak to hide her ears." Ichika answered her with a nod. "But how are we going to hide Pina? Silica can't just carry her around, people might freak out for seeing a real dragon."

"I know, I can buy a bag that's big enough for her to fit in." Char suggested. "I can take Silica shopping to find a bag for Pina to hide in and is big enough for her. That way, no one would be scared of Pina and she'll be safe."

"Then it's settled, that's our plans for tonight." Kyoko smiled in agreement. "I'll let management know about Agil's cafe being stationed here while Char and Silica can go shopping for a bag for Pina. And once everything's set, we'll close up for the night. So all of you can take the rest of the day off, you all earned it." Everyone nodded and left the office to get everything set up for their new friends.

A little later

"Hey, thanks a lot for giving us a place to stay." Kirito smiled as he and his friends looked around, paying no mind to the odd looks people are giving him and his friends. "It's been a long time since we've been in the real world, so we really appreciate your kind gesture. But it feels kinda weird to be back in the real world like this after being trapped for two years." HIs sister, wife and friends all nodded in agreement while everyone else were confused.

"Hold on, what do you mean by trapped for two years, Kirito?" Ling asked in confusion. "Did something happen to you guys before arriving in Kowloon?"

"Yeah, but it's a really long story to tell." Asuna answered her with a sad frown. "Before coming here, we were trapped inside a game called Sword Art Online with several other players also trapped inside. And because we're all trapped inside the game, we have to make sure we don't lose all our HP because if you die in there, you die for real."

"What?!" Everyone gasped in shock.

"Yeah, that's exactly what we thought when we discovered we were trapped in the game." Liz agreed, frowning sadly as well. "Unfortunately, not a lot of people took it very well and decided to remove their Nerve Gears to logout of the game. But because they were now wired to our brains, removing it would also result in death."

"But who in the right mind would be sick enough to trap all of you in the game?" Houki asked with an angry frown. "What does he have to gain for keeping every player inside and removing this Nerve Gear just results in death?"

"If I had to guess, it's to have power over everyone and be like a god." Sinon answered her, sharing Houki's angry frown. "The Gamemaster, the one responsible for trapping us, is the person we must defeat in order for us to escape from the game. He told us that if we can clear all 100 floors and beat the final boss, then we'll be released from that virtual hellhole."

"There's also something about the Gamemaster…" Asuna frowned seriously. "He was masquerading as a player and he was someone I once trusted and was the former guild leader of the guild Kirito and I joined, the Knights of the Blood Oath, His name? Heathcliff whose real name is Kayaba Akihito. When we found out, Heathcliff said that if we want to be freed, we must defeat him since he is also the final boss of the game we're gunning for. He said that after we defeated the 75th Floor's boss and when he revealed his true colors."

"What a creep…" Ram frowned seriously as she pounded her fists in anger. "This Heathcliff guy who is the creator of that game you and your friends are trapped in was toying with your lives and killing off innocent players for his amusement?! He's lower than low!"

"Kirito-san fought Heathcliff and won, but we still couldn't log out despite Kirito-san's victory against Healhcliff, so here we are now, trying to reach the 100th floor to fight the final boss and head home." Silica explained.

"But it got interrupted when that earthquake happened and you all ended up in Kowloon where we found you, right?" Satoru asked.

"Yeah, that's the gist of the story." Kirito answered him with a nod. "We've just cleared the 79th floor and saved Phillia from the Hollow Area, so we've decided to take a break from fighting for a while. But then that earthquake happened and we ended in Kowloon where you all saved us from those… what were they called again?"

"They're called Digimon, short for Digital Monsters." Laura answered him. "Those are the creatures you saw us fighting against with our partners who are also Digimon. We've been fighting the evil ones for the past week and it's only now that everyone has digivolved into their Champion forms, expect for Gatomon."

"I gotta admit, you guys sure are something else." Klein said with a smile. "Not only you took on those Digimon things, but you've been fighting them for over a week. Boy, are we lucky you guys came in when you did." His friends all nodded in agreement. "Speaking of which, you guys never told us your names yet. We've already told you ours, but we still don't know yours."

"You're right, we never did properly introduced ourselves yet." Cecilia agrees with a smile. "I suppose we were too distracted by your story that we forgot all about it. Well, better late than never. Ichika, would you please?"

"I'd be glad to, Cecilia." Ichika answered her with a smile as well. "I'll be more than happy to properly introduce us to our new friends." He takes a deep breath and clears his throat. "Well, my name is Ichika Orimura. And they're my friends, Houki Shinonono, Cecilia Alcott, Charlotte Dunios, Laura Bodewig, Huang Lingyin and the Sarashiki sisters, Tatenashi and Kanzashi." He then turns to everyone else. "And they're the friends we've met during our first week, Neptune, Nepgear, Noire, Uni, Blanc, Rom and Ram, Vert, Yukinari Sasaki, Miharu Sena Kanaka, Kirie Kojima, Lisa Fukuyama, Koyomi Hare Nanaka and Tomoka Lana Jude." The friends in question all waved or smiled at the newcomers before they noticed something.

"Hey, wasn't there one more with you guys?" Agil asked in confusion. "That perverted idiot who was groping Leafa's unmentionables?" Before anyone could answer, the door to the agency opened up as Fukuyama comes flying out and lands on the floor face first with Kyoko standing at the door.

"Nice try, but don't think you can take advantage of me." Kyoko smirked as she dusted her hands. "I'm not the kind of woman who likes someone for their money or conceded attitude, but someone who sees the person for who they are. If you think you can get any girl like that, then those bimbos are just as shallow as you." She closes the door as everyone else were trying to comprehend what just happened.

"Whoa… that is one tough woman right there…" Klein winced. "I didn't think she'd be the kind who can kick someone out her door. Remind me to never get on her bad side."

"Too late, someone else already did." Satoru said with a sigh. "A certain someone called her a stripper because of the way she's dressed and even called her an old lady. So let's make sure that doesn't happen again." Everyone all turned to Tomoka who was sweating bullets.

"Anyway, let's show them around Nakano." Twoearle said with eyes closed and a nervous smile, changing the subject. "Since they'll be with us now, it's best to show them everything Nakano has to offer." Everyone nodded in agreement and started the tour around Nanako Broadway.

As the tour started, Ichika and his friends showed Kirito's group and Yukinari's group around Nakano and everything it has to offer. As they explore each of the floors, Kirito's group and Yukinari's group were shown the different shops and restaurants around Nakano and even found some of their favorites. There was an anime store for Klein, a book store for Sinon, a bakery for both Silica and Miharu and a doll shop for Kirie. Once the tour was over, everyone was resting at the foodcourt on the 3rd floor before heading back to the agency on the 1st floor.

"I gotta say, this place sure is something else." Klein smiled as he ate his food. "I didn't think a place like this would have so much personality and charm. It almost makes me not want to leave here."

"A lot of people say the same thing, so you're not alone there." Satoru also smiled as he explained. "And that's just what makes Nakano so special to people, it's so simple yet it has a lot of personality that you won't find anywhere else. Many people here are really nice and are always happy to see new and old faces. Others can be a little quirky at times, but they're still all good people."

"It's true, I've been with him and Kyoko since last month and there's always something new here in Nakano." Twoearle agrees, smiling as well. "Nakano may look like your everyday shopping center, but it has a certain charm that not a lot of people see. It's something you have to see for yourself and that is an experience itself." She then turns her attention to Satoru and hugs him. "Of course, the best experience for me was meeting my little detective here and I don't regret it one bit." Satoru couldn't help but blush while everyone else smiled at them expect for Fukuyama who was still grumbling to himself.

"Well, those two sure are really close." Asuna smiled in approval. "I can tell she really likes him and I'm sure he does too. Of course, he's probably too shy to admit it." Everyone all nodded in agreement as Satoru blushed even brighter from her statement.

"Reminds me how we were when we were first married, Asuna." Kirito said with a smile. "I still remember the day like it was only yesterday with meeting Yui thrown into the mix." He then hugs both his wife and daughter while they hugged him back.

"Speaking of which, it's about time we head back to the office." Ichika reminded everyone. "I'm sure Kyoko has everything set for Agil to set up shop here and the paperwork for Kirito and his friends to attend the IS Academy and we'll be heading out before Nakano closes for the night. I'm sure she'll have a lot to say to us before everything closes up."

"But before we do, we might need to get Kirito and his friends some new clothes." Cecilia suggested. "I don't think it'll be safe to walk around in armor and weapons and I'm not sure how people would react to their appearance." Kirito and his friends all looked at their clothing and realized she was right.

"She's right, we're no longer in SAO anymore." Sinon agrees with her while looking at her armor. "We're gonna be needing some clothes if we're going to be living here now. We can't go around with our armor and weapons."

"Then let's head for the clothes store back on the 2nd floor." Kanzashi suggested with a smile. "I'm sure they'll have some clothes for all of you, but we might have to make several trips. It's going to take at least another week to get all the clothes you need for your stay here."

"You go on ahead, I'm gonna be helping Silica." Char told everyone as she nodded to Silica and she nodded back. "We need to find a bag for Pina to hide in, so that no one would get scared of her."

"Okay, we'll meet up at the office later." Ichika agreed. "Let us know when you find the right one for Pine before Nakano closes for the night." Char and Silica nodded and got up from their seats as they headed for a pet store while everyone else headed down to the 2nd floor to buy clothes.

Not long after splitting up with Char and Silica, our heroes headed for a clothes store on the 2nd floor to buy clothes for Kirito and his friends to blend in while living their new lives. Ichika, Satoru, Kirito, Yukinari, Klein and Agil headed for a men's clothes store and making sure Fukuyama doesn't do anything perverted while the girls do the same for Asuna, Liz, Leafa, Sinon, Yui and Phillia.

With the boys

"Hey Kirito, try these on." Ichika said with a smile while showing him a black shirt and pants. "Since your armor's black, you can get this as your everyday clothes." He tosses the shirt and pants over to Kirito and he catches them.

"Thanks, Ichika. I'll try these on now." Kirito said in gratitude as he enters the changing room to try on his new clothes.

"Hmmm… Let's see what we've got here… " Satoru was browsing through some clothes on a rack before finding some he was looking for Agil. "Hey, these'll do great." He grabs some larger clothes from the rack and hands them over to Agil. "Here, try these on, Agil. These might look good on you."

"Not a bad idea, kiddo. Thanks a bunch." Agil smiled as he enters the second changing room and puts on the clothes Satoru gave him.

A few minutes later, both Kirito and Agil stepped out of the changing rooms in their new clothes and showed off to their friends and looking in the mirror as the store clerk checks up on them.

"Well gentlemen, how are things here?" The clerk asked with a smile. "I trust you were able to find everything you needed?"

"Yes ma'm, we've found everything we needed." Satoru answered her with a smile. "And I think we're about ready to pay now." His friends all nodded in agreement while Fukuyama was still grumbling to himself.

"Perfect, then I'll be waiting for you at the front desk." The clerk said with a smile. "Come find me whenever you are ready." The boys all nodded as she headed back to the cash register.

For the next hour, Ichika, Satoru and Yukinari helped Kirito, Klein and Agil search for clothes and decided that was enough for now. After finding everything they needed for Kirito, Klein and Agil, they paid with the money Matayoshi gave them for both arrests and started heading back to the agency.

With the girls

Around the same time, the girls were buying also buying clothes for Asuna, Leafa, Liz, Yui and Phillia while also deciding to buy clothes for Silica at another time. After trying on some clothes and debating which of them were cuter, the girls payed for all the clothes and started heading back to the office.

"Whew, I didn't think the line would take that long." Liz sighed. "There sure were a lot of a lot of people shopping there as well. Was there a sale going on?"

"Not really, it's actually how low the prices are here than in other department stores." Twoearle answered her. "Items here are a lot easier to buy because you won't break the bank here and your wallet. That's one of the reasons why people shop at Nakano the most than other stores or shopping centers."

"Wow, you sure weren't kidding, Twoearle. Nakano does have its own charm." Asuna gasped and smiled in awe. "Now I can see what you meant before, Nakano has its own charm that you need to experience for yourself and we're starting to get it. I get the feeling we'll be seeing more of what Nakano has to offer." Her friends all nodded in agreement.

"Speaking on which, let's head back to the office." Houki suggested. "Char, Silica and the boys might be done with their shopping and are already with Kyoko by now. Let's see what she has to say to us." Everyone nodded and headed back to the agency on the 1st floor.

With Char and Silica

Also around the same time as the other two groups, Char and Silica were in a pet shop searching for a bag for Pina to hide in and staying close to her master.

"Hmm… Now what kind of bag we should get for Pina?" Silica pondered as she looked at the bags. "There are so many bags to choose from, I don't even know where to start looking."

"I'm sure we'll find one for Pina." Char assured her. "Let's start looking around, we'll find the one you might like." Silica nodded in agreement as they started their search.

For the next few minutes, both Char and Silica were searching through all around the store for the right bag for Pina. After searching through the store, Silica finds a bag the same color as Pina and takes it from the shelf as they headed for the cash register for Char to pay for her new bag.

"Thank you, Char. I really appreciate you buying this bag for me." Silica smiled in gratitude. "Now we won't have to worry about everyone freaking out from seeing Pina. You really helped us out." Pina squeaks in agreement, but quietly to make sure no one heard her.

"You're both welcome, Silica and Pina." Char smiled as she closed her eyes. "I'm glad I could help you find a bag for Pina. Let's head back to the office, the others might be already done with their shopping." Silica nodded in agreement as they headed back to the agency on the 1st floor.

A little later

Kyoko was sitting at her desk and talking on her cellphone with someone until the door opens up. She sees Ichika and the gang entering the office with shopping bags just as she finished talking on her phone and hangs up.

"Hey Kyoko, we're back from our tour and shopping." Ling greeted with a wave. "We've bought a lot of clothes for Kirito and his friends with the money Matayoshi gave us. Now we know what to do with them if we ever do a case." Her friends all nodded in agreement while the CPUs, Yukinari's group and Kirito's group were confused. "By the way, who were you talking to on your phone before?

