A/N: Hello all, welcome to Chapter 17 which is the second case, but it's not a Nokia, Yuuko or Arata case. You see, in the game Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, you have cases before the main ones that involve Nokia, Arata and Yuuko, so we're doing those cases that provide either lore or other stuff along with the anime filler arcs and regular filler arcs. So after this second case, it's on to the third anime filler arc with Hundred, Mew Mew Power and Shomin Sample. So here is Chapter 17 and hopefully, it won't take too long.
Chapter 17: Game On! The Case of the Buggy Mobile Game!
After Saberdramon was deleted and his rampage stopped in its tracks, Ichika and Char were heading back to Nakano to meet up with the rest of their friends. Luckily, they were able to arrive in time to stop the destruction of Shinjuku before anyone was seriously hurt. Once they've returned to the office, the rest of the Cyber Sleuths had already returned from saving people and are now resting.
"Whew, that sure was a close one." Klein sighed in relief. "I thought we weren't going to make it when that Digimon was flying around through the city, but I'm relieved we made it in time. That could've ended a lot worse if we didn't."
"Yeah, no kidding. That Digimon really caught us off guard when it showed up in the real world." Liz agrees with a serious nod. "I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt from all the damage that Digimon caused. I wonder if Ichika and Char already took care of it?" Everyone nodded before turning towards the door to see their friends back along with some newcomers.
"Well, we don't have to wonder anymore. They're already back." Houki smiled. "We're glad to see you two made it back safe and sound. We were worried that something might've happened to you two when we split up to save all the people. So were you two able to stop the Digimon before it could destroy Shinjuku?" She then noticed the newcomers with them. "And who are they with you? Did you save them from the Digimon as well?"
"Yeah, we've found them while we were fighting Saberdramon." Ichika answered her with a thumbs up. "But one of them thought that Birdramon was also with Saberdramon who attacked them before. Luckily, one of their other friends was able to convince her to stop attacking and let us deal with Saberdramon. So once he was deleted, we brought them here with us."
"I see, nice work in thinking ahead, my assistant." Kyoko smiled as she crossed her arms. "As a detective, you're required to think on your feet and even have to come up with a plan in an instant. So while you and Satoru still have a long way to go, I'm proud to know that you two are getting closer at being full-fledged detectives. So keep it up, you two. I've got faith in you boys." Both boys nodded and everyone smiled while the newcomers were confused.
"Excuse me, but what's going on here?" Tenchi asked in confusion. "Not to be rude or anything, but can you guys tell us what are you all talking about?"
"Oh right, sorry about that. We didn't properly explain ourselves yet." Satoru apologized. "From what Kyoko said, we're detectives and it's our job to solve cases requested by clients. We can solve any case you have for us and we can guarantee it'll be solved."
"Detectives, you say? Now that sounds really interesting." Washu said with a devious smirk and a glint in her eyes. "Perhaps I should examine you all and see just what makes you tick. I've heard that detectives can use their excellent brains to think their way out of situations that would be considered impossible. Mind if I experiment on you to see for myself?" Everyone got started by her and took a step back while Kyoko remained calm.
"I don't think that'll be even necessary." Kyoko answered her with a frown. "Being a detective doesn't always mean we have incredible minds, it's because we see things in a different perspective that most other people don't see. And plus, I doubt you'll come up with any results if you experiment on us. Not even the greatest minds can figure out how the human brain works and it'll always remain a mystery that's best left unsolved." Washu slumped in disappointment from her words while everyone breathe a sigh of relief. "But now that Saberdramon is dealt with, I believe it's time we celebrate for a job well done. I can make us some coffee to pose a toast."
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Everyone else screamed in terror except for Yui who is happy to drink more of Kyoko's coffee.
"Coffee, huh? That sounds good to me." Nami said with a smile. "After all the craziness today, I can definitely go for some coffee."
"Yeah, that does sound good." Tenchi agrees with a smile as well. "I'm always up for some coffee when I'm in town. So I can't wait to try yours." Kyoko nodded as she stands up from her desk and heads for the other room to make some coffee for everyone.
"Aw hell, here comes more of her coffee!" Ranma panicked. "It's already bad enough that we barely survived that coffee, but now they won't stand a chance! We've got to get them out of here before she comes back!"
"Hey, what are you guys so afraid of?" Ussop asked in confusion. "Are you saying that her coffee nearly killed you guys?" Everyone nodded in fear except for Yui. "And you guys called me a liar… There's no way her coffee's as deadly as you say."
"You don't understand, her coffee's not like anything you've seen!" Kirie waved her arms up and down in panic with the blank white dotted eyes expression. "It's something that's not even made from this Earth! You guys have got to get out of here while you still have the chance!"
"HA! So you chumps can stand up against that bird thing, but you're afraid of some coffee?" Ryoko mocked. "I can't believe it, you guys are just a bunch of wimps! So it was only just luck you were able to kill that bird!" That made Ichika and Char mad at Ryoko saying it was only luck that they've won against Saberdramon. But before anyone could speak up, Kyoko returns with a tray of coffee.
"Here it is, one of my specially made coffees." Kyoko said with a smile and closed eyes. "It's a recipe I've been working on and planning on selling once I complete it. It's called vinegar, pickled plum and red paste coffee. I hope you all enjoy it." The Straw Hats and Tenchi's group all looked at their cups as the coffee swirled around and gave off a strange aroma.
"Well, we did say that we'll try it… So here we go…" Tenchi gulped. "Bottoms up." Everyone took a sip of the coffee before placing their cups back on the plates.
"So how does it taste?" Kyoko asked hopefully. "Does it taste very good?" Before anyone could answer, they all fell on the floor with a loud crash and were foaming at the mouth, except for Luffy. "Hmm… looks like its back to the drawing board again. I thought I was closer than before, but even that flopped. Oh well, there's always next time to try out my new coffee recipes." Everyone looked at her and sweat dropped. Luffy, however, was enjoying the coffee while Yui got a cup and drank it happily.
"This coffee is really good, lady!" Luffy grinned as he drank it.