"That was the manager of Nakano I was speaking to." Kyoko answered her with a smile "I told him about Agil wanting to open up a cafe here and he agreed to the idea. But since Nakano's closing in two hours, he'll want to see Agil first thing tomorrow morning in his office." Agil nodded as she continued. "Also, I called the academy about some new students attending and they've agreed to allow Kirito and his friends to attend classes with Ichika and the others."

"Perfect, we can get rooms for them at the dorms." Ling smiled as she placed her hand on her hips. "I'm sure they'll be comfortable, but both Kirito and Klein may need to be on the lookout." Her friends all knew what she was talking about while Kirito's group were confused.

"Be on the lookout? For what exactly?" Klein asked in confusion while blinking. "What's got you so worried that we need to be on the lookout?"

"Trust us, you'll find out when you get there tomorrow." Ichika answered with a nervous smile and closed nervous eyes.

"In any case, I'd say we're done for the day." Kyoko nodded. "We have something very important tomorrow, so get some rest to regain your energy." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Now with that settled, how about I pour some coffee for you? It's good for what awaits you after your run in with those two Digimon."

"AHHHHH!" Ichika and his friends all screamed in terror.

"Sure, we can go for some coffee." Kirito said while smiling in gratitude. "It's been a long time since we've had any, so I'm excited for what you have in mind." Kyoko nodded and gets up from her desk as she goes to brew some coffee.

"Not again, it's another of her special coffee!" Noire gulped as she showed the white dotted eyes and sweat drop. "Now they're going to feel the horrible taste we've all felt before! We've got to get them out of here before it's too late!"

"What are you guys talking about over there?" Liz asked in confusion. "What's so bad about her coffee? It's not like it's going to kill us or anything."

"You don't understand, that coffee's not like any from this world!" Vert reasoned with a panicked expression. "She adds in ingredients you wouldn't see anyone add in coffee ever! If you know what's good to you, you'd all leave now while you still can!"

"Come on, you guys are just overreacting." Asuna dismissed her. "I'm sure her coffee was a more adult taste to you and your tastebuds aren't up for its more refine flavor." Before anyone could say anything, Kyoko comes back with some coffee and gives it to each of them.

"Here you go, wasabi and red paste coffee. Something I'm working on." Kyoko said with a smile. "It's still in the testing phase, so I need your opinions on how it tastes. Go on, don't be shy." Kirito and his friends all looked at the coffee as it swirls with a strange aroma coming from it.

"Well, here goes nothing... Bottoms up..." Kirito gulped as he and his friends all drank the coffee.

"Well, how does it taste?" Kyoko asked with a smile. "Was it very good?" Before any of them could answer, they all feel on the floor with a loud crash, all except for Yui. "Hmm, I guess its back to the drawing board again. Maybe I need to add some hot mustard to it." Everyone else just looked at her and sweat dropped. Yui however, was enjoying the coffee.

"This is amazing, Miss Kuremi." Yui smiled as she drank the coffee. "Mommy and Daddy haven't tried this flavor before but I am liking this flavor since it is my first time drinking coffee."

"Glad you like it, Yui." Kyoko closed her eyes and smiled. "And you don't have to be formal. Just Kyoko will do."

"What the…" Twoearle spoke first with eyes widen.

"…hell?" Satoru finished with the blank white shocked eyes.

Not long after recovering from Kyoko's coffee, our heroes were riding the bus back home to rest up for something important as Kyoko mentioned. Needless to say, Kirito and his friends started regretting their decision to drink her coffee and ignoring their friends' warnings about it as Ichika and the gang were really disappointed with them.

"So what was that you were saying about us overreacting?" Noire asked with a sneer. "And saying our tastebuds weren't ready for its more refine flavor? Seems to me that Yui here is the most adult out of all of you while her own parents and their friends are the real children."

"Okay, we get it! You've made your point!" Liz fumed as she rubbed her temples in frustation. "We were idiots for not listening to your warnings and drank her coffee and we paid the price for it. Still, I can't believe she actually added wasabi and red paste into coffee! I mean, who does that with coffee?"

"Yeah, sorry about that, guys." Satoru apologized as he sighed in exhaustion. "She always had this weird fascination of adding strange ingredients to her coffees. She's even planning on having one of them on the market if she can find a way to perfect it." Everyone except for Yui shuddered at the thought of Kyoko's coffee being on the market and the catastrophic results upon release. Satoru then turns to Yui. "But what I don't get is how Yui didn't get affected by the coffee while everyone else did?"

"That's the thing, Yui's not entirely human." Kirito answered him. "Remember what we said about me and Asuna finding her?" Everyone nodded as Kirito continued. "Well, we've also found out that Yui's also an AI program in SAO and was tasked to monitor all the players trapped in the game." Everyone gasped in shock as Yui nodded to confirm with her father.

"But she looks more like a normal human than an AI program…" Laura muttered in shock. "So who was the person that made her to be more like a human and tasked her to monitor the players?"

"It was Heathcliff who created her when he was creating SAO, but she did end up leaving her position and we found her on one of the floors where we made her our daughter." Asuna answered as she explained with a sad frown. "But we could tell she was tormented seeing most of the players being killed and couldn't take it anymore. Mostly by their own accord, by other players who enjoy being the bad guy or being overpowered by the monsters." Everyone couldn't help but feel sad for the players being trapped in a virtual prison and wanting to kill themselves just to escape until the bus stops at its destination.

"Well, here's our stop." Satoru said with a smile. "Kyoko-nee did say about something important to tell us, so let's get some sleep for tomorrow. We might be in for our first big case to find any information on Kamishino Enterprises." Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Kirito's group, as he and Twoearle exited the bus and it continues on.

Not long after dropping off Satoru and Twoealre, Ichika got off at his destination along with Yui, Leafa, Pina and the CPUs. Upon arriving at his house, he opens the front door and enters his house while also Yui, Leafa and Pina saying goodbye to Kirito, Asuna and Silica until tomorrow.

"Wow, you've got a pretty big house, Ichika." Leafa smiled as she looked around in awe. "The house me and Kirito live in is just as big. Do you live here by yourself?"

"Not really, my older sister also lives here." Ichika answered her with a smile. "Right now, she's on a business trip and won't be back for 2 months. So until then, I basically have the house to myself." He then unzips the bag to let Pina out as she spreads her wings and lands on his shoulders. "So Pina, how do you like my home so far?" Pina gave him a squeak to answer as he smiled. "Glad you think so, but you'll have to lay low here until I give you, Yui and Leafa the okay." Pina nodded in agreement as he petted her head and she liked it.

"Mr. Ichika, where are we going to sleep?" Yui asked him. "From what I can see, there's not that much room here in the living room and there are three other rooms in the house."

"Since Neptune and her friends are sleeping here, you three can sleep in the guest room." Ichika answered her. "We didn't use it a lot except for certain occasions, but it could work for you. Now why don't you head upstairs and freshen up, I can get the room ready by the time you're done." He then pats Yui's head and ruffles her hair. "And also, you don't have to be formal, Yui. Just Ichika is fine." Yui smiled and giggled at him.

"Okay, thanks a lot, Ichika." Leafa said in gratitude as she and Yui headed up stairs to the bathroom while Pina stays with Ichika and helps him get the room ready.

For the next few minutes, both girls were taking a shower together and having fun while Ichika was getting the guest room ready with the help from Nepgear, Rom, Ram and Uni while their older sisters watched TV. As soon as the room was ready, Leafa and Yui got out of the shower and dried off before putting on some robes left for them by Nepgear and heading downstairs.

"Hey, you two. Glad to see you're both all cleaned up." Vert greeted with a smile. "Ichika and the others just finished with the room, so it should be ready." Leafa and Yui both nodded and headed for the guest room to meet with Ichika.

As the girls entered the guest room, Ichika turns to them and smiled. "Hey girls, nice to see you're all freshen up. And the room's ready for you girls to use whenever you're ready." The CPU Candidates all nodded in agreement while Pina flies over to Yui and lands in her arms.

"Thanks, Ichika. We really appreciate you letting us stay here." Leafa closed her eyes and smiled. "You and your friends done so much for us in one day, I don't even know how to thank you enough."

"There's no need, we're just happy to help." Ichika smiled as he placed his hand on his hip. "When you told us about your situation, we couldn't just let someone like this Heathcliff guy have his way with innocent people like he's god. Kirito said he defeated him back in the 75th floor, but I doubt that's the case. So if we do find him, we'll help you guys defeat him and save all those innocent people he's trapped in his virtual prison." Leafa and Yui nodded in agreement as they all started yawning. "Well, it's time we headed for bed. It's your brother's first day at our school, Leafa." Everyone nodded in agreement as everyone all headed for bed for Kirito and his friends' first day at school save for Leafa and Yui.

The next morning, sunlight was shining through the closed curtains as it stretches across the room to the bed where Leafa, Yui and Pina were sleeping. As the sunlight hits Leafa's face, she starts to stir as she opens her eyes and yawns while stretching her arms above her. She then looks to her side to see Yui sleeping close to her with Pina in her arms as she smiles and strokes her hair.

"Ya know, you sleep a lot like Oni-chan, Yui." Leafa said with a soft smile. "I can see where you got that from. Still, I'm happy to have a niece as cute as you, Yui." She then looks at the clock on the nightstand. "Well, it's time for me to get up now. Today's the day Oni-chan and the others attend Ichika and his friends' school while me and Yui stay behind." She slowly gets off from the bed as to not wake up and headed for the door.

After exiting the room, Leafa walks down the hall and through the living room until she reaches the kitchen where the CPUs were having breakfast. They all turned to see Leafa entering the kitchen and all greeted her.

"Hey, look who woke up on the right side of the bed." Neptune said with a smile. "If it isn't Leafa, our resident busty blonde elf. So how was yours and Yui's sleep? I can tell by your smile it was relaxing."

"You're right, it was relaxing, Neptune." Leafa agrees with a nod. "It's been a long time since I've slept in a real bed, I almost forgot how it feels like. I guess being in a virtual world is to blame for that." She then looks around for Ichika, but he's nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where's Ichika? I thought he'd still be here."

"He had to leave for school because he was already late." Vert answered her "He told us to wait for you and Yui to wake up and make you some breakfast. He'll be back later in the afternoon to get us when school ends." Her fellow CPUs all nodded in agreement as Yui walks into the kitchen while rubbing her eyes.

"Leafa… where did you go…?" Yui asked with a yawn. "When I woke up, you weren't in bed… I thought you might've left." Pina yawns as well while trying to wake up as Leafa walks over to her and pets her head.

"Sorry, Yui, I didn't mean to leave you behind." Leafa apologized. "I didn't want to wake you up because you were still sleeping. But now that you're awake, let's have some breakfast while we wait for Ichika and the others." Yui nodded in agreement as they sat at the table and had breakfast with the CPUs

Meanwhile at the IS Academy, Ichika had made it just in time before Maya was about to introduced new students again and he already knew who they were. As he sits at his desk, Twoearle was yawning loudly and had bags under her eyes as everyone turned to her.

"Whoa, what happened to you, Twoearle?" Ling asked in concern. "You looked like you haven't slept in days."

"That's because I haven't, Ling." Twoearle said tiredly. "I've been pulling all-nighters for the past week on something and I've just finally finished them. I'll show them to all of you guys when we head for Nakano." Everyone nodded and turned their attention to Maya as she clears her throat.

"Alright, everyone, you all know the drill by now." Maya said with a smile. "We've got some new students attending our school, so I hope you'll all treat them with respect." Everyone nodded as she turned to the door and gestured to come in as Kirito and his friends all entered the room. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet Kazuto Kirigaya, Asuna Yuuki, Shino Asada, Ryoutaro Tsuboi, Keiko Ayano, Rika Shinozaki and Phillia Kotone. They'll be joining us from another school as part of an exchange program and as part of our program, so they'll be with us for the remainder of the year." She then turns to Kirito and nodded at him as he nodded back and steps forward.

"It's true, me and my friends are here as part of both programs from our school and yours." Kirito agrees with a smile. "Our Principal had to pick seven students to come here and he chose us to be part of the programs. I hope we can get along nicely." He and his friends all bowed to them as all the girls just looked at them. Suddenly, without warning, the girls except for the IS girls, Yukinari's female friends and Twoearle rushed towards him and Klein and crowded them.

"Whoa! A cute guy with black hair!" A female student squealed happily.

"And check out the male hottie with the bandana! It has a unique design!" Another female student cooed.

"And I thought Ichika-san was the only one with black hair!" Another female student squealed as hearts appeared on the female student's eyes.

"Whoa, what the hell?!" Kirito gawked in shock as his female friends looked at the girls crowding him and Klein.

"L-Ladies, please! We need some breathing room!" Klein panicked with white dotted eyes.

"Hey!" Asuna yelled in anger as she and Liz managed to get Kirito and Klein out from the crowd of girls while clutching to Kirito and glaring fiercely at the female students. "He's my boyfriend and there's no way in hell I will allow you to take him away from me!" That made the female students determined to make Kirito and Klein theirs while also trying to win Satoru and Yukinari's hearts.

"Um… Was this what Ichika-san was talking about?" Silica stammered.

"I think so. I didn't think the female student body of this school are boy crazy." Sinon muttered, feeling sorry for Kirito and Klein.

"Man, those two have it worse than you, Ichika, Satoru, Yukinari." Tatenashi winced. Ichika, Satoru and Yukinari sighed and nodded in agreement.

"I'm starting to think this has become a running gag or something…" Houki made a deadpan face.

Later that afternoon after class has ended, Ichika and his friends picked up Leafa, Yui, Pina and the CPUs and headed for Nakano to meet up with Kyoko and Agil. While on their way to Nakano, Kirito and Klein were breathing sighs of relief from all the girls trying to get their attention throughout the day and are glad to finally relax.

"Whew, that was a close one..." Klein wheezed. "For a second there, I thought we weren't going to make it out alive." He then turns to Ichika, Satoru and Yukinari. "Is that what you meant before, Ichika? All those girls crowding over us like that?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant to you guys yesterday." Ichika answered him with a sheepish grin. "The reason why we never told you about our school is because it only accepts girls who can pilot an IS, the armors you saw during one of our classes. The school was built to train girls to use the IS to help others and It gave woman a seat on the government until EDEN came along and restored men's seat of power, but women were allowed to govern alongside them."

"But if that's the case, how come you were the only guy there before Satoru, Yukinari, Kirito and Klein?" Kirie asked him curiously. "Were you given some kind of special treatment to attend that school?"

"Something like that along those lines." Ichika answered her as good memories of him attending the IS Academy for the first time came flooding back into him. "And while most of it has to do with my sister being one of the teachers, but the real reason I attended the school was because I was the only male who can also pilot an IS. But because I was the only guy and it only accepted girls until now, all the girls there are a little boy crazy as you all just saw."

"Yikes, that sounds rough for you, Ichika-san." Silica gulped. "I didn't think there'd be girls who haven't seen a boy before and just go crazy at the first sight of one. It was probably hard for you to not draw attention to them because you're the only boy before Satoru-san, Kirito-san, Yukinari-san and Klein-san came in."

"Yeah, but it wasn't all bad after some time." Ichika said while closing his eyes and smiled. "Despite all the times the girls tried to get my attention, mostly Houki and the others, but I still had some good moments there. So while the first day may be rough, just know that everything will get better down the line. That I can promise you guys." Everyone nodded in agreement as they continued their bus ride to Nakano.

Half an hour later, our heroes arrived at Nakano and got off the bus before heading inside to meet up with Agil and Kyoko. Upon arriving at the agency, they saw Kyoko and Agil talking to each other until they noticed Ichika and the gang entering the office.

"Ah, welcome back, everyone." Kyoko greeted with a smile. "Glad to see you're all here just in time. So how was the first day for Kirito and the others?"

"Well… it was eventful, to say the least." Silica answered with a sigh. "The school was incredible when we first arrived, but when we were introduced to the other students, they all jumped on Kirito and Klein and started crowding them. Asuna and Liz had to pull them away from the girls before class started."

"I see, looks like that's the third time it happened." Kyoko said with an amused chuckle. "Though considering the school itself only accepted girls, it only makes sense how they would react to meeting boys for the first time. Still, you'll just have to deal with the fact you boys are in a school made to train girls." Everyone nodded in agreement before looking at Ichika. "In any case, there's something important I want to tell all of you."

"What it is, Kyoko?" Ichika asked in confusion. "What's this important thing you want to tell us?"

"Well, this involves your body, my dear assistant." Kyoko answered him as he gasped. "I'm going to have you and everyone hit the streets. I want to see how well your digital self can blend in, in the real world. The final stage in your testing. Also, I need all of you to go around Shinjuku asking questions. You might find yourself the topic of rumors. People saw you looking like that, after all."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." Ichika rubbed the back of his head nervously. "That was where I ended up in the middle of the street and met you not long after."

"Yes, that's the place, Ichika." Kyoko said with a nod. "And while you're doing that, I'll clean my affairs. I've got to make a report on my investigation to Detective Matayoshi. He wants me to make a follow up from our last investigation at the hospital."

"Okay, we'll head for Shinjuku then, Kyoko." Ichika said with a nod. "We'll ask people around and see if we can find any kind of rumor going on." Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good, I'll be counting on all of you." Kyoko smiled "I'll be sure to let you know when I'm done on my end or if anything new comes up." Everyone nodded before she just remembered something. "Oh, I forgot one more important thing."

"What's that, Kyoko?" Ichika asked again.

"It's about your sister, Chifuyu." Kyoko answered him. "It was a blessing in disguise that she's working abroad for so long. She was about to come back when she heard you were sick, but I told her you were released from the hospital at the last minute. But you should contact her and reassure her you're okay."

"Yeah, I should probably let her know." Ichika agrees with a nod. "Knowing her, she's probably worried about that something bad might've happened to me. But she's just like that because she cares for me." He reaches into his pocket to take out his cellphone and dials his sister's number. After ringing for a few seconds, Chifuyu answers on the other line.

"Ichika, is that really you?" Chifuyu asked in concern. "I heard you were sick in the hospital, so I was about to head back to Japan until Kyoko told me you were released. Are you hurt? Did something happened to you while you were meeting with your friends?"

"Chifuyu-nee, I'm all right now. Honest, I really am." Ichika answered her with a small smile. "It really wasn't that big of a deal." He turns to Kyoko and winks at her as she winked back. "It was thanks to Kyoko and everyone that I was able to recover quickly, so the doctors decided to let me leave."

"I see, that's good to here." Chifuyu sighed in relief. "Well, I'm relieved to hear you're doing all right, Ichika." She then looks at her watch. "Listen, I have an important meeting to go to, so I might not be around to take your next call. Call me whenever you can and I'll be back by the end of May."

"Okay then, see you soon, Chifuyu-nee." Ichika ends the call and puts his cellphone back into his pocket before turning to Kyoko.

"So, how was she doing?" Kyoko asked "I trust that everything's okay with you two?"

"Yeah, she was a little worried but I told her everything's alright." Ichika answered her with a smile of relief. "She's heading for a meeting right now, so it'll be a while to contact her again."

"Hmm, it seems like there are no problems." Kyoko said, smiling back. "It's good to know that you've put her at ease. She'll probably call again. I'll leave your big sister to you. Handle her well, That's your duty as her little brother." Ichika nodded. "Speaking of duties, it calls! Head to Shinjuku."

"Got it, we'll head for Shinjuku now." Ichika agreed. "We'll let you know if we find anything there." His friends all nodded in agreement. In Ichika's thoughts. 'I hate lying to you, Chifuyu-nee, but I got to figure out what's going on and save not only myself, but the EDEN Syndrome victims.'

"Good, I'll be waiting for your return." Kyoko said with a smile. "I'll be doing things on my end, so I'll be expecting your findings. Cyber Sleuths, assemble!" Everyone nodded in agreement before heading out to Shinjuku.

After riding the bus for half an hour, our heroes all arrived in the Shinjuku district. Around them were different shops and restaurants with people coming in and out. In the center of the district was a large area where people are walking around and an access point for EDEN and the Digilab.

"Here we are, everyone. Shinjuku district." Ichika said with a smile as he and his friends looked around. "This is where I returned back to the real world after meeting my online friends for the first time." He then looks at his hands. "Although, it was a lot different from a week ago. Back when my body was nothing more than a cluster of data." Satoru and Twoearle both knew what he was talking about while everyone else were confused.

"What do you mean, Ichika-san?" Silica asked in confusion. "Did something happened to you a week ago?"

"Yeah, you could say something like that…" Ichika answered her with a sigh before regaining his composure. "But it's something best saved for another time, we've got a job to do right now."

"Yeah, asking questions around here in Shinjuku." Satoru agrees "We'll have to split up from here, that way we can cover more ground. We'll meet back here in an hour." Everyone nodded in agreement and were about to split up until a familiar face shows up as Ichika immediately recognized him.

"Arata?!" Ichika gasped in shock.

"Ichika! You're all right!" Arata sighed in relief.

"Me, all right? What about you?" Ichika asked back in concern. "I was worried something might've happened to you when that thing attacked us."

"What, me? I'm find as well, as you can see." Arata said with a smirk. "If anyone was gonna be looking for trouble, I'm guessing it'd be Nokia. You can peg her for a chicken or toughie, but she gets what's coming to her."

"Come on, don't you think that's a little harsh?" Ichika questioned. "She was just as much scared as we were when that… whatever it was attacked us and everything."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Arata agrees with a sigh before frowning seriously. "But still, that monster… That's the first time I've seen it. I'd heard rumors, of some nasty program, preying on data. Then I asked the admins about it, but they insisted they knew nothing. Don't you think that's a little strange? The admins should have noticed something like that."

"You're right, that does sound strange." Ichika agrees as he crossed his arms and pondered this. "They're supposed to be monitoring around EDEN and make sure everyone's safe. So why haven't they know anything about that thing?"

"Beats me, your guess is as good as mine." Arata answered him with a shrug. "But there's something that bothers me about this. I've half a mind to look into things properly. At the very least, this doesn't seem to be an official event, or some prank by some third-rate hacker either."

"Speaking of hackers, Nokia said you're one as well." Ichika said as he looked at him skeptically. "She blew her top when she realized you were a hacker after you've got us out of Kowloon before things went from bad to worse."

"Huh? You say I'm a hacker too?" Arata asked with a surprised look as Ichika nodded, Arata closed his eyes and smirked. "Well, what can I say about that? It is what it is." The two boys looked at each other for a few moments before he turns around. "Oh, and I've got an appointment to keep. I've gotta be off. See you later." He starts walking away and waves without looking behind him as our heroes watched him leave.

"Ichika, who was that guy?" Houki asked him. "Is he someone you've also met a week ago before meeting with Kyoko, Satoru and Twoearle?"

"Yeah, that's Arata. He's another friend I've met in person for the first time along with Nokia." Ichika answered her with a smile. "He may look cold, but he's a dependable person once you've get to know him a little more. Anyway, let's get back to our investigation. We still need to ask around Shinjuku what anyone has heard. As Satoru suggested, we'll meet back here in an hour and head back for Nakano." Everyone nodded in agreement and decided to split up around Shinjuku.

Not long after meeting up with Arata again, our heroes split up into groups and all went in different directions around Shinjuku. Despite seeing his friend alive and well again, Ichika still couldn't understand why he kept the fact he was a hacker and wanted to look into the monster by himself. Seeing their friend feeling down, Satoru and Twoearle decided to comfort him.

"Hey Ichika, don't let what he said get you down." Satoru reassured his friend. "He's probably just sore that he let his guard down and thought he failed to protect you and Nokia. Just let him blow off some steam and he'll be back to the friend you and Nokia knew."

"He's right, Ichika. We all have those kinds of days in our lives." Twoearle agrees as she patted Ichika on the back. "We'll look into the monster that attacked you and your friends, but we need you to focus on the investigation right now. We'll be needing you to lead us in case we run into trouble."

"You know, you're both right. I shouldn't let something like that get me down." Ichika smiled, cheering up. "I need to focus on the investigation right now and not worry about that monster. I'm sure Arata will be back to himself in no time. Thanks guys, I really needed that confidence boost."

"Hey, that's what we're here for, Ichika." Satoru smiled as he and Ichika fist bumped. "We'll be here for you in case you need a boost of confidence in yourself. Now let's get this investigation underway, we've got a lot of ground to cover to find some clues." Ichika and Twoearle nodded in agreement and started crossing the street to the other side.

Upon reaching the other side of the street, the trio started asking around for any sort of rumors that anyone might heard about. While still asking people, Ichika spots two students standing just outside of a movie theater and decides to go over and asks them about anything.

"Hey, excuse me. Can I ask you two about something?" Ichika asked as the boy turns to face him.

"Yeah, sure thing. What do you need to know?" The boy asked before his eyes widen in shock at Ichika. "Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Ichika, is that really you?!"

"Wait a minute… Ryota and Sakura?!" Ichika gasped in shock as he rubbed his eyes. "What are you two doing here?!"

"I could be asking you the same thing, Ichika." Ryota countered. "What are you doing around here? I thought you went to your sister's place." He then turns to the girl named Sakura next to him. "It was overseas! Gah, what country was it? Hey, Sakura, where was it again?"

"What? Oh, yeah… Um… Gunma?" Sakura titled her head in confusion.

"Bah! That's totes wrong! That's not a foreign country! It's part of Japan!" Ryota scowled as he face palmed.

"Yeah. Uh, right." Sakura murmured.

"I guess some things never change with them." Ichika said to himself as he smiled nervously and sweat dropped.

"Dang! She's been like this a lot lately. She's all into Jimiken, it seems." Ryota sighed and shook his head. "I swear, I don't even know what's so special about that whackjob."

"Jimiken? Who's that?" Ichika asked him in confusion. "First time I've ever heard about him.

"Then you're lucky you didn't about him until now, Ichika." Ryota mumbled. "First it's all "Jimiken this" and "Jimiken that" 24/7, now it's this. She stays at home watching his videos all day long. I'm getting kinda worried, y'know."

"Hmm… That sure is troubling to hear." Ichika frowned seriously before reassuring his friend from his old school before enrolling into the IS Academy. "But I'm sure it's nothing to worry about now. She's probably just listening to his music as a fan of his, so I don't see any harm in that."

"Well, I can only hope you're right, Ichika." Ryota still showed worry in his features. "But anyhow, you! You! What are you doing here instead of being overseas?"

"It's kind of a long story, but I'll give you the short version." Ichika answered him as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I was involved in an incident a week ago and something happened to me, but I'm still standing. After that, I was taken in by a detective who is a childhood friend of my sister where she made me her assistant and a Cyber Sleuth."

"A "Cyber Sleuth"? What the hell is that? That sounds mad sick, Cyber Sleuth." Ryota grinned as he slaps Ichika on the back before turning to Sakura. "Did you hear that, Sakura? Ichika's a Cyber Sleuth!"

"It's not really something to be laughing about." Ichika muttered, as Sakura just sighs, not listening to Ryota.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Ryota growled as Sakura just sighs again. He then leans in closer to Sakura and started mumbling something in her ear before she punches him in the gut. "Blargh!" Ichika winced in pain as Ryota bends over while holding his gut. "I thought I could get through to her, but…"

"Like I said, some things just never change with you two." Ichika chuckled playfully.

"But have you heard of Jimiken?" Ryota asked.

"Can't say I have. What's he like?" Ichika asked back as he crossed his arms and looked at his friend carefully.

"It's a band! A rock group! Jimi's all super duper hot right now, but I legit don't get why." Ryota answered him as he pondered this. "Well, the songs aren't half bad sometimes, but that's not really important. So, you're a Cyber Sleuth and can skip school whenever you want now?"

"Not exactly, I still do go to school." Ichika answered him. "But if something big does come up, then I'll have to skip school. Of course, I'll need to take some makeup work to catch up on what I missed."

"I see, you always were the kind of person to never skip out." Ryota smiled. "Still, we had a farewell party. I cried for you, for reals. But I guess we still get to see each other after all! Right, Sakura?"

"…Yeah." Sakura agrees dully.

"Hehehe! That's what I'm talking about!" Ryota smirked before turning to his friend who smiled back. "Anyway, we'll be heading back now. It's been great seeing you again, Ichika. Hope we'll meet again some other time."

"Yeah, we'll definitely be seeing each other soon enough." Ichika smiled as he waved. "I might introduce you guys to some of my other friends, if I get the chance." Ryota and Sakura nodded in agreement before walking in the opposite direction while waving goodbye to him just as Satoru and Twoearle arrived back. "Hey guys, glad to see you're both back. So find any rumors on your end?"