"Glad you liked it." Kyoko smiled in gratitude. "Looks like I have another fan of my coffee, but I won't rest until I perfected it."
"Holy… crap…" Ling muttered in shock.
Not long after recovering from the dreaded coffee, Ichika and the gang were riding on the bus heading for home while also introducing themselves to the newcomers. As the bus makes its way to the destination, the Straw Hats and Tenchi's group were still recovering from tasting Kyoko's coffee and nearly died, except for Luffy who enjoyed the coffee.
"Geez, just what the hell was that all about?!" Nami asked with a groan as she clutched her stomach. "I can't believe she was sadistic enough to add in vinegar, pickled plum and red paste into coffee! I can't believe we're still alive after tasting that stuff!"
"Sorry about that, she likes to mix in other ingredients into the coffee she makes." Satoru said with a sigh as he rubbed his temples. "She's planning on creating a coffee that she can sell to everyone once she finally perfects it. So while she's trying to perfect her coffee, we'll be the ones suffering through all the coffee she's giving to us as tests to the one she's creating."
"So that coffee she gave us was one of her prototypes for the coffee she's trying to make?" Tenchi asked with a gulp. "And if she does perfect it, she's going to sell it and have everyone else try it?"
"Yeah, that's what she plans to do once it's finally perfected." Satoru answered him with a nod. "So make sure you prepare yourself for her next coffee. Who knows what she'll add to it next time." Everyone nods in agreement as he turns to Luffy. "But there's one thing I don't understand… How was Luffy not affected by her coffee? I can understand Yui not being affected by it since she's not human, but Luffy is! So how the hell was he not foaming at the mouth?"
"That's the thing about Luffy, we're not even sure if he's human himself sometimes..." Nami answered him with a sigh. "There are times where he tends to run into situations without thinking or coming up with any kind of plan. He also likes to eat a lot and doesn't care if it tastes good or not, like how he did before when you guys were looking for him. But most of the time, he's not really the brightest bulb and we always have to tell him what's going on."
"So basically what you're saying is that he's an idiot?" Kirie asked with the dull expression. "And he's the kind of idiot that doesn't always think about the situation and is completely dense about everything around him?" The Straw Hats all nodded as Luffy wasn't paying attention and was looking out the window of the bus. Ichika and the IS girls sweat dropped because they knew one of their own is dense, but it's something they can't help. Ichika knows that feeling of being dense, so hopefully he will fix that by finding the courage of confessing his love for Char. "I guess that makes a lot of sense for everything that happened before Saberdramon decided to crash the party. Still, I'm relieved that no one was hurt and Saberdramon was dealt with before it got out of hand." Everyone nodded in agreement before turning to Ryoko and glared at her.
"Now what was that you were saying about us being wimps?" Noire asked with a sneer. "Sounds to me that you're the real wimp around here since you couldn't take the coffee after one sip. So now who's the chumps, chump?" Ryoko only responded by turning around and grumbling to herself as she already knew that she couldn't say anything. "Haha, that's what I thought. You're all bark and no bite, just like the spoiled child you are." That made Ryoko really pissed off as she tried to attack Noire, but was held back by her friends.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A SPOILED CHILD, PIGTAILS?!" Ryoko yelled in anger. "You think that you can just call me that and get away with it?! I'll bet you're just about the same, but without any friends of your own!" Now Noire was pissed off about that as she tried to attack Ryoko, but was held back by her fellow CPUs.
"YOU TAKE THAT BACK RIGHT NOW!" Noire roared in fury "I'll have you know that I've got plenty of friends back home and they're all way nicer than you! So don't think that you know me!" Everyone knew she was lying because of her tsundere personality, but decided not to say a word about it as the arguing continued throughout the bus ride and all the other people looking at them.
Not long after dropping off Satoru and Twoerale at their destination, Ichika, the CPUs, Leafa, Yui, Pina, Ranma's group, the Straw Hats and Tenchi's group all arrived at the Orimura Residence and entered the front door. Upon entering the house, they've made their way to the living room where the Straw Hats were amazed by all the technology around the room.
"WHOA! This is just amazing!" Luffy beamed. "I can't believe you have all this incredible stuff, Ichika! So this is where you live?"
"Yeah, this is my house and where you'll all be staying." Ichika answered him with a smile. "Since you guys don't have a place to stay and it's too expensive to pay for a hotel, we've decided to let you all stay at my house. I've got plenty of room and it's mostly just me, so you guys are living with me. And it's a good thing I've bought some more sleeping bags for all of you, so you won't get cold."
"That's nice and all, but what about your parents?" Nico asked in concern. "Would they mind you inviting a couple of strangers you've only just met to live with you in your house?" That made Ichika stop in his tracks and clutched his fists. The CPUs were silent as they knew about what Ichika's parents did while Leafa, Yui and Pina were confused.
"I did had parents before, but they're no longer around…" Ichika answered her sadly. "They've abandoned me and my sister years ago, but I was still only a kid so I don't really remember much of them. But I know my sister hates them for abandoning us and I guess I do as well…" Both the Straw Hats and Tenchi's group all started to feel sorry for him and angry for his parents for abandoning him and his sister. Even Leafa, Yui and Pina feel sorry for Ichika and mad at his parents for abandoning him and his sister years ago.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was a sensitive subject…" Nico apologized as she lowered her head despondently a bit. "I had no idea that your parents were long gone and it was only just you and your sister. I hope you can forgive me for bringing up such a terrible memory."
"It's okay, I know you didn't mean to." Ichika said with a small smile. "It's been only me and my sister living here by ourselves for years, but we've managed to make ends meet. So there's no need to apologize, we've managed to keep ourselves going after everything we went though."
"But that still doesn't excuse your parents for abandoning you and your sister like that!" Ryoko growled in fury. "They just abandoned you two like you were nothing and left on their own damn accord?! If I see those no good bastards, I'll make them pay for abandoning you and your sister!"
"Thank you, but you don't need to do that." Ichika reassured her. "I know they deserved all the hate you're giving them, but there's no need to anymore. We've managed to live through all the hardships because my sister was an expert pilot and that helped us make it through our years. Plus I met my wonderful friends throughout my childhood and at school and just recently, Satoru, Twoearle and the others. So there's no need to make my parents pay." Ryoko calmed down a bit and nodded. Ichika then remembered something. "By the way, we've never got your names yet. After everything that happened today, it slipped my mind."
"That's okay, we were distracted by everything that happened as well." Tenchi smiled. "And since we're in your house, now's the perfect time to introduce ourselves." He clears his throat as he begins. "My name is Tenchi Masaki, nice to meet you, Ichika. And these are my friends whom I'm living with. Ryoko Hakubi, Ayeka Masaki Jurai, her little sister Sasami Masaki Jurai, Mihoshi Kuramitsu, Ryoko's mother Washu Hakubi, Kiyone Makibi and last but not least, Ryo-Ohki. We thank you for helping us back there with that bird who attacked us before." Everyone all nodded in agreement while Ryoko just pouted from remembering that time.
"No problem, I'm glad we made it in time to help you guys." Ichika smiled back as he gave them a thumbs up. "Now I know there's a lot of questions you guys all have, but let's save it for tomorrow. We can talk after school and when we head for Nakano, we'll answer as many questions that you might have." Everyone nodded as he takes out his Digivice and yells out "Realize!" to let Agumon out to stretch as both the Straw Hats and Tenchi's group were amazed.
"Ahhh… now that's more like it." Agumon said happily. "Nice to stretch after kicking Digimon butt and saving the day again. All in a day's work for the Cyber Sleuths."
"Yep, and now's the perfect time to rest." Ichika agrees with a smile. "From what Kyoko told us, she has something special to show us and wants all of us to see her. Maybe it's another case for us she wants us to solve?" Agumon shrugged his shoulders as everyone got into their sleeping bags while Ichika and Agumon went to his room and Leafa, Yui and Pina did the same.
Meanwhile
After dropping off Ichika, Leafa, Yui, Pina, the CPUs, Ranma's group, the Straw Hats and Tenchi's group at his house and Agil at his newly bought apartment, the IS girls, Kirito, Asuna, Liz, Silica, Phillia, Sinon, Klein, Kusanagi, Yukinari's group (except for Fukuyama) and Gen were dropped off by the monorail station leading to the IS Academy. As they boarded the monorail, they were now on their way to the academy grounds to rest up. Along the way, they decided to talk about how Saberdramon was able to enter the real world.
"Whew, that sure was one hell of a day." Kirie sighed in exhaustion. "I can't believe that Digimon was able to appear in the real world instead of us fighting it in cyberspace. How was it even able to come into the real world in the first place? Did someone or something brought him to the real world?"
"I don't know, but it could be a possibility…" Houki answered her as she crossed her arms and pondered this. "Could that be what Mirei mentioned before about this person having a powerful influence? If that's the case, then could other Digimon be entering the real world?"
"If it's possible for Saberdramon to enter into the real world, then other Digimon might as well." Kirito answered her with a serious frown. "I'd hate to see what other kind of damage some of the larger Digimon like Whamon might cause. We were lucky it was just Saberdramon and he's not that big, but we won't be lucky the next time. Something tells me we might see even more powerful Digimon down the line." Everyone nodded in agreement as they all arrived at the IS Academy and got off the monorail before heading for their rooms.
"You guys all go on ahead, I'll be taking Gen to see Maya-sensei." Laura said with a smile. "I'll ask her to have him enrolled here at the academy and have his own room. We'll continue this discussion tomorrow when everyone is together after school." Everyone nodded as they all headed for their rooms while Laura and Gen heads to meet with Maya.
In the facility room, Maya was working late to grade some papers from today's tests and was nearly finished with them. As she turns to drink her coffee, Laura and Gen enters the room and she turns to face them.
"Oh, Laura, I didn't expect to see you here tonight." Maya said with a smile. "I thought you might've gone back to your room and went to bed. Is there something I can help you with?" She then notices Gen with her. "And who's this boy with you? Is he a friend of yours?"
"You could say that, we've met him not too long ago." Laura answered her with a smile. "He was lost and doesn't have anywhere else to go. So I was wondering if you can enroll him here at the academy so he can live with us and he won't be alone anymore." Maya turns to Gen as he hides behind Laura's back to show he's really nervous.
"Of course, he can enroll here at the academy and we'll prepare a room for him." Maya said with closed eyes and a smile. "We'll also give him one of the male uniforms that Ichika, Satoru, Kirito, Klein and Yukinari all wear. We'll have everything ready for him by tomorrow while you're all in class." She turns to Gen. "By the way, what's your name, young man?"
"I-it's… G-Gen… My name is Gen…" Gen answered her with a stutter.
"Gen, that's a nice name. It's nice to meet you, Gen." Maya greeted, smiling again. "I'm Maya Tamada, I'll be your teacher tomorrow. I hope we can get along and be friends." Gen was still hiding behind Laura, but he still nodded. "Poor boy, you look like you've been through so much. Has he been mistreated very badly when you've met him?"
"Yes, he was mistreated very horribly and that's why he's nervous around people." Laura answered her with a nod. Deep down, she doesn't want to tell Maya about Gen an escapee from Phantom Task, but she and her friends will eventually tell her at some point or the other. "He and his friend managed to escape from the people who mistreated him, but they were separated and he found us. He's still getting used to us, so give him some time until he relaxes."
"I see, that makes a lot more sense now." Maya said with a nod. "I'll be sure to tell the others not to crowd him as he's a little fragile and is not used to new people yet. I'll have him enrolled tomorrow and he'll be attending the same classes as you and everyone." Both Laura and Gen bowed as they left the room and Maya got back to work.
Out in the hallway, Laura and Gen were heading for the dorms to turn in for the night. As they were about halfway to the rooms, Gen decided to break the ice by asking her something.