"Just a few rumors, but nothing too important." Satoru answered him as he asked Ichika about the people he was talking to. "So what about you? Anything on your end? And who were those two we saw talking to you before?"

"That was Ryota and Sakura, other friends I see every now and then." Ichika answered him. "I was able to get some interesting information about this Jimiken guy, but I'll tell you when everyone's around. Since we're done here, let's call the others and report back to Kyoko. She might be done on her affairs as well." Satoru and Twoearle both nodded in agreement and headed back to the bus stop while contacting the others.

With Houki and her friends, they asked around on the other side of Shinjuku about some interesting rumors, most of them was about Ichika appearing in the street as a cluster of data, a white ghost boy and a monster appearing around Kowloon. After that, they decided to take a break and meet up at a clothing store to discuss what they learned.

"So far, we only learned about Ichika appearing in data form after his adventure in Kowloon." Ling remembered what people told her and her friends about a person appearing on the street as nothing but a cluster of data.

"That must have been frightening for Ichika." Char lowered her head down despondently. "If Kyoko hadn't come and save him, he would have been put in a lab for experimenting." The IS girls shuddered at the thought of what may happen to the man they loved if Kyoko didn't rescued him from the authorities.

"Anyway, there's also rumors of a ghost in white who looks like a boy appearing around Kowloon." Tatenashi also pointed out what she learned about the Ghost Boy in White. "I mean, a ghost in cyberspace? Weird, huh?"

"And that's not all, there's also rumors of a monster that appears out of nowhere and eats people's data. Could that monster also be the one who got Ichika into this state?" Kanzashi wondered. The IS girls pondered about this and what they can do to help Ichika and the EDEN Syndrome victims. Suddenly, they heard a voice they know all too well.

"Houki? Cecilia? Ling? Char? Laura? Kanzashi? Tatenashi?" The IS girls turned to see Ran and Dan Gotanda walking up to them with shopping bags. "It's been so long! How are you guys?" Ran waved at them.

"Ran! Dan! It's been awhile!" Char waved back.

"Yeah. It's been while since we last hang out." Dan smiled before noticing someone missing from the group. "Hey, where's Ichika? Usually, he's with you girls either at the IS Academy or at the mall."

"Oh about that." Laura smiled. "Well, we now have part time jobs as Cyber Sleuths, solving digital crimes in both the real world and cyberspace."

"Wow that sounds so cool!" Ran beamed before a question mark appeared above her head. "But what the hell is a Cyber Sleuth?"

"We'll explain later. So what brings you two out here in Shinjuku?" Cecilia smiled politely.

"Oh, we're shopping for new clothes and games. Haven't you heard? The new Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy 15 is finally out after ten years. I'm getting it for the PS4." Dan smiled softly.

"Whoa! Why didn't you tell me?!" Ling gawked. "I could have pre-ordered it and got the Collector's Edition!" Ling regain her composure and cleared her throat. "Oh yeah, there's something we wanted to ask you two." Dan and Ran paid attention to their friend. "Have you heard any interesting rumors lately?"

"Hmm… Can't say I have. There's this rumor of monsters appearing in EDEN used by hackers to attack people and hack accounts, but were defeated by good people. What are they called again? Digiwhat?" Ran asked confusedly.

"They're called Digimon, short for Digital Monsters." Houki explained. "But not all Digimon are bad."

"Well, if you say so, Houki. Anyway, we got to split. Maybe we can stop by at the place you guys are working at. Where is your place to work?" Dan asked her.

"Nakano, look for the Kuremi Detective Agency." Char smiled.

"Right, we'll keep that in mind. We'll see you guys later." Ran waved so did Dan as they head back home.

"Char, you know these two people?" Biyomon asked from Char's Digivice. Char got out her Digivice and smiled at her partner.

"Yeah. Ran and Dan are friends of ours. Before Satoru, Ichika and Dan hang out but not often while Ran is Dan's sister." She explained.

"I see. You guys really have nice friends." Palmon smiled from Kanazashi's Digivice.

"Uh-huh." Kanzashi smiled back. Suddenly, Char's phone ranged and she answered.

"Hey guys. Our investigation is complete. So let's meet up at the bus station to report to Kyoko on what we learned." Ichika told them.

"Gotcha, we'll be there as soon as possible." Char nodded as the gang met up at the bus station and headed back to Nakano.

After completing their investigation, our heroes all returned to the bus station and boarded the bus to head back to Nakano and report back to Kyoko. While riding the bus back to Nakano, everyone started to review any rumors they've all gather from around Shinjuku.

"Okay, let's go over what we've gather around Shinjuku so far." Ichika said as he began laying out what he and his friends know. "From what we can gather, it's mostly about me appearing in the middle of the street as a cluster of data. But others were talking about a ghost boy appearing in cyberspace or a monster roaming around eating data. Other than those three, nothing much to go on."

"Not only that, there's also what Arata said before." Satoru said as he frowned seriously. "He also mentioned that monster roaming around in Kowloon, but none of the admins are even looking into it. That sounds pretty fishy if the admins aren't dealing with this sort of problem."

"You're right, that does sound really fishy." Houki agrees, frowning as well. "If none of the admins are looking into that monster or searching for this Ghost Boy in White, then what's really going on in cyberspace?" Everyone all looked at each other while wondering what's been going on in cyberspace until Ichika spoke up.

"We'll just have to put those thoughts in the back burner for now until something new comes up." Ichika stated. "For now, let's report our findings to Kyoko and see what she's done on her end." Everyone nodded in agreement as he turns to the CPUs, Yukinari's group and Kirito's group. "So what about you guys? Find anything on your ends of Shinjuku?"

"Well, we were able to learn about this Jimiken person from some girls on our end." Vert answered him as she pondered this. "Apparently, he and his band are famous around Japan and many people, mostly girls, have been watching his music videos and listening to his music. Although, I do not get why everyone likes this man so much." Her fellow CPUs all nodded in agreement as they turned to Kirito's group.

"That same goes for us on our end." Kirito added. "While we were searching through the other end of Shinjuku, we saw a music video about that Jimiken guy and everyone was going nuts for him. The store was even selling CDs of his music and we can see people walking out with tons of his merchandise." HIs friends all nodded in agreement as they turned to Yukinari's group.

"Not us, we couldn't even get any information from anybody." Kirie said with an annoyed sigh. "For most of the time, a certain pervert here just decided to slack off and started groping all the girls around Shinjuku. It got so bad, I had to knock him out and drag him back here before this crazy policewoman arrested us!" Everyone all glared at Fukuyama who was grumbling to himself.

"What? I wasn't doing anything wrong!" Fukuyama growled. "All I did was trying to get information in my own way."

"You so was not, you no good pervert!" Noire growled as she glared at the pervert. "You were probably doing the same thing you did to both Blanc and Leafa before!" The arguing continued on during the ride back to Nakano.

Upon arriving back at Nakano, our heroes made their way to office to tell Kyoko about their findings from their investigation in Shinjuku. As they've entered the office, Kyoko was sitting at her desk waiting for their return until she sees them coming in.

"Welcome back, Cyber Sleuths." Kyoko greeted with a smile. "I'm pleased to see your investigation has been completed. So, did you managed to find any rumors during your investigation? And I trust that you were able to walk out without any problems, Ichika?"

"Yeah, we've managed to get some interesting rumors around Shinjuku." Ichika answered her with a smile. "Most of it was about me appearing in the street as a cluster of data, but nothing too much out of the ordinary. Everyone seems to be back to their normal routines even after seeing me as nothing but data before."

"Hmm, I see. The folks who saw you last week didn't seem to make much of a big deal about it." Kyoko said with a smile of approval. "If that's so, you'll be find walking the streets."

"Yep, now I can walk freely without anyone knowing that was me before." Ichika agrees.

"Well then, I suppose we have nothing to worry about." Kyoko said before she added something else. "By the way… Not to change the subject, but I've readied a new EDEN account for you. Your existing account isn't being recognized properly on the EDEN Network. And as a result, you can't log in normally."

"Right, it must've been from that monster when it tried to grab me." Ichika said, frowning seriously. "And because of that, my body ended up being half cyber and found myself in the middle of Shinjuku. But what can I do with this new EDEN account?"

"You can "invade" a service using a Connection Jump, but with an invalid account, you won't be able to do much." Kyoko answered him. "That would hinder your work, so from now on, log in with the new account I got for you."

"Okay, thanks a lot, Kyoko." Ichika smiled in gratitude. "We'll be able to move around EDEN more freely with this new account." His friends all nodded in agreement. "But what about Satoru and Twoearle? How are they going to help us now that we're using the account you gave me?"

"Not to worry, Ichika. We've got our own EDEN accounts." Satoru answered him with a smile. "We can log in from my laptop or your Connect Jump, so we're never far behind you guys." Twoearle nodded in agreement as they all turned to Kyoko.

"Well then, with everything done and out of the way, I believe it's almost time." Kyoko said with a smile.

"Almost time? Almost time for what, Miss Kyoko?" Yukinari asked in confusion. "Do you have an appointment?"

"Something like that, but it'll be us with the appointment." Kyoko answered him as she continued. "It's time for work, dear assistants." She gestured to the door as she motioned the person to come in.

"Um… Is this the Kuremi Detective Agency?" An all too familiar voice asked as Ichika, Satoru, Twoearle and the IS girls all gasped in shock.

"Right on time! She seems like she'll be an excellent client." Kyoko smiled. "Now I expect all of you to be on your best behavior, this'll be your first real case." She glances over to Tomoka and Fukuyama. "That goes double for you two, lest we want to repeat what happened before." They both knew what she was talking about and nodded in fear. "Perfect, glad to know we're on the same page." She then turns back to the door. "Welcome to the Kuremi Detective Agency. Please, come in." With her permission, the door opens up as Yuuko comes walking in.

"Thank you." Yuuko said in gratitude.

"Yuuko?!" Ichika, Satoru, Twoearle and the IS girls all gasped.

"Yuuko?" Everyone else asked in confusion.

"It's you!" Yuuko also gasped in shock after she noticed Ichika, Satoru, Twoearle and the IS girls.

"What's this? All of you know each other?" Kyoko asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't put it that way." Yuuko answered her as she lowers her head and went silent.

"Well… this has suddenly turned awkward." Satoru muttered in amazement. "I didn't expect our client to be the same girl we met back at the hospital." Twoearle and the IS pilots all nodded in agreement.

"Hmm… Well, regardless. You are Yuuko Yamashina, my new client?" Kyoko asked her.

"Yes. I am Yuuko Yamashina." Yuuko answered her with a nod.

"Let me inquire, then, into the details of the case. Please be seated on that sofa there." Kyoko said as she gestured to the right sofa.

"All right." Yuuko agreed as she sits on the right sofa while Kyoko, Satoru and Twoearle sits on the left with everyone else standing behind them. Ichika and Yuuko couldn't help but stare at each other, it's not a romantic stare, but the longer Ichika and Yuuko looked at each other, they felt like they known each other since childhood but where? Kyoko cleared her throat, drawing Yuuko's attention to her.

"Now then, tell us everything you want to say." Kyoko began as she got out her notepad and got ready to take notes. Yuuko decided to put that away about how Ichika and her felt like they known each other on hold for now. "We'll be needing every detail about the case. Even the smallest information can be useful to us."

"O-okay, I'll tell you everything I know." Yuuko said with a shy stutter. "My… My father… has disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Kyoko asked as she looked at her client carefully.

"He's gone missing." Yuuko answered her while lowering her head despondently. "I'd like to ask a detective to seek out and find my father, Makoto Yamashina."

"Hmm… Do you have any info on your father?" Kyoko asked her.

"Yes. The basic information is all here. I'll send you the data." Yuko said as she sends the data to Satoru's computer and he gave her a thumbs up to let everyone know he's got it. "But the only possible clue I have would be the EDEN account info he used. When you query the amount info, it says it's currently active, but…"

"There's no response when you call?" Kyoko finished for her, frowning seriously.

"None whatsoever." Yuuko nods before she goes silent again. Then she spoke after 5 seconds. "Please find my father."

"I understand. We'll take the case on." Kyoko said with a smile. "We'll be sure to find your father in no time, that we can promise you."

"I…! Thank you very much." Yuuko said in gratitude.

"Well, then, let's get started! I'll let you know if there are any adjustments." Kyoko said with a smile before saying "Before you depart, would you mind giving me your contact information? We might be needing it in case we might have to call you." Yuuko went silent for a few seconds before shaking her head no.

"No… That won't be necessary. I'll come back in a little while." Yuuko said shyly.

'She won't give us her number?' Ichika whispered in confusion. 'I wonder why she didn't want us to contact her?'

"I must be going. Pardon me." Yuuko said quietly as she stands up for the sofa and exits the office.

"I see…" Kyoko said while pondering this information as she heads for her computer on her desk and starts typing in the info she got from Yuuko after Satoru sends it to her computer. After searching for a few minutes, she turns to everyone else. "Mr. Yamashina's account info checks out. And my conclusion is this: I believe someone has hacked into this account. There are numerous strange points of activity that I can see with this account, and multiple Makoto Yamishionas roaming EDEN."

"But who's been using Mr. Yamashina's account? And why are there multiple activities roaming around EDEN?" Silica asked in confusion.

"If I had to guess, it's got to be the result of an account raid. Everyone's been clamoring about that sort of thing recently." Kyoko answered her. "I want all of you to start by tracking down the active traces of the Yamashina account. Account hacking is sometimes connected to organized crime." She puts her computer into sleep mode and turns to everyone. "Take your investigation to EDEN and ask questions. We might get some info on these account raids." She turns to Ichika and smiled. "You're up, my dear Watson! Hehe! Proceed to EDEN and start asking around."

"Got it, we'll head for EDEN and start asking everyone about these accounting raids." Ichika said with a thumbs up. "We'll let you know if we find any info on whoever using Yamashina's account." Everyone nodded in agreement and were about to head for EDEN until Twoearle stopped them.