"Hey Laura, there's something I want to ask you." Gen said curiously. "What was your past like before coming here and meeting with Ichika and the others? Were you like a normal kid back?" Laura stopped in her tracks as she was hesitant to tell him about her past. "Laura, what's wrong? Did I say something that bothered you?"
"No, it's not that, Gen. It's just something else entirely..." Laura answered him with a sad sigh. "It's just that my past isn't really something you'd call normal and not really anything I'd like to talk about." But knowing that he asked her, she takes a deep breath and gathers her courage. "But I know you'll want to know, so here it is." Gen was silent as she began. "I'm not like everyone else, I wasn't born into this world. I'm a test-tube baby built to be a super soldier in Germany's research lab and went through the best military training. I was even given my own IS to help me further my training where I was taught by Ichika's sister Chifuyu. She was the best trainer I've had and I worshiped her to the point that I wanted her to keep on training me. But when I asked her what made her strong, she told me that it was her will to protect someone important to her and that was her strength."
"So what happened after she told you that?" Gen asked her out of pity. "Were you able to understand what she meant by that?"
"No, because none of my training has taught me about it and that's when things started going downhill." Laura answered him, sighing sadly again. "I was taught that fighting for someone made you weak and I wanted to take this person out from her life and she can go back to training me. So when I found out that it was her brother Ichika, I've decided to eliminate him because I thought he's the one who made her weak. So I arrived at the academy where I challenged Ichika to a duel where Chifuyu would return to Germany to train me more, but Cecilia and Ling took me on instead. One of the reasons I came to the IS Academy was because I thought her skills were being sullied by the students and staff who don't appreciate her and I should be the only one to train under her. Another reason was because I despised Ichika for making her forfeit the match that I thought she rightfully deserved to win."
"So what happened to Cecilia and Ling when they took on your challenge?" Gen asked again. "Was it really difficult to win because it was the two of them against you?"
"No, I easily defeated them and wondered how people like them possess 3rd Generation IS's." Laura answered him. "I've even commented on their countries that boasts of numbers but no talent and whose only redeeming quality is their ancient culture. But after a near death experience, I realized that his greatest strength is his freedom to choose and helping those around him and Chifuyu's advice, everything became clearer to me and I now see what made her strong. So now I'm one of his friends and I properly introduced myself without any ill will like before."
"That's good, I'm glad everything worked out in the end." Gen smiled. "I'm happy to know that you're not like how you were before and are much more friendlier." Laura smiled back and gave him a thumbs up. "By the way, there's something else I want to ask you. After you started being nicer to Ichika, were you also in love with him?" That made her blush madly and almost made her lose her composure.
"W-well… I s-suppose you could say that." Laura answered him with a stutter. "I did fall in love with him after he consoled me in sub space where I finally realized how special he really was. So I've decided to become his bodyguard to protect him from the other girls and made him my wife."
"Wait, you made him your wife?" Gen asked with a question mark. "Shouldn't that be the other way around since you're a girl and he's a guy?"
"Like I said, he was now my wife." Laura answered him proudly. "But it would seems that he has feelings for Char and I could tell that they've been growing closer than ever. So while I know he may choose Char, I'll support them through it all." She turns to Gen and smiles warmly at him. "And I also want to thank you for helping us against Whamon. I'm sure you'll be happy here, but be wary of tomorrow when you introduce yourself to my fellow classmates." Gen raised an eyebrow at what she meant before she leaves for her room while waving at him and he waved back.
"Heheh, so you having feelings for that Laura girl, partner?" Bearmon teased from the Digivice "I can tell you really like her." That made Gen now blushed madly from his teasing.
"W-what a-are y-y-you t-t-talking about, B-Bearmon?" Gen stammered. "I don't like her that much, just as a friend! It's not like anything you think!" Bearmon knew that he was lying, but Gen covers the Digivice with his hand to not let him hear him. "But maybe, I do like her a little." He started heading for the room he'll be sleeping in which was Yukinari's room and became his roommate as he goes to sleep for his first day at the IS Academy.
The next morning, light shines through the curtains in Ichika's room as it stretches towards his bed and shines on his face. The light started to wake Ichika up as he sits up on his bed and stretches his arms while yawning. He looks over to the side of his bed to see Agumon still sleeping as he nudges his partner's head to wake him up.
"Hey Agumon, wake up, sleepyhead." Ichika smiled/ "It's time for us to get up, it's morning. Time for us to get ready and head out to school." Agumon hears him as he wakes up and yawns as he turns to his partner and winks at him and he winks back. "Morning Agumon, nice to see you're up and about. So you ready for another day with everyone?"
"You know it, Boss. I'm always ready for anything." Agumon answered him with a happy tone. "So what kind of mission do you think Kyoko might have for us today?"
"Not sure, but she did say that she has something to show us after school." Ichika answered him as he added "She said it's something we need to know if we're going to get closer to Kamishino Enterprises. We'll just have to wait and see what she has planned for us today." Agumon nodded as they got up and Ichika gets himself ready for the day.
A few minutes later, Ichika had finished getting ready as he and Agumon headed downstairs to find Luffy, Chopper and Ussop siting on the couch and watching TV. They were watching an episode of Doctor Who, where the Doctor was helping Scrooge learn how to love Christmas or the space-time continuum will be destroyed.
"Hey guys, nice to see you three are enjoying yourselves." Ichika greeted with a smile and closed eyes. "I can see you guys are watching Doctor Who right now, huh?" The three Straw Hats all nodded as they continued watching the show as Ichika and Agumon joined them while waiting for breakfast to be made.
In the kitchen, Nepgear was showing Sanji how to use a modern day kitchen since he and his friends will be staying there and he'll also be doing the cooking for everyone.
"Okay Mr. Sanji, I'm going to show you how to use a stove." Nepgear explained. "You see the dials on the top with the numbers?" Sanji looked at the dials and nods. "That's how you can heat up food that you're going to cook for everyone. I know it's a little advance than what you're used to, but the main concept is still the same over the years."
"Damn, the things here used to cook food in this world are nothing like what I've seen before…" Sanji remarks as he struggles to keep up with Nepgear.