"Hang on, everyone. There's something I want to give to all of you before we head out on our first case." Twoearle said with a smile. "I've been pulling some all nighters this past week, but now they're finally done." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a container as she places it on the table and opens it. "Here we go, communicators for everyone. With these, now you'll be able to stay in touch with us no matter how far apart we are." Ichika, Satoru and the IS girls all nodded in agreement as everyone else all took one communicator and placed it in their ears.

"Okay, now we're ready to head out." Ichika smiled bravely. "Everyone, keep your communicators on so we can contact each other if any of us finds anything interesting. Now let's head for EDEN Entrance and see what we can find. Investigation, start!" Everyone nodded in agreement as they gathered around him as he used his Connect Jump to enter the TV while Satoru and Twoearle followed behind using their EDEN accounts.

Soon, Ichika and the gang arrived at the EDEN Entrance. The newcomers to Ichika's world looked around in awe. "Whoa." Neptune whispered in awe. "So this is this EDEN place, huh?" She looked at the people hanging around and happily chatting. "It's like a place where you don't have to worry about your troubles."

"Still, that doesn't mean it's a perfectly safe haven." Twoearle frowned seriously. "There's bound to be hackers or all sorts of whackjobs hanging around here."

"Right, we'll keep that in mind." Kirito nodded, frowning seriously as well.

"Alright. Let's ask around if anyone heard of the account raidings. If anyone has any info, contact one of us." Ichika explained.

"Right!" Everyone agreed and started asking around. As Houki went up the first flight of stairs, she noticed a person standing before the second flight of stairs. So she decided to ask this person about any account raidings.

"Excuse me?" Houki asked the person.

The man looked at her with not the nicest of glares and asked rudely. "What do you want?"

'Geez! Rude much!' Houki thought to herself angrily before calming down asked "Do you know about who is doing the account raiding?"

"Guess Zaxon did that account raiding. They're just running wild lately." The man sighed.

"Do you know where they are?" Houki asked as she crossed her arms.

"I dunno where they are, there's a lot of 'em. Prolly someone who knows about it in Kowloon." The man told her.

"Thank you for the information." Houki said in gratitude. She got out her phone and contacted everyone. "Guys. I got some info about the account raiding. Turns out a hacker group called Zaxon did it." Ichika and Satoru gasped in shock. "…I take it you two know about them?"

"Yeah. One of the members, Yuugo was the one who gave me Agumon and he was the one who gave Satoru Dorumon." Ichika explained to her.

"But the question is, why would Zaxon be responsible for the account raiding of Mr. Yamashina?" Satoru wondered as he scratched his chin in thought.

"We'll figure it out as we go along. The man who told me this said that members of Zaxon can be found in Kowloon." Houki told her friends.

"Got it, let's head to Kowloon then." Liz agreed as everyone met up at the terminal and headed for Kowloon.

Soon, the gang arrived at Galactica Park where they saw a hacker hanging around. "Look, there's a hacker." Nepgear frowned seriously.

"Right, let me go ask him what he knows about Zaxon." Ichika nodded as he walked up to the hacker.

"Getting powerful Digimon is what being a hacker's all about!" The hacker snickered darkly.

"Ugh. What a creep..." Agumon frowned. "Boss, can I beat the data out of this hacker?"

"Only if he tries something funny, Agumon." Ichika told his partner as he cleared his throat. "Excuse me, do you know anything about Zaxon?" He asked politely.

"…Heh, forget these guys." The hacker frowned as he crossed his arms. "Being a hacker's not as easy as just making friends and getting strong! If you knew their forum URL, you could mosey on in there alone and check em out!"

"…Okay, let's try that hacker over there." Ichika sighed as he and his friends walked up to the hacker standing near the tire and monitor set.

"When idiots flock together, it's tough to stop this kind of thing… it sucks." The hacker sighed sadly.

"Do you know anything about Zaxon?" Ling asked the hacker.

"Zaxon? …Yeah, used to be a member there."

"Whoa, seriously?!" Klein gasped in shock. The hacker nodded in response as he continued.

"Then too many slimeballs joined, so I got out. I can't deal with idiots. "Don't refuse those who come, and don't chase those who leave."…Zaxon's leader's cleaver enough. That policy? Not so much."

"Man, the more I hear about Zaxon, the more I want to kick their asses for being jerks..." Uni frowned angrily as she clenched her fists in anger.

"Do you know about Zaxon's Forum URL?" Ichika asked the hacker.

"Hm? You want to know where they hang out?" The hacker was silent for a moment before sighing. "…Okay, but don't tell anyone what I told you." The hacker got out his phone and sent the URL to Ichika's Digivice. "There, that's the URL for the Zaxon Forum."

"Thank you so much for the information, sir." Yukinari bowed lightly in gratitude.

"Alright, now let's go to Zaxon to get some answers." Ichika told everyone, they nodded in response and used the gate to head to the Zaxon Forum.

After gaining access to the Zaxon Forum, our heroes arrived at what appears to be an old theater stage used for plays. All around the theater were Zaxon members both male and female wearing hooded jackets ranging from blue to green and orange with the female members having skirts and long sleeves and the male wearing pants and don't have sleeves.

"So this is the place, Zaxon Forum…" Kirito frowned seriously. "I guess he was really serious about that URL he gave us, it really allowed us to enter the forum without any trouble."

"Maybe, but there's no telling what kind of trouble we'll find here." Satoru advised as he tensed, noticing the glares from some of the Zaxon members which they are glaring at Ichika and the gang. "That URL might've let us enter the forum, but I doubt they'll speak with anyone who's not a member of Zaxon. Let's just start asking around before anything bad happens." Everyone nodded in agreement and were about to press on until they've noticed Fukuyama was missing. "What the? Where did that Fukuyama creep went?" Before anyone could answer, they all heard someone yelling.

"Hey! What the hell?!" A female Zaxon member yelled as Fukuyama was groping her breasts.

"My, you certainly are quite the catch for a hacker." Fukuyama slurred pervertedly. "And you have some really nice melons here, I can really feel their firmness in my hands."

"I can't believe this, he's at it again!" Kirie groaned as she face palmed. "Just leave it to him to start up trouble and drag us down with him!" She rolls up her sleeves and cracks her knuckles. "All right, I'll just have to teach him another painful lesson!" But just as she was about to pummel Fukuyama, a male Zaxon member walks up to him and taps his shoulder.

"Hey, Goldilocks, do you mind taking your hands off my girl?" M. Zaxon Hacker asked coldly. "Because if you don't, I'm gonna have to teach you a very painful lesson."

"And just what are you going to do about it?" Fukuyama mocked. "I'm sure you hackers are all just a bunch of cowards hiding behind your computers. You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag." That made the hacker mad as he grabs his shirt and pulls him closer.

"Since you're new around these parts, allow me to give you a little something..." M. Zaxon Hacker said dangerously which made Fukuyama gulp in fear. "No one messes with Zaxon and gets away with it! Time to send you to kingdom come with the rest of the junk data, blondie!" As he folds his hand into a fist and was about to punch Fukuyama in the face until Ichika stops him.

"Wait! Don't hurt him!" Ichika pleaded. "He's with us, he didn't mean to get between you and your girlfriend!"

"Wait, this guy is with you?" M. Zaxon Hacker asked with a glare. "And how did you guys enter this forum? I haven't seen any of you around here."

"We're new around here and not that much of hackers yet." Satoru answered him quickly. "We were able to enter your forum because one of your ex members gives us the URL to gain access here." Everyone nodded to confirm his statement.

"I see, so that guy gave you access to the forum." M. Zaxon Hacker muttered before sighing. "Fine, whatever, you can have his sorry ass back." He tosses Fukuyama towards them as he lands on the floor. "But if I see him fondling my girl again, I won't be so nice!" Everyone nodded as he takes his girlfriend's hand and both walked away.

"Whew, that was a close one." Ling sighed in relief "I was worried that we had to fight them and we won't be able to get any answers from them." Then everyone all glared at Fukuyama as he dusted himself off. "And no thanks to a certain idiot, we were almost at a dead end if Ichika didn't stop him!"

"Its fine, Ling. We can't worry about that now." Ichika reassured her. "Our first priority is to find any information about the account raid and see if anyone here knows about it." Everyone nodded in agreement as they all walked over to another female Zaxon hacker standing next to some data blocks talking to herself.

"I wonder what he's always doing…" F. Zaxon Hacker wondered.

"Excuse me, can I ask you something?" Ichika asked her. "Do you know anything about account raiding?"

"Account Raiding? IDK." F. Zaxon Hacker answered him.

"IDK? What the hell does that mean?" Noire asked confusedly. "I've never heard of that before."

"It's an anagram for 'I don't know'. A lot of people use that when they're texting or sending messages to each other." Satoru answered her. "There are other phrases like that, but that's not important right now. Since we couldn't get info from her, let's try someone else. I'm sure we'll have better luck." Everyone nodded in agreement as they walked over to a male Zaxon member in a green hooded jacket.

"Zaxon doesn't refuse anyone who shows up. If you want to join the team, just wait for him to come back." M. Zaxon Hacker stated.

"Sorry, but we're not here to join Zaxon. We're here to ask you about something." Ichika corrected him. "We've heard about one of your members raiding someone's account and using it around cyberspace. So we want to know who's been using that account and for what purpose."

"You guys want to know about account raiding? …Who the hell are you guys, really?" M. Zaxon Hacker asked as he looked at the gang with a suspicious glare.

"We're just a group of a detective's assistants tasked to be Cyber Sleuths." Satoru answered him.

"Cyber sleuth or detective's assistants?" What even…eh, forget it. So you guys snuck in here, just to learn about account raiding?" M. Zaxon Hacker asked as everyone nodded. "Ballsy, I'll give you guys that." He then looks at all of the girls in the group. "Even though some of you don't really have them."

"We'll just ignore you saying that..." Houki frowned as the girls except for Neptune, Koyomi, and Miharu glared at the hacker who said that.

"In that case… Take this and head to Kowloon Lv. 2. That'll help get you your answers." M. Zaxon Hacker said as he hands a mask over to Ichika. "And get ready, too. It's gonna be dangerous. But if you've got the cojones to sneak into Zaxon, you'll probably be able to handle it."

"Okay, we'll put this mask into good use. Thanks for your help." Ichika said in gratitude. "Now that we've got everything we need, let's head back to Kowloon. I get the feeling that's where the way to Lv. 2 is located." Everyone nodded in agreement as they exited the forum and headed back to Kowloon.

Ichika and the gang soon arrived at Kowloon Lvl 1. Ichika turns to his friends. "Alright, let's head to Kowloon Lvl 2 to find our answers." Ichika told everyone. They nodded in agreement as they headed for the elevator to Kowloon Lvl 2. But they found a firewall blocking their way to the elevator.

"A firewall?" Houki gasped as everyone looked at the firewall blocking their way.

"It would seem that way." Renamon answered for her as she crossed her arms. "Unless we have something to break it, we can't proceed further."

"Yeesh, those Zaxon hackers really don't want anyone stepping on their turf." Neptune muttered as she placed her hands behind her head.

"So how are we gonna get to the second level?" Tomoka asked confusedly. Suddenly, Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle remembered that one time in Galactic Park. Nodding to each other, Ichika walked up to the firewall and held his gloved hand out.

"Ichika? What are you doing?" Kanzashi asked confusedly. Suddenly, Ichika made the firewall disappeared, surprising his friends except for Satoru, Twoearle and Agumon and Dorumon.

"Whoa! Ichika! How the hell did you do that?!" Klein gawked.

"Well, you can thank a friend of ours for giving me the ability to crack firewalls." Ichika smiled. The IS girls knew who he was talking about while everyone is confused.

"Whoa! That is super special awesome!" Neptune beamed. "It's like a game editor or something!"

"Neptune, just shut up with your nonsense before we give you amnesia again..." Noire warned as Blanc and Vert nodded.

"Anyway, let's head to the second level now." Laura said as everyone got ready to proceed.

They took the elevator to Kowloon Lvl 2. In the first area, they saw Kusanagi, Veemon and Wormmon being surrounded by three Zaxon hackers. "Hmm? Who's that those hackers are surrounding?" Leafa gasped as everyone looked at the scene happening.

"Hey kid, who are those two Digimon with you?" A Zaxon member mocked. "Mind if you let us have them?"

"No! They're my friends!" Kusanagi frowned, shaking his head no. "I will never give these two to creeps like you!"

"Heh. You look like a beginner hacker." A second Zaxon hacker smirked darkly. "Yet, you don't have a clue on how to command programs like them. Then we have to take them by force!" The three hackers called out three Digimon. The first one was a dinosaur like Digimon who looks like an Indian, the second one was a yellow armadillo like spiked Digimon and the third one was a giant red and white bird with horns.

"Kusanagi! Those guys look serious!" Veemon stammered.

"Oh dear… What are we gonna do?" Wormmon gulped.

"We can't let them do that to those guys!" Ichika frowned seriously as he turned to Agumon. "Ready, Agumon?"

"Ready!" Agumon nodded as he got ready to digivolve. "Agumon, digivolve to… GeoGreymon!" Agumon turned into GeoGreymon.

"Not alone you won't!" Satoru yelled heroically as he nodded to Dorumon who nodded back.

"Dorumon, digivolve to…! Dorugamon!" Dorumon turned into Dorugamon.

"I can't stand bullies, so let's help those guys!" Ling yelled as Gatomon leaped up and slams her paws down onto Ankylomon, knocking him back a little.

"What the hell?!" The first Zaxon member gawked before noticing Ichika and the gang. "Why you little! Allomon! Tear them to shreds!"

"Dino Burst!" Allomon fired a stream of fire from his mouth at GeoGreymon, but he blocked it with ease.

"Mega Flame!" GeoGreymon yelled as he launched his attack at Allomon, instantly deleting him.

"T-They're strong!" The second Zaxon member gawked before growling. "Aquillamon, destroy them!"

"Mach Impulse!" Aquillamon rammed into Dorugamon, damaging him mediumly.

"Dorugamon, don't give up!" Satoru encouraged.

"Got it! Cannonball!" Dorugamon yelled as he launched the attack at Aquillamon, deleting him before he got a chance to attack.

"Now's our chance to attack! Lightning Paw!" Gatomon yelled as she charged towards Ankylomon and gave him a killer uppercut, deleting him.

"We did it!" Ling cheered.

The Zaxon members gawked in shock before one of them growled "You'll regret the day you messed with Zaxon!" The Zaxon members escaped.

"Whew, I'm glad those jerks are dealt with." Kusanagi sighed in relief before turning to Ichika and his friends with a smile. "Thanks for helping us, we really appreciate it." Both Veemon and and Wormmon nodded in agreement as GeoGreymon and Dorugamon returned to their Rookie forms while Gatomon stayed the same.

"No problem, those guys were just a bunch of pushovers anyway." Ling smiled as she placed her hands behind her head. "Believe me, I know what it's like to be bullied around by jerks like them. So are you and your Digimon doing all right?"

"Yeah, we're all good. Thanks for asking." Kusanagi answered her before he pondered the Zaxon hackers' words. "But who were those creeps anyway? And why did they call me a hacker and called them just programs?"

"Those guys were from Zaxon, a group of hackers." Satoru answered him with a serious frown. "And judging how you have your own Digimon, they probably thought you were a hacker yourself and was an easy target for them since you're a beginner. As for them thinking Digimon are just programs, that's just what they think they are. Just programs they can control and attack others when they feel like it." Everyone nodded in agreement as all the Digimon partners growled at how some humans were treating them. "By the way, we've never got your names yet."

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that." Kusanagi remembered. "And since you guys helped us, we'll be more than happy to introduce ourselves to you." Veemon and Wormmon nodded in agreement as he clears his throat. "My name is Kusanagi, nice to meet you guys. And these two are Veemon and Wormmon." Wrommon nodded at them while Veemon waved.

"Nice to meet you three, I'm Ichika Orimura." Ichika smiled. "This is my partner Agumon." Agumon smiled and nodded at them. "And here are my friends Houki Shinonono, Cecilia Alcott, Charlotte Dunios, Huang Lingyin, Laura Bodewig, Tatenashi and Kanzashi Sarashiki, Satoru Kuremi and Twoearle. And of course, their Digimon partners Elecmon, Renamon, Biyomon, Gatomon, Candlemon, Monodramon, Palmon and Dorumon." His friends and their Digimon partners all smiled and either waved or nodded at the trio.

"Wassap!" Neptune beamed energetically. "The name's Neptune, CPU of Planetune of Gamindustri. This is my little sister, Nepgear aka Nep Jr. And these six galfriends of mine are Noire, CPU of Lastation, her little sister Uni, Blanc, CPU of Lowee, her little twin sisters Ram and Rom, and lastly is busty CPU of Leanbox and otaku gamer herself, Vert." The girls in question either waved or nodded to Kusanagi, Veemon and Wormmon.

"I'll pretend you didn't call me busty, Neptune…" Vert frowned slightly as she crossed her arms and pouted.

"Wait, what are CPUs?" Kusanagi asked confusedly.

"To put it frankly, they're goddesses who each lead their nations." Laura explained.

"Wait, seriously?!" Veemon gawked in shock before looking at the CPUs in question. "You sure don't look like goddesses."

"Well uh… Looks can be deceiving as the saying goes." Nepgear smiled nervously and sweat dropped.

"Nice to meet you, Kusunagi. My name is Yukinari Sasaki." Yukinari smiled. "And these are my friends Miharu Sena Kanaka, Kirie Kojima, Kazuharu and Lisa Fukuyama, Koyomi Hare Nakana, Tomoka Lana Jude and Lisa's bodyguards Hayate and Kosame." Much like with Ichika's group, his friends all did the same while Fukuyama just didn't care.

"And for me, you can call me Kirito." Kirito smiled. "And here are my family and friends. My wife Asuna, our daughter Yui, my sister Leafa, Klein, Liz, Silica and Pina, Sinon, Phillia and Agil." Like with the other groups, everyone smiled at the trio and either waved or nodded at him.

"Pleasure's all ours, glad to meet all of you." Kusanagi smiled in gratitude. "So can you guys tell me where we are? We've been wandering around here since yesterday and we still can't find an exit anywhere. This place is definitely not like SAO." He couldn't help but stare at Asuna before looking away.

"Believe us, we've thought the same thing when we also got here yesterday." Kirito agrees with a nod. "From what Ichika and the others told us, we're inside a place called Kowloon that's right under EDEN. It's also known for a bunch of hackers roaming around here and looking for any kind of easy target, like you guys were."

"No wonder they thought I was an easy target for them." Kusanagi frowned seriously. "Since I've only just met Veemon and Wormmon yesterday, I don't even know what to do. All I could do was stand between those jerks and them to make sure they weren't taken."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it sooner or later." Ichika smiled in reassurance. "Just let it come to you and your Digimon naturally and I'm sure you'll know." The trio looked at each other before turning back to him and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right, Ichika." Kusanagi agrees with a nod. "I just need to let it come to me on its own and we'll know what to do. Thanks for that, I really needed the boost there." Ichika smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "By the way, there's something else I've been wondering about. Why are you guys going through Kowloon? Is there something happening here?"

"You could say that, we're looking for some hackers." Satoru answered him. "Someone has hacked and raided another person's account and we have to find him before he does the same to other accounts."

"Then let me join you guys and help you find him." Kusanagi offered. "Think of it as our way of returning the favor for helping us with those jerks." Both Veemon and Wormmon nodded in agreement as they also wanted to help in any way they can.

"Then welcome to the Cyber Sleuths, you three." Ichika smiled. "With all three of you with us, I'm sure we'll stop him before he hacks into anymore accounts." Everyone nodded in agreement as they continued on through Kowloon.

They arrived at the next area and were about to go to the next area where they see Zaxon members blocking their path.

"Whoa, kids! Halt. Hold. Cease. And also desist." The Zaxon hacker said meanly. "Lemme borrow a hot second here. This place, while clearly awesome. In fact, beyond the normal scale of awesomeness. Is not for you. So scram…"

"Why you little-" Sinon was about to attack the Zaxon hacker before Kirito stopped her and shook his head no at her. She reluctantly nodded.

"Can't you let us through?" Nepgear pleaded hopefully.

"Yeah, it's really important." Kusanagi agreed.

"Look kids, don't make me chase you off. Cause I will. And I'll hunt you down. And then I'll catch ya. And then…" The Zaxon hacker snickered darkly. Ichika then remembered the Zaxon mask the other Zaxon member gave him and showed it to him. The Zaxon member was shocked by this. "Hmm? …Hmmmmm? …HMMMMMMMMMMMM?! Wait, what?! You're one of us Zaxons? Come on, where's your mask? We don't give 'em out for fun, y'know!"

"Well, we have one." Palmon fumed.

"If you don't wear it, a poor guy like me might mistake you for the, uh… wrong sort. Then I'd have to get to hunting you all down…" The Zaxon hacker muttered.

"Enough talk. Can you let us pass?" Liz fumed angrily.

"Okay, geez! We'll let you through." The Zaxon hacker complained as he and his group let them through.

"Well, that was easy." Hayate muttered as he pushed his glasses up.

"But we got through, right? Now let's find who is behind the account raidings." Char smiled as our heroes continued forward.

After making it pass some Zaxon hackers, our heroes made it to the final area of Kowloon Lv. 2. At the very end of the pathway, four silhouettes were standing with only three of them talking to each other while the fourth was just standing there. On their faces were the same masks Ichika got from the other Zaxon member.

"Hey, are those the guys over there?" Silica asked as she hid behind Kirito. "The ones who used the account raid on Yuuko's dad's account?"

"No doubt about it, it's got to be them." Houki answered her with a nod and serious frown. "I'm positive they're the ones behind the raid on Makoto's account. Now we can make them pay for raiding an innocent man's account!"

"Right, but let's be careful here, guys." Ichika advised. "There's no telling what may set them off if we're founded out. Let's try to keep it cool and try not to make them angry." Everyone nodded in agreement as they walked over to the four hackers until one of them spots them.

"Huh? Who the heck're you guys?" Masked Hacker asked as he glared at the gang. "You yankin' my chain? Showin' here like this? I'm gonna kick you losers right on outta here!"

"Wait, we're not here to cause any sort of trouble." Ichika reasoned as he shows the mask.

"I've got infinite extra lives! Whoa, wait, what? Are you guys with them too?" Masked Hacker asked in shock.

"Yeah, we've just joined so we're kinda new here." Ichika answered him with a nod.

"A couple of newbies? Did you guys raid someone's account?" Masked Hacker asked them.

"Yes, we did. We've raided a very well protected account." Satoru answered him, he felt bad for lying about this one. "It wasn't really that difficult to break into their account and swipe everything they have."

"Well, excellent! Next time, let's raid together!" Masked Hacker said gleefully. "You promise?" Everyone nodded. "You all came at a good time. You guys with me?"

"Good time? What do you mean by that?" Asuna asked in confusion as the hacker gestured to the man with them.

"Have a look over there." Masked Hacker answered as he pointed to the man. "That's Mephisto. Mephisto buys any hijacked accounts from us directly." Ichika then started to walk over to Mephisto. "What, you're off already? Mephisto's a little crazy, so be careful!"

"Ichika, what are you doing?" Char gasped. "That man doesn't even look right! Come back before you get hurt!"

"Don't worry, I'm gonna be okay, Char." Ichika assured her. "If this Mephisto guy is the one behind the account raid, then this is the only way to get any answers out of him. Just trust me, Char." Char hesitated for a moment before nodding as he stops in front of Mephisto.

"Hand. Over. Accounts. Now." Mephisto demanded before clutching his head in pain. "Uugh. Accounts. Accounts."

"Before I do hand over the account, there's something I want to ask you, Mr. Mephisto." Ichika said with a serious frown. "I want to ask you about account raids. Were you the one who raided the account of Makoto Yamashina?"

"Accounts. Now. Hand. Over. Accounts!" Mephisto growled.

"Sorry, no can do, Mephisto." Ichika frowned seriously. "Not until you tell me about account raids."

"Acc…? Aghahbababa…" Mephisto screamed as he clutched his head. "Babababababawow-wow!" He fell onto the floor and started rolling around while holding his head in agony.

"Whoa! What did you do to him? Mephisto, are you rollin'?" Masked Hacker asked fearfully.

"It wasn't me, I swear!" Ichika panicked. "He just fell on the floor and started rolling around like a maniac!" Mephisto stopped rolling and stood back up on his feet.

"Y-Y-You, you didn't bring iiiiiiit! S-S-So, so, give me your account!" Mephisto yelled crazily.

"Hey, calm down, Mephisto! Look, you're freakin' the newbi out!" Masked Hacker gawked.

"Aaaoww!" Mephisto screamed as a black dragon like Digimon with white hair materialized behind him.

"No way! He also has a Digimon?!" Liz gawked.

"I want a rare… sparkling, shiny new account…" Both Mephisto and the Digimon said dangerously. "Give it to meeeee!" Ichika and his friends all got into battle stance as the black Digimon stepped forward.

"Looks like we need to beat him to get the info we need." Agumon frowned as he got ready. "Agumon, digivolve to…! GeoGreymon!" Agumon turned into GeoGreymon.

"Elecmon, digivolve to… Leomon!" Elecmon turned into Leomon.

"Renamon, digivolve to…! Kyubiimon!"

"Biyomon, digivolve to… Birdramon!"

"Candlemon, digivolve to…! Wizardmon!"

"Monodramon, digivolve to….! Strikedramon!"

"Palmon digivolve to…! Togemon!"

"Dorumon, digivolve to…! Dorugamon!" All the Digimon save for Gatomon digivolve into Champions. The CPUs transformed as well.

"Alright, let's find out what kind of Digimon this is." Ichika frowned as he put his Digivice over his eyes and scanned Mephisto's Digimon. "BlackGrowlmon. Looks like we're in for a tough fight."

"Mega Flame!" GeoGreymon yelled as he launched his attack at BlackGrowlmon, but it did little damage despite the fact that GeoGreymon is a Vaccine Digimon. "What?!" He gasped in shock.

"Plasma Blade!" BlackGrowlmon yelled as he made plasma blades on its elbows and slashed GeoGreymon three times.

"Dragon Wheel!" Kyubiimon yelled as she launched her attack at BlackGrowlmon, damaging him a little. BlackGrowlmon growled in fury as he charged towards Kyubiimon and rammed her into a digiwall.

"Mirage Dance!" Purple Sister charged towards BlackGrowlmon and slashed him six times, but it did little damage, shocking her. "W-What the goodness?!"

"Electro Squall!" Wizardmon launched his attack at BlackGrowlmon, it did medium damage.

"Exhaust Flame!" BlackGrowlmon roared as he spew out black flames towards the Digimon, they dodged it and their partners and their friends watched in horror as the black flames melted a digiwall so bad but the wall regenerated.

"Oh man… That attack is powerful…" Kirie gulped.

"If we were caught by that attack… Game over for us." Agil muttered in shock.

"We can't let that stop us!" White Heart growled in fury as she charged towards BlackGrowlmon. "I'll send you to the deepest abyss of hell!" Just as White Heart was about to attack, BlackGrowlmon lashed his tail at her, knocking her into a wall.

"Fist of the Beast King!" Leomon launched his attack at BlackGrowlmon, but it fizzled out upon impact.

"Not good!" Houki tensed as BlackGrowlmon charged towards Leomon and punched him a few feet.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Strike Fang!" Birdramon, Togemon and Strikedramon combined their attacks to try to damage BlackGrowlmon, but it did medium damage.

"Growl Claw!" BlackGrowlmon roared as he used his claws to knock the three Champion Digimon into the floor. BlackGrowlmon then charged towards Leafa who panicked and knocked her into the floor.

"Ahh!" Leafa screamed as she struggled to get up.

"Leafa!" Kirito gasped in shock as BlackGrowlmon raised his claw up menaceingly towards Leafa. Kunsagi's eyes widen in shock as he remembered a painful memory from his past, a tragic one.

"No… I can't let that happen again!" Kunsangai screamed as he charged towards Leafa to save her.

"Kunsangai!" Veemon and Wormmon gasped in shock as Kunsangai managed to pick up Leafa fast enough before BlackGrowlmon can deliver the finishing blow.

"…?" Leafa opened her eyes and looked at the place where BlackGrowlmon could have finished her. "I'm… alive?" She looked up to see Kunsanagi looking at her while carrying her bridal style. "Kunsanagi? You saved me?"