"It'll take a while for him to understand how to use a stove properly." Rom smiled as she watched them.
Back in the living room
"So what do you guys think of our world so far?" Ichika asked with a smile. "Are you all enjoying the technology of my world?"
"You bet we are! This is just amazing!" Luffy replied happily while smiling "I'm really enjoying this moving picture box! It's almost like everything's alive in there! So what do you call this thing?"
"That is what known as a television or TV for short." Vert answered him as she walked up to them and smiled. "It's something that's been part of family homes for a long time and it's used to bring them together. You can watch all kinds of shows like Doctor Who that's playing right now." Vert's eyes then sparkled with delight. "But the best part of having a TV is playing video games on them and having either an Ethernet connection or Wi-Fi from the internet to compete in intense multiplayer competition." Ichika and Agumon sweat dropped while Luffy is interested in the things she called video games.
"Um… If you like, I have a PS4 underneath the TV stand." Ichika explained as he went to the TV stand and pointed to his PS4. He then kneed down and opened a drawer in the TV stand that showed a collection of PS4 games. "There's also some PS4 games. Most of them are RPGs and platformers like Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD and Ratchet and Clank: 2016. Since you're a gaming expert while I'm somewhat a gaming expert, Vert, you can teach Luffy and his friends how to play the PS4." Vert nodded in response while Luffy, Ussop and Chopper understand what he meant, but are still somewhat confused.
"I see, that does sound really interesting. We'll keep that in mind." Chopper smiled in response. "And thank you for giving us a place to stay, Ichika. We really appreciate you letting us stay in your house."
"No problem, I'm glad you're all comfy here." Ichika smiled as he told Chopper "But you might have to remain inside the house with your friends. I don't know how people would react to seeing a talking reindeer wearing clothes."
"Yeah, that would be a really big disaster for me." Chopper shudders as he tried not to think about what will happen if people see him. "I I don't even want to think about what would happen to me if the people here saw me. I might be captured and taken away to someplace far away!" Agumon walks over to him and pats his back with his claw.
"Hey, you don't have anything to worry about." Agumon reassured him with a smile. "I'm positive that won't happen to you because maybe the humans will accept you and us Digimon someday. Just you wait, me, Boss and our friends are going to make that happen." That helped Chopper cheer up as he nodded in agreement.
"Man, you two sure are closer than brothers." Ussop commented with a smile. "So do you two think that you can have the people of this world accept Chopper and the Digimon? Is that even possible to do?" Both Ichika and Agumon smiled and nodded in response to his question.
"I'm sure we can, you can count on it." Ichika answered as he gave him a thumbs up. "I know it won't be easy, but I know we can. Well, it's time for us to get going now. We'll be back to pick you guys up after school." He recalls Agumon back into his Digivice and heads off to school.
After they had left, Tenchi and his friends came into the living room and watched Ichika leave as he waves at them and they all waved back. Just then, Tenchi turns to the CPUs, Leafa and Yui.
"Hey, ladies, there's something I've been meaning to ask you yesterday." Tenchi asked. "So what kind of creature is Agumon? He looks like a small dinosaur, but he can talk much like us. So what is he?"
"From what they told us the other day, Agumon is what's known as a Digimon." Noire explains as she continued. "It's short for Digital Monsters and from our last battles with the evil ones, they've been mostly appearing in cyberspace. That is until Saberdramon appeared in the real world and started destroying everything."
"Digimon, eh? Now that does sound interesting…" Washu said with a glint in her eyes as she got out her laptop and began typing away while earning her scared looks from everyone in the household. "So what are these Digimon exactly? And where did they all originate from?"
"We're not really sure because there isn't much information about Digimon." Leafa responds to her. "But from what we do know about them so far, they're all like Ichika and the others, living and breathing creatures." Just then, she remembers what Ichika told them last night. "Oh yeah, there's something else that Ichika mentioned before last night…" She turns to the CPUs. "He mentioned that his parents abandoned him and his sister before. Is what he said really true?"
"I'm afraid it is all true, Leafa… He really did say that to us." Noire answered her sadly. "He explained to us how his parents abandoned him and his sister back when they were kids. It's also the reason why his sister never mentioned their parents because she now hates them because they've abandoned them and she had to raise Ichika by herself." Everyone couldn't help but feel sorry for Ichika while also most of them got angry at his parents.
"That's so sad, it must be really hard for him…" Yui commented while sadly looking down "I know he may be trying to act all happy, but deep down, he is sad about his parents abandoning them years ago…"
"Even so, I'll never forgive them for abandoning them like that!" Zoro angrily replies as he clenches his fists in anger. "Just what gives them the right to abandon their son and daughter like they weren't important to them?! If I ever find them, I'll make them pay the price for abandoning their children!"
"But there must be a reason why they've abandoned him and sister years ago!" Uyko interjects with a bit of hope. "I know what they did was unforgivable, but they must've had a reason to abandon them, right? Could we be looking at this the wrong way?" The rest of the Orimura household guests all went silent as they pondered Uyko's words. Just then, the silence was broken by Ryoko and Ayeka arguing again.
"Hey, just what the hell was that for, princess?!" Ryoko growled in anger. "Why did you just take that thing away from me while I was looking at it?!"
"Because you were just about to break it since you weren't careful!" Ayeka answered her with a scowl. "This is Ichika-san's home and we're guests of his! So you shouldn't be messing with his belongings or you might break them!" Both girls continued glaring at each other while everyone else just watched them.
"Geez, I can't believe those two are arguing like an old married couple." Neptune sweat dropped as she turned to Tenchi. "Hey Tenchi, does this happen to you often? Those two arguing like crazy?"
"Unfortunately, yes… This happens more times than we can count…" Tenchi responds with a sigh as they continued watching them argue throughout the morning.
At the IS Academy, Ichika had arrived to his classroom and enters as he sits down at his desk. As he gets himself ready for class to start, he noticed that some of the other girls were talking to each other about something and was wondering what they were talking about. So he leans over to his friends to asked them what was happening.
"Hey guys, I've noticed that everyone's talking about something." Ichika said out of curiosity. "So what's the surprise that has everyone so excited about? Is there a special occasion?"
"Not really, but something did happen just last night when we got back." Liz answered him with a smile. "Laura took Gen to see Maya-sensei and had him enrolled into the academy and I think he'll be rooming with Yukinari. So now we're just waiting for them to arrive after they've fitting him into his new uniform." Ichika nodded as everyone waited for them to arrive for class to start.
Ten minutes later, Maya enters the classroom and heads for center of the room as she turns to face her students and sets her papers on the stand before her as she clears her throat. "All right, you guys all know the drill by now. We got another new student joining us today, so I want all of you to treat him with respect." Everyone nodded as she turns to the door and gestures the new student to come in and introduce himself.
Gen opens the door and walks into the classroom while everyone watches him walk towards Maya. As he stands next to Maya, he turns around to face the other students and bows at them before noticing Laura and waving at her and she waves back. "Hello, my name is Gen. I just transferred to your school only yesterday and I'm still new at this. I hope we can get along." Ichika and his friends all smiled at him for introducing himself without much problems, but all the other girls were just staring at him. A few seconds later, they all jumped him and started crowding him.
"OH MY GOSH! He's just so adorable!" One girl squealed in excitement. "I never knew that a boy this adorable could exist in real life! I always thought they only existed in anime!"
"Hey, don't hog him all to yourself!" Another girl fumed. "I want to hold him too!"
"But I want to put him into my purse and carry him!" A third girl whined as they all continue to crowd Gen and everyone else watched him.
"Okay, now this is just getting ridiculous..." Cecilia face palmed. "Out of all the other boys coming into our school, Gen now has the worst of it. The girls are hugging him like he's a teddy bear and even wanting to put him in their purses. Should we try to protect him from the other girls now that he's with us?"
"We're going to have to from what's going on here." Houki answered her with a sigh. "He's still not used to other people yet, so we've better keep an extra close eye on him to make sure none of the girls crowd him like this. What do you think, Laura?" But Laura didn't answer her as she wasn't paying attention as she glared at the female students crowding Gen. "Laura, are you okay? Is something wrong?" Again, Laura didn't answer her as she jumps into the crowd of girls and pulls Gen out while holding onto him.
"Hey, don't you all dare crowd him like that!" Laura snapped. "He's terrified from all of you gathering around him! Don't you all see that?" She looks down at Gen who was shivering in fear as he held onto her for safety. "Don't scare him like that, he's not used to other people yet! If you think about scaring him like that again, then you'll all have to deal with me!" The female students, knowing Laura's strength and skills as a IS pilot nodded in fear as they backed off.
"Whoa, I can't believe Laura managed to get the students to back off." Kirie gasped in awe. She turns to Ichika and his friends. "How does she do that?"
"Before you guys came here, we're well known IS pilots at the IS Academy. So it takes some fame to keep the female student body in order. But when we saw Laura protecting Gen like that… You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Tatenashi smirked, her friends smirked back as they knew that Laura and Gen may have feelings for each other.
After school has ended, Ichika and the gang headed for Nakano to meet with Kyoko after they've picked up Leafa, Yui, Pina, the CPUs, Ranma's group, the Straw Hats and Tencchi's group. Gen was finally able to calm down after being smothered by the other girls only to be saved by Laura and was kept safe until school ended for the day.
"Well, that sure was an eventful day." Liz muttered. "I didn't think those girls would go crazy for any more than they did, but I guess I was wrong. When they saw Gen, they just want gaga over him and started hugging him like a teddybear. I'm sure he's glad Laura got him away from them before it went out of control."
"You can say that again, that definitely came out of nowhere." Kirie agrees with a nod. "I knew the girls were a little boy crazy as they've shown with Kirito, Yukinari, Klein and Satoru, but that was just out of control. I really thought one of those girls was actually going to put him in her purse and carry him around." Her friends all nodded in agreement while Tenchi's group and the Straw Hats were confused.
"Hold on, let me see if I'm hearing this correctly." Nami said confusedly. "You're saying that these girls from where you all went to were going crazy for this kid here?" She points to Gen who was sitting with Laura as everyone nodded. "You make it sound like these girls haven't seen a boy in their lives!"
"Considering the school we go to only accepts girls and it's on a manmade island, then you'd be right." Asuna explained. "Most of the girls there haven't really seen a boy before, so they tend to be a little boy crazy at the first sight of one. That's why we said that the boys here all had to go through when we first arrived at the school. But they're all harmless and are just a little too excited to see a boy at their school."
"Well, those bimbos better not think of getting closer to Tenchi!" Ryoko growled. "If I see them even laying a hand on him, I'll be blasting them into next week!"
"You will do no such thing, Ryoko!" Ayeka snarled. "You are not allowed to be harming innocent humans while we're stuck in this world! Do you want Ichika to be blamed for your messes?! He'll be held accountable for your actions because you can't control your temper!" The two glared sparks at each other while everyone else sighed in annoyance.
"And they're at it again... Here I thought it was over before, but I guess that's just wishful thinking…" Noire sighed as she face palmed. "They've been doing that all morning back at Ichika's house because Ryoko was messing with his stuff. We had to break them up while they were trying to claw at each other." Her sister, fellow CPUs, Ranma's group, Tenchi's group and the Straw Hats all nodded in agreement as the arguments continued on towards Nakano.
Upon arriving at Nakano, our heroes made their way to the agency to meet with Kyoko. As they entered the office, they see Kyoko putting up two pieces of paper on the white board next to her desk. Once she was finished, she turns around to find Ichika and the gang had arrived.
"Ah… welcome back, everyone." Kyoko greeted with a smile. "I see that you've all arrived without much trouble. So how did Gen's first day at your school go? I take it that he was swamped by the girls there?"
"He was, but they all terrified him unintentionally." Asuna said with a sigh. "When he introduced himself to everyone, all the other girls crowed around him and he was so scared from them. I know they didn't mean to because of how excited they get from seeing a boy, but that was still enough to scare him and Laura had to step in to save him."