"Yeah…" Kunsanagi smiled softly. "I just remember something from my past and I don't want history to repeat itself. So I had to save you." Veemon and Wormmon got in front of the two and glared at BlackGrowlmon. "Veemon! Wormmon! You can't fight him! He's too powerful!" Kunsanagi gasped in shock.

"Kunsanagi, when you saved Leafa… That convinces us that we want to help you and our new friends too!" Veemon reassured him as he got into a battle stance. "So there's no way we're letting this guy push you around like that!" Suddenly, Veemon started to glow.

"That's right. You are our friend, Kunsanagi." Wormmon nodded before glowing as well. "And these people you met are also your new friends and our new friends as well."

"Veemon… Wormmon…" Kunsanagi whispered in awe as a tear fell down his cheek before nodding in agreement with his two partners and shouted out "Alright! Let's go!"

"Veemon, digivolve to…!" Veemon started to grow and changed shape until the growing stopped and his new form is a large blue humanoid dragon with somewhat torn dragon wings and on his chest is a white X. "ExVeemon!"

"Wormmon, digivolve to…!" Wormmon changed shape and turned into a humanoid insect with wings and spiked shoulders. "Stingmon!"

(We Are Xros Heart from Digimon Xros Wars plays)

"Awesome, they digivolved!" White Sister (Ram) cheered.

"Now it's our turn to help you." ExVeemon told his friend and partner as he got ready. "Vee-Laser!" ExVeemon yelled as he fired an energy wave from his X shaped chest and it did critical damage on BlackGrowlmon, making him roar in agony.

"It's working!" Gatomon cheered.

"Spinning Spiking Strike!" Stingmon yelled as he did quick kicks on BlackGrowlmon, giving him big damage. BlackGrowlmon tried to slash Stingmon with his Plasma Blade, but he evaded them easily and shouted out "Moon Shooter!" He fired a huge needle at BlackGrowlmon, giving him even more big damage.

"Now it's my turn!" ExVeemon yelled as he got ready. "Power Crunch!" ExVeemon then bite onto BlackGrowlmon's tail, giving him bigger damage and making the evil Digimon roared in pain.

"Multi-Moon Shooter!" Stingmon yelled as he fired multiple needles at BlackGrowlmon, giving him even more bigger damage.

"Now's our chance! GeoGreymon, finish the battle!" Ichika yelled.

"Roger! Mega Burst!" GeoGreymon launched his attack at BlackGrowlmon, damaging him greatly and ending the fight. BlackGrowlmon roared in agony as he was deleted while Mephisto screamed in agony as he fell on the floor unconscious.

After GeoGreymon delivered the final blow on BlackGrowlmon and deleted him, Mephisto lost consciousness and fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Our heroes all regroup with each other and looked at the unconscious hacker while Kusanagi puts Leafa back on solid ground and their Digimon partners all reverted back to their Rookie forms, save for Gatomon.

"Is… is he dead?" Klein asked while feeling tensed.

"I don't think so, Klein." Kirito answered him as he looked at Mephisto carefully. "I think he just fainted after BlackGrowlmon was deleted from GeoGreymon's last attack." Everyone nodded in agreement as he turns to his sister. "Leafa, are you okay? I was worried that BlackGrowlmon was about to kill you."

"Yeah, I'm still in one piece, Oni-chan. Thanks to Kusanagi, Veemon and Wormmon." Leafa said with a smile. "If they haven't jumped in and protected me from BlackGrowlmon, it would've been game over for me." She then turns to Kusanagi and smiled at him. "Thank you for saving me from BlackGrowlmon, Kusanagi. You're my hero today." She leans in and kisses his cheek as he blushes brightly with everyone smiling at them, but the moment was broken as the three masked hackers rushed over to Mephisto's unconscious body.

"Whumph…" Mephisto groans.

"Hey, Mephisto? Mephisto… Mephisto!" Masked Hacker yelled in concern.

"Wow, they look like they're really worried about Mephisto." Nepgear said in amazement. "It's almost like they were family and are always looking out for each other. Do you think there are some hackers that aren't as bad as we thought?" Everyone thought for a moment until they heard their Digivices ring and answered it.

"Kyoko!" Everyone gasped.

"Kyoko?" Kusanagi, Veemon and Wormmon asked in confusion.

"Well, glad to see you're all still in one piece." Kyoko said with a smile. "I was getting a little worried when that Digimon appeared from behind that man. So I take it you were able to find anything interesting during the case?"

"We've had a few bumps along the way, but we did find some interesting info." Ichika answered her. "Not only did we found out who was behind the raid on Yamashina's account, but we've also learned a few more things here. During our fight with BlackGrowlmon, it looked like that he was in control of Mephisto and not the other way around. It almost looked like Mephisto had no will of his own until BlackGrowlmon was deleted and he became unconscious."

"I see. All's well that ends well. This really is such an interesting case." Kyoko said as she scratched her chin in thought. "As you've said before, there are humans with Digimon collections. Do you suppose the opposite must be true as well?"

"Do you really think that Digimon can be just as bad as humans can?" Silica asked, feeling afraid. "Like how we saw with Mephisto and BlackGrowlmon?"

"Who's to say? Anything's possible if you look at it in another direction." Kyoko answered her. "I somehow don't find it that strange that there're Digimon with collections of human account info." She them turns her attention to the unconscious Mephisto. "Still, for it to be that Mephisto… Looks like the Digimon completely overtook its user's mental data, becoming the user itself."

"Is that really possible for a Digimon to overtake its user's mental data and become that very user?" Lisa asked in shock.

"Like I said, it's possible if you look at things in another direction." Kyoko answered her. "I want to check out what effect that has on the real world but, it doesn't pertain to our current investigation. Maybe next time."

"But what about the accounts BlackGrowlmon had collected while posing as Mephisto?" Asuna asked her as she pondered this. "What's going to happen to them now?"

"The accounts collected by BlackGrowlmon included the forcibly overtaken account of Makoto Yamashina." Kyoko explained. "I'm sure they'll automatically be returned to their proper users in a matter of minutes, even as we speak." Everyone breathe a sigh of relief that the accounts will be returned to their prior owners. "You've all done good work today. Come back to the agency. The wheels of fate are ever turning. Heh, I should bear that in mind." She then turns her attention to both Ichika and Satoru. "Is that not so, my dear Watson?" Both boys nodded as she ends the call and everyone made the trip back to the agency.

As our heroes were making the trek back to the agency in the real world, they could still remember how BlackGrowlmon was able to overtake Mephisto's mental data and become him to steal accounts. It gave them chills to think that Digimon can overtake a person and pose as them to do whatever they want.

"Damn, that was some crazy shit back there..." Agil muttered. "I can't believe that Mephisto guy was being used by that BlackGrowlmon thing and using him to steal accounts from people. Can Digimon really take over someone's mental data like that?"

"It's like Kyoko-nee said, anything's possible if we look at it in another direction." Satoru answered him with a serious frown. "There could be some Digimon that might take over a person and use them to their bidding. Something tells me we might be seeing other Digimon doing the same to more humans in the coming cases."

"Still, I can't help but feel bad for Mephisto…" Nepgear said sadly as she lowered her head down despondently. "He didn't have any control over himself and BlackGrowlmon was just using him to steal accounts from everyone. I hope he's gonna be all right."

"Nepgear, I get that you're worried about him, but he was still a hacker." Uni frowned as she said that coldly. "He and those other masked jerks raided accounts and was even wanting the account Ichika lied about. If you ask me, that guy got what he deserved for stealing all those accounts."

"I can't believe you'd say that, Uni!" Nepgear shouted in anger. "I know he was a hacker, but he was still a normal human! He wasn't in control of himself because BlackGrowlmon overtook his mental data! He was still an innocent human being used against his will by an evil Digimon!" Both girls glared at each other as sparks emitted from their eyes until Ichika stepped between them.

"Okay, settle down, you two. There's no need to fight." Ichika intervened. "We all know he was a hacker and wanted the account I lied about raiding, but that still doesn't change the fact that he was being used by BlackGrowlmon to steal accounts. We should be glad we were able to stop him before it got worse." Everyone nodded in agreement as both Nepgear and Uni calmed down.

"You're right, Ichika. We should be glad we stopped him." Nepgear agrees as she took Ichika's words to heart. "I was just upset at what Uni said about Mephisto getting what he deserved, but I suppose he does deserve that defeat we gave him." She then faces Uni. "Uni, I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

"Yeah, the same for me, Nepgear." Uni said with a soft smile. "I'm also sorry for saying those things about him and to you for worrying about him. I guess I was angry at him for stealing all those accounts from people that I didn't think about what I was saying. From now on, I'm gonna make sure I think before I say anything." Nepgear nodded in agreement as they hugged with everyone smiling.

"Okay, glad to see you two worked it out." Ichika smiled in approval. "I know you both had some good points about Mephisto's actions, but that's no reason to argue over about who's right or wrong. We should be glad we stopped them before it could get out of control." Everyone nodded in agreement as he turns to Kusanagi. "And on that note, do you have a Digivice to store Veemon and Wormmon in, Kusanagi?"

"A what now?" Kusanagi asked in confusion while blinking.

"You know, a Digivice." Ling answered him as she looked at him oddly. "It's a little device where you can store your partner in to keep him safe and bring him out if the coast is clear. We all have one." She and her friends all took out their Digivices and showed them to everyone. "Are you sure you don't have one?"

"Sorry, I have no idea what you're taking about." Kusanagi answered her with a sigh. "I don't even have one of those Digivices things you're talking about." Both Veemon and Wormmon nodded in agreement.

"But if he doesn't have a Digivice, then how is he going to store Veemon and Wormmon?" Cecilia asked in confusion. "He's going to need a Digivice to store Veemon and Wormmon to keep them safe from being seen by everyone else."

"If that's the case, then there's only one person who can help us." Houki agrees as she turned to Ichika. "Ichika, do you think Mirei can give Kusanagi a Digivice to store Veemon and Wormmon and keep them safe until it's only just all of just us?"

"Hmm, I believe she can, Houki." Ichika answered her with a nod. "We'd better go to her and see if she can give him a Digivice." His friends all nodded in agreement as he turns to their otherworldly friends. "Plus, it'll be a great way to introduce everyone to her as well. Now let's find an access point and head for the DigiLab." Satoru and Twoearle nodded while everyone was confused.

"DigiLab? What the hell is a DigiLab?" Noire asked in confusion. "And who the hell is this Mirei? Is she someone you guys know?"

"Yeah, we've met her over a week ago." Ichika answered her with a nod. "This was back when I met Kyoko, Satoru and Twoearle and when I used my Connect Jump ability for the first time. When we arrived back in EDEN, there was this bright light shinning and we've entered it where we've arrived in the DigiLab and met Mirei." Both Satoru and Twoearle nodded in agreement. "So if anyone can give Kusanagi a Digivice, it's her."

"But how are we going to find this DigiLab, Ichika?" Tatenashi asked him in confusion. "I don't think it's a forum like Zaxon was, so where can we find it?"

"Just before she sent us back to Kowloon, she said we should find an Access Point." Satoru answered her. "That's probably the only way to enter the DigiLab. But where are we going to find one?" Everyone looked around until Koyomi spots a hologram that resembles a high-tech phone with a sign that says Access Point rotating above it.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Koyomi asked as she pointed to the hologram. "Could that be the Access Point to the DigiLab you were talking about?" Everyone turned to where she's pointing.

"No doubt about it, that's got to be the Access Point Mirei told us about." Ichika answered her with a smile. "Nice work spotting it, Koyomi." Koyomi blushed from being praised as he walks over to the Access Point. "Okay, now let's see if this can take us to the DigiLab." As he pressed on the buttons, everyone was instantly teleported out of Kowloon.

In the DigiLab, Mirei was sitting in her seat and working on her laptop until she looks up at the terminal. In an instant, Ichika and the gang appears in the DigiLab as Mirei closes her laptop and stands up to meet with her visitors.

"Welcome back, Cyber Sleuths." Mirei greeted with a smile. "Nice to see all of you again, my friends. I trust that everything's been going well?" Ichika, Satoru, Twoearle and the IS girls nodded while their otherworldly friends were confused as she turns to them. "Ah, I see you also made some more friends. I trust they're all from other worlds, yes?" Everyone all gasped in shock.

"Wait, you knew about this, Mirei?" Houki asked with wide eyes in shock. "You knew they were from other worlds and they were coming here?"

"Yes, I did. I knew they'd be coming to this world." Mirei answered her with a nod. "And I also knew they'll be helping you in this adventure up down the road. But for now, I believe I'll save the rest for later. So, what do I owe of this visit from all of you?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that." Ichika remembered why they came here. "We came here to see you because our friend Kusanagi has Veemon and Wormmon as partners, but he doesn't have a Digivice. We were wondering if you could give him one."

"I see, that could be trouble without a Digivice." Mirei nods in understanding. "Very well, I shall give your friend a Digivice of his own. That way, he'll be able to store Veemon and Wormmon to keep them safe." She then turns to the trio. "But before I do, how did you encounter Veemon and Wormmon?"

"Well, they kinda found me only yesterday." Kusanagi answered her. "They found me lying on the floor in Kowloon and thought I was lost or abandon by my friends. Of course, I told them I never had any friends before because they always see me like I'm a freak. So they've decided to be my friends and we've together since until we later met with Ichika and the others and helped them on this case." Everyone nodded in agreement to confirm his answer as Veemon, Wormmon and Leafa stood by him. Also, everyone except for Fukuyama felt sorry for Kusanagi for not having any friends and felt angry at the people who called Kusanagi a freak.

"I see, that's quite the story there, Kusanagi-kun." Mirei said in understanding. "And from what I can see, they've already accepted you as their partner and you've even helped them digivolve. And so, I'll be more than happy to give you your own Digivice." She reaches into her pocket as she takes out a blue and green Digivice and hands it to Kusanagi. "Now hold it in front of them, it'll register them as your partners." Kusanagi nodded as he holds his Digivice out to Veemon and Wormmon as it registers them. "Perfect, now you three are partners. Now whenever you exit cyberspace, both Veemon and Wormmon will be in your Digivice in the real world. But you can also bring them into the real world when it's just all of you. Just say "Realize" and they'll appear in the real world."