"I see, so he's still not used to other people yet." Kyoko nods in understanding. "Well, I suppose it can't really be helped. We're going to have to take it slow for him to get used to being around other people. It might take at least the rest of the year, but I'm sure he'll overcome this soon enough." Everyone nodded in agreement.
"So what was those papers you were putting up on the white board next to your desk?" Tatenashi asked in confusion. "You told us that you had something important to tell us today. Was that pieces of paper the reason you wanted to speak with us?"
"Correct, those two are the very reasons I wanted to speak with all of you." Kyoko answered her as she explained. "But before I do, I'm sure all your other friends are wondering why I called you back to the office today." Their otherworldly friends all nodded. "Well, as most of you already know, this is a detective agency. Most of you already have the general idea of what I'm about to say, but I'll give a brief rundown to those who don't understand yet." She clears her throat as she sits back on her chair. "This office is known as the Kuremi Detective Agency, where we solve all kinds of cases from disappearances to cybercrime. It's an agency that my father and aunt, Satoru's mother, started and worked together before their deaths. Now I'm trying to continue their work and I'm also teaching Satoru on being a detective like our parents."
"So what's the deal with those papers you placed on the white board?" Kirie asked her as she looked at the white board. "Are those part of the reason for telling us this?"
"That's right, those are requests from people around Tokyo." Kyoko answered her with a nod. "When we're not handling a big case like the one last week, we'll also be taking these smaller cases to gain not only extra money, but also recognition to stay in business. The more requests we take from people, the more our agency gets recognized throughout the country. Of course, this'll also help us learn more about Kamishino Enterprises and whatever it is they're planning. So be sure to take as many requests you can until we get our next big case." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Now then, why don't you check the white board? I've already placed two requests there and you need to pick which of them to take. As you help people with their requests, I'll be adding more as we go on. So which request will you pick?"
Ichika walks over to the white board to find two requests tacked onto the board. One was from Mirei and the other was from a Game Company Employee. He takes the tack off from the board and hands the paper to Kyoko.
"We'll take the one from the employee." Ichika told her. "This one seems the easiest to do, so we'll start off with this one."
"Perfect, this'll be your first request by someone other than me." Kyoko smiled in approval as she cleared her throat. "Now then, I'll give you a briefing of the request. An employee from a Game Company had just released a mobile game. But the problem is that there seems to be a bug in the game and he can't seem to fix it. So he requested us to find the problem and fix it before the company he works for fires him for this error. He'll be waiting for you in Shinjuku and the reward money he's offering is 1000 Yen. So will you all take this man's request?" Everyone nodded. "Understood, now this case has been officially open. Cyber Sleuths, start investigation!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" Everyone said in unison and headed for Shinjuku to meet with their client.
A few minutes later, they've arrived at Shinjuku and started looking around for their client. Just then, they spotted someone at the other end of the district. He was a man in a brown suit, glasses, carrying a suitcase and was on the phone. Our heroes walked over to him as he was talking to someone on his cellphone.
"…Ye..yes, sorry! I should have verified it, yes…" The Employee stuttered before gasping. "Huh!? Tha'..that's…! …Understood. Goodbye…" He ends his call on his cellphone and turns around to find Ichika and the gang. "…You're late! How long did you expect me to wait!?"
"Sheesh, someone sure is friendly today..." Klein muttered. "We've just arrive here and all he does is complain about us being late? That's not how I expected our first customer to act."
"Don't mind him, he's just a little impatient." Ichika apologized as he cleared his throat and began talking to the Employee. "Anyway, sorry we're a little late. So who was that you were talking to on your phone?"
"That was the boss just now. He said that if I don't get this problem fixed, he'll give me the boot." The Employee answered him with a sigh. "But anyway, I assume you're all familiar with the case?" Everyone nodded. "I'm the head producer, and today is the release of a game app we created. When you progress in the game and get to the boss an error pops up and the game freezes!" He turns around and starts freaking out. "AHHHH! I'm going to get fired for this! I'm finished!"
"Sheesh, this guy really needs to take a chill pill." Uni muttered as she crossed her arms. "He's acting like his life is over if this game doesn't get fixed." He turns around to face them again.
"That's because my life will be over if I'm fired from this job!" The Employee wailed. "If this bug in the game continues, our company will go bankrupt and we'll all lose our jobs! But I suppose I wouldn't expect a child to understand on how our jobs are important to us and our families." Uni got angry before Nepgear calmed her down which she did. He turns to Ichika. "So…I suppose you're the Cyber Sleuth? The one who has been making the headlines by solving cases in cyberspace like foiling the attempted First National Bank robbery and attempted hacking of the IS Academy?" Ichika nodded. "Please I need you to fix this app for me ASAP!"
"Don't worry, I'm sure we can fix the app for you." Ichika said with a smile. "Let us come up with a plan to fix this app and we'll take it from there." Everyone thought about what to do, the employee turns around and starts freaking out again.
"AHHHHH! This is terrible! What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?!" The Employee cried hystically as everyone all sweat dropped at him before all huddling together.
"So how are we going to work this out?" Kirito asked in seriousness. "He does seem worried about losing his job if this game doesn't get fixed in time. So what can we do to help him fix that bug?"
"There's only the direct way to this this. We'll have to jump into his cellphone and deal with the problem directly." Satoru answered him while Tenchi's group was confused on what he meant. "Ichika, you'll have to use the Connect Jump on his cellphone and take us inside it. Once we're inside, we'll look around to find the problem of the app and fix it there." Ichika nodded as he faces the employee's cellphone and extends his hand to the phone until all of them were sent into the phone
A moment later inside the Digital Space
"WHOA! This place is incredible!" Luffy gasped in awe as he and his friends and Tenchi's group looked around. "It's a lot different than where we first met! So where are we now?"
"We're inside the Digital Space, a highway of different electronics like a vending machine or the employee's cellphone." Satoru answered him. "Unlike Kowloon where we were last time, this one is its own area in cyberspace. This is where all kinds of electronics connect with each other, kind of like how rivers connect with each other to different lakes or oceans."