"Okay, thanks for everything, Mirei." Kusanagi smiled in gratitude. "I'll be sure to use this Digivice as much as I can." Mirei smiled and nodded as he returns to his friends.

"Well, it's about time we head back to the real world." Ichika said "Thanks for giving our friend a Digivice, Mirei. I'm sure he'll put it to good use. We'll be coming back to see you again soon as well."

"I'll be looking forward to your next visit, Ichika." Mirei smiled. "If you ever need advice, don't be afraid to ask. I'll be sure to help in any way I can." Everyone nodded as they stepped back onto the terminal and exited the DigiLab back to Kowloon and continued on to the agency. "Of course, this is only the beginning of your journey. What you faced today was merely a taste for what's to come. So you all best be prepared for the coming trials down the line." She returns to her laptop and continues working.

Back in the real world, Kyoko was waiting at her desk for the return of Ichika and his friends from their first case. As she leans back in her chair, she turns her attention to the TV as the screen started glowing again and she knew what that meant, Ichika and his friends were returning to the real world. In an instant, Ichika and his friends appeared in the center of the office with their new friend Kusanagi as he regains his composure.

"Whoa, tha sure was one hell of a ride." Kusanagi muttered in awe. "Now I know what it feels like to be downloaded from a computer. Remind me to never take my music on my iPod for granted again."

"Sorry about that, it's takes a while to get used to." Ichika apologized. "Believe me, we were all getting used to it before over a week ago, so you're not the only one." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Still, we were able to get used to it after awhile so I'm sure you will too." Kusanagi nodded in agreement as they all turned to Kyoko. "Kyoko, we're back. We were able to get back Yamashina's account from the hackers."

"That you did, great work out there, Cyber Sleuths." Kyoko smiled as she gave him a thumbs up. "And thanks to the release of Yamashina's account, I was able to salvage the account info. Thanks to this, I found his current address and checked it. Along the way I looked into his family data. Some interesting facts came to light."

"What kind of facts about his family, Kyoko?" Asuna asked in confusion. "Was there any connection between him and Yuuko-san?"

"That's just it, there was no connection between them." Kyoko answered her with a serious frown. "As it turns out, our client—this "Yuuko Yamashina"—is very clearly not the same daughter listed here." Everyone gasped in shock while Kusanagi was confused. "Should I have guessed as much? Or should I say it's just too silly?" Everyone half fainted while Kusanagi was still confused. "You all still haven't figured it out? Hee hee, our work relationship remands sound!"

"Huh? What are you guys all talking about?" Kusanagi asked in confusion. "And who is this Yuuko Yamashina you're talking about?" Kyoko then turns to his direction.

"Oh, I didn't see you've brought in one more with you." Kyoko said in awe as she looked at Kusanagi. "I take it that my assistants found you and Kowloon and brought you here, yes?" Kusanagi turns to her and nodded. "I see, that's one more to add in to the team. We'll bring you up to speed later, we've got something important to do." She turns her attention to Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle. "For now, let's head to the Yamashina house. What shall we find in the home of a man who's disappeared? There's only one way to find out." The three friends nodded in agreement and followed her out the office to parking garage and hopped into her car and drove off.

"Okay, so what was that all about?" Kusanagi asked in confusion as he scratched his head. "And what's going on here? Are you guys detectives or something?"

"Not exactly, we're assistants to Kyoko who is a detective." Houki answered him with a smile. "We've just became her assistants over a week ago and are now working part-time with her, but I can tell you it's a long story. And while they're out, we can tell you everything until they get back." Kusanagi nodded as he sits on the right sofa while Houki and their friends sit on the left sofa with everyone else standing behind them as they started explaining the situation to him.

After driving for an hour and a half, Kyoko, Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle arrived at an apartment complex. As they exited the car, they headed up the stairs of the complex until they've reached the 8th floor and made their way to the door at the very end of the balcony. Upon reaching the door, Kyoko reaches forward and presses the doorbell as they hear a voice from inside.

"Yes, who is it?" A man's voice asked as the door opens to reveal himself to his visitors.

"Good afternoon. This is the Yamashina residence, is it not?" Kyoko asked.

"It is, but… who are you?" The man asked in confusion.

"We're actually looking for someone. Excuse me, but might I inquire as to your name?" Kyoko asked him.

"What? I'm Makoto Yamashina, but…" Makoto answered her as he looked at the trio suspiciously as Ichika gasped in surprise.

"Thank you, Mr. Yamashina. One more question, sir." Kyoko began. "I've heard someone in this area has gone missing. Might you know who could it be?" Unknown to Yamashina, she was giving hand singles to Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle. Ichika was confused while Satoru and Twoearle knew what do to as Twoearle takes out a tablet and hands it to Satoru as he takes out a stylist pen and beings writing down information.

"A missing person? No, I don't have the slightest idea." Makoto answered her as he scratched his chin in thought.

"I see. Might I speak with your family about this as well?" Kyoko asked him.

"Unfortunately, my wife and daughter are out at the moment." Makoto answered her.

"Where might your daughter be?" Kyoko asked and before Makoto could answer, there as another voice calling out.

"Daddy, what's the matter?" A girl's voice asked as everyone turned around.

"Ah, you're home! Such good timing! There's someone here who wants a word." Makoto answered with a smile as a girl about the same age as Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle walks over to her father and stands next to him. "This is my daughter, Chika." This time, all three friends gasped in surprise to learn that Chika was Yamashina's daughter and not Yuuko.

"Huh? What is this?" Chika asked in confusion as she looked at the three friends in confusion.

"Hmm… This is your daughter, Mr. Yamashina? You've no other children?" Kyoko asked him as she scratched her chin in thought.

"No. Chika is my only child. Why do you ask?" Makoto asked as he titled his head in confusion.

"Just who are you, exactly?" Chika also asked as she glared at the trio.

"They're asking after a missing person in the area. Do you know of anyone missing?" Makoto asked his daughter.

"Missing? Hmm. No, I haven't heard of anything like that." Chika answered him as she placed her hand on her chin in thought.

"There you have it. I'm sorry we weren't of much help." Makoto said with closed eyes and a smile.

"Not at all. Thank you for your assistance." Kyoko said in gratitude. "We were able to get the info we needed after all." She glances over to Satoru who nodded and she nodded back before turning back to the Yamashinas. "By the way, Mr. Yamashina, are you aware that your EDEN account was hacked?"

"EDEN?" Makoto asked in confusion.

"You can rest assured, however, that we have restored the account. You can use it freely now." Kyoko said as Makoto just went silent. "Is something wrong, Mr. Yamashina?"

"Please, just… please leave now!" Chika shouted in anger.

"Huh?" Kyoko blinked in confusion.

"It… It doesn't matter. Just leave! We don't know anything about any missing person!" Chika yelled. "Let's go, Daddy!" She takes her father's arm and drags him back into the room before slamming the door shut.

"Hmm. That was quite the brush-off." Kyoko muttered. "And yet, we still got a lot of valuable info." The three friends nodded in agreement. "This Chika is certainly Mr. Yamashina's daughter. Which means our client pretended to be Yamashina's daughter for the case."

"But if that's the case, then why did she lie to us?" Ichika asked in confusion. "Why would Yuuko want to pretend to be his daughter and asked us for a case?"

"I'm not really interested in why she was deceiving us on that front." Kyoko answered him. "But she wanted to find out something about him. What's the connection between the two of them? That's what really piques my interest. However, there's one more thing I'm concerned about."

"And what's that, Kyoko-nee?" Satoru asked her.

"It's nothing, let's leave that for now." Kyoko answered him with a smile. "Our client said she'd come back to the agency. Let's have some ourselves some coffee and wait for her!" That made the three friends all flinched in fear. "Come on, let's head back to the agency." They headed back down the stairs and got into her car as they left the complex and headed back to Nakano

Back at the agency, Houki and her friends had just finished explaining to Kusanagi about what was going on about the EDEN Syndrome, Ichika having a half-cyber body and everything else that had happened until now. As they finished talking, the door opens as Kyoko, Ichika, Satoru and Twoearle returned from their visit to the Yamashina household.

"Hey, welcome back, guys." Ling greeted them. "We've been looking after the fort while you were out. So did you guys find anything about Yamashina?"

"Oh yeah, we've found a lot of info about him." Satoru answered her with a serious frown. "But we'll start with the big one from our investigation. You guys all remember when Yuuko came in and asked us to retrieve her father's account, right?" Everyone nodded. "Well as it turns out, Makoto Yamashina isn't her father at all. The name of his real daughter is named Chika and she's his only kid." Everyone gasped in shock. "Yeah, we've found out that she lied to us about her being his daughter and hired us for this case."

"But why would she lie to us about her being Yamashina's daughter?" Char asked in confusion as she covered her mouth in shock. "What was her reason for wanting us to retrieve his account from the hackers? What's the connection between them?"

"That we're not sure of, but we did managed to get some interesting info." Kyoko answered her as she scratched her chin in thought. "From what we've gather, Makoto Yamashina is nothing more than a normal family man living a happy life with his wife and Chika. But when we've mentioned his EDEN account, we've got an interesting reaction from him and Chika. It looked like he was trying to remember something about EDEN, but his daughter stepped in and dragged him back into the house before slamming the door on us. Judging from her reaction, there might be some connection between them after all."

"The real question is, what is the connection between Yuuko and Mayashina?" Satoru asked as he pondered this. "Could they have known each other from back then? Like she knew him from a place she often visits?"

"We'll have to save that for another time until we find any more information." Kyoko answered him. "Right now, our client should be on her way as of this moment. Let's keep those thoughts in the back burner for now." Everyone nodded in agreement until they heard the door open as Yuuko walks into the office.

"Hello there." Yuuko greeted.

"You came. And much earlier than I expected. You are indeed an excellent client." Kyoko said with a smile. "Please, take a seat on the sofa. The investigation concluded. I can offer you my report." Yuuko gasped in surprise before she takes a seat on the right sofa while Kyoko, Satoru and Twoearle sits on the left with everyone else behind them as she begins explaining their findings. "…and here are the results of the investigation." She hands her a folder on the table as Yuuko was silent. "A hacker team known as Zaxon was involved in the amount raid."

"Zaxon?!" Yuuko gasped in shock.

"Makoto Yamashina is not missing at all. He's living a normal life. Happily, with his daughter Chika and his wife." Kyoko said as Yuuko went silent again, knowing she was found out. "I'd like to bring this investigation to a close, if you don't mind." Yuuko just sighed before she nodded.

"No, there's no problem. Thank you very much." Yuuko said in gratitude..

"Hmm… I wonder why she didn't answer until now?" Ichika asked in confusion "Could she be really hiding something from us?" He thought for a moment before shaking his head and decided to ask her. "Um. isn't there a problem, though?" Yuuko went silent again as she stands up from the sofa.

"I'll be back." Yuuko said quietly as she starts walking towards the door.

"You're welcome at any time. Next time, feel free to use your real name." Kyoko said with a smirk before saying "Ms. Yuuko Kamashiro." Yuuko stopped in her tracks just before the door as everyone gasped in shock. Yuuko said nothing as she turns the handle of the door and continues on her way.

Meanwhile

In another part of Kowloon, an all too familiar figure was lying on the floor until he begins to stir. He begins to push himself off the floor and sits back up while shaking his head to ease the pain.

"Ow… What the hell was that all about?" Meta Knight muttered. "And what was the deal with that earthquake? Was that a glitch in Aincrad?" As he places his hand on his face, he noticed something was missing from his face. "Huh? My mask? What happened to my mask?" As he looks around for his mask, he hears someone calling out to him.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up from his beauty sleep." An unknown voice said tauntingly. "I thought for sure you'd be pushing up daisies right about now, but I suppose that's not the case." Meta Knight turns around to see a small purple imp Digimon wearing a red bandana around his neck and red gloves sitting on a digiblock and spinning his mask on his finger.

"What the?! Where did you come from?" Meta Knight asked in confusion and shock. "And what are you? Are you some kind of imp or something?"

"Well, I can see you're not as dumb as you look. bub." The imp Digimon said with a smirk. "Name's Impmon, I'm what they called a Digimon, short for Digital Monster. So what about you, pally? Do you have a name?"

"I do, but I only use it to people I trust." Meta Knight answered him with a sad frown. "I've been looked down upon by other people because me and several others have an unfair advantage over them and they all flat out hate us. I guess I've been very weary of people, only trusting a select few of them." That made Impmon stop spinning his mask and lowers his head. "What about you, Impmon? Have you ever had anyone you trusted?"

"I did, but it's a long story." Impmon answered him with a sad frown. "I was with some other Digimon I know, but some things happened and I didn't want to be part of them anymore. Ever since then, I've been on my own with no one else around me." He chuckled a little. "But I suppose that's life for someone like me, being alone where no one wants anything to do with you." He then felt Meta Knight's hand on his shoulder.

"Then maybe we can keep each other company." Meta Knight said with a smile. "Believe me, I know what it's like to not be wanted, but I still did managed to make a few friends. One in particular was more driven to find a way out of our prison and save everyone from our virtual nightmare. Though, I'm wondering what's he doing now?" He looks up into the digisky and starts thinking about his friend before turning back to Impmon. "Hey, you asked for my name, right? To most people, I go by Meta Knight. But for you, you can call me Elias." He holds his hand out to Impmon as he nods and takes his hand into his and both shook hands.

"The pleasure's all mine, Elias." Impmon said with a smirk. "You're not that bad at all." He then holds the mask out to Elias. "Oh, here's your mask back. You'll probably be needing it for the road ahead." Elias nodded in agreement as he takes his mask back and places it back on his face.

"Thanks, Impmon. I really appreciate you watching over me." Meta Knight (Elias) smiled in gratitude. "I'll be sure to return the favor in some way, but let's find a way out of here first. I'm sure we'll get to know each other more along the way." Impmon nodded in agreement as he jumps off the digiblock and they started walking to search for a way out of Kowloon.

To be continued…

Next chapter: Cyber Sleuths vs Nerima Wrecking Crew! Wrath of the Flymon Swarm!

A/n: Sorry it took us so long to finish this chapter. This is possibly the second longest chapter we have ever did. Anyway, next up is the second anime filler segment with the first part featuring Ranma ½. So we hope to see you soon.