"But how is it that you were able to enter that man's phone?" Ayeka asked Ichika. "Do you have some kind of ability that allows you to enter his cellphone like that?"
"Believe me, I wish we could tell you but it's a really long story." Ichika answered her with a sigh. "All I can say that something happened to me a while back and I acquired this ability from that incident. I'll explain everything later after we're done with the investigation." Everyone nodded as they started their investigation through the Digital Space.
After going through several wrap terminals around the highway, they found themselves on a platform with a small, white blob Digimon playing the very game the employee wants them to fix.
"Hey, what's with the living cotton candy over there?" Ryoko asked in confusion. "And what's he doing? Playing a video game?"
"I think that's the game he wanted us to fix." Houki answered her as she looked at the white blob like Digimon. "That little Digimon must've been playing the game and got hooked onto it. But I don't think he knows that him playing the game has also caused it to freeze up and making the company lose money."
"So what are we going to do about the little guy?" Agil asked. "Should we try to talk him out of playing the game?"
"That's pretty much our best chance right now." Cecilia answered him with a nod. "If we don't ask him to stop playing the game, then the company loses money and all the employees would lose their jobs." They all waked over to the little Digimon who was too focused on the game to notice them.
"Yeah… Yeah…" The little Digimon grunted, but he lost to the boss. "Aww, I failed again! This boss is way too strong, I'll never beat him!"
"Excuse me, but we need you to stop playing that game." Ichika asked him politely. "You playing with it has caused the game to freeze and the employee would be in big trouble if this continues on." The little Digimon heard him and turned around.
"Eh, what? Did the game mess up because I was here?" The Digimon asked "…That employee hasn't been able to fix the game. He's in trouble, right?" Everyone nodded. "But I can't stop playing it! I'm totally hooked!"
"But everyone else also wants to play the game." Gen reasoned. "If you don't stop playing it now, then no one else can also enjoy it!"
"Oh, I get it. You guys are here to ruin my fun now, aren't ya?" The Digimon asked with a frown. "If that's what you really want, bring it on!"
"Wait! We don't have to do this!" Char reasoned, but Ichika raised his hand to stop her as he placed his Digivice over his eyes and scanned the Digimon.
"Poyomon. He's an Fresh level Digimon. …But he's a Fresh level Digimon and our Digimon are in the Rookie and Champion levels, so it isn't a fair fight." Ichika frowned.
"Oh, you think because I'm a Fresh level Digimon, you think it's unfair? I'll show you!" Poyomon countered by blowing acid bubbles at the gang's Digimon, but they dodged it.
"Sorry buddy, but we have a game to fix." Agumon charged in and slashed Poyomon, knocking him out and ending the fight. "Well that was easy." Agumon commented.
After the battle, Poyomon picks himself up and shakes his head as he turns to Ichika and the gang who were all watching the little guy as he turns to them.
"Aww…I lost the battle, too!" Poyomon whined. "And here I thought I was going to win this time!" He calms down and looks at the Cyber Sleuths. "What can you do, right? Okay, it's a promise. I'll beat the boss as soon as they fix the bug!" Everyone nodded as he starts floating away. "Ah, okay. Could you go talk to that employee for me? Tell him I said "Thanks for an amazing game." See ya!" He continues on his way until he was out from sight.
"You know, he didn't seem like a bad Digimon." Ling said with a small smile. "He's just like any normal kid excited for a new game and was so hooked on playing it. He was so into the game that he didn't realize that his presence was making the game freeze up."
"Yeah, but like any kid, he has to know when to stop playing." Houki said, smilling softly. "I'm sure he didn't mean to freeze up the game, but I don't think anyone else would believe so. Kinda makes us feel like we're the parents telling him to stop playing, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it really does, but someone has to do it." Ichika agrees with closed eyes and a smile. "Well, our work here is done. Let's head back to the real world and tell the employee that the game should be back up and running again. And hopefully he won't be too mad at us for leaving him like that." Everyone nodded as they all headed back to the real world.
Back in the real world, the employee was freaking out that the ones he requested were gone and nowhere to be found. As he was turns around, he sees them walking towards him and he wasn't too happy.
"You're late! How long did you expect me to wait!?" The Employee roared in fury.
"Guess he really is mad for us leaving him like that." Silica stuttered as she stepped back a little in fear. "I know it wasn't like we were cruel, but I feel bad for leaving him like that without any explanation." Everyone nodded as the employee was still ranting.
"Do you hear me!? If you worked here, you'd be fired!" The Employee snapped. "I'm in deep trouble, and you kids all just disappeared somewhere. You're all so cold! I've got half a mind to speak with your employer about this and—" He stops himself and looks at his cellphone. "…Huh?" It shows the game was running again like normal. "The game has been running and…it's still working! I beat the boss and I'm progressing further!" He rushes over to Ichika and shakes his hand rapidly. "…Thank you, thank you! I don't know how you managed to fix it, but thank you anyway! I will send over your fee on to your office! Phew, now I won't be fired!" He walks off feeling happy that the game's finally working again and he won't lose his job.
"Well, I believe our work here is done." Satoru smiled. "Let's head back to Nakano and close the case. We can tell Kyoko everything about what had happened." Everyone nodded in agreement as they all boarded a bus and headed back to Nakano Broadway.
Back at the Kuremi Detective Agency
"I see, so you all managed to succeed in your first case." Kyoko smiled in approval. "Not bad, I expected no less from my assistants. Still, none of you are police detectives, so at times like this you should just do nothing. Well anyway, I'm glad to know that everything worked out in the end." She hands a stamp to Ichika. "Ichika, you know what to do." Ichika nods as he walks over to the whiteboard and stamps the paper of their case.
"Case closed." Ichika smiled.
"Perfect, that should be it for the day." Kyoko smiled back. "Why don't you all take the rest of the day off? You deserve it." Everyone nodded as they all decided to explore Nakano together.
Meanwhile
"So those inhabitants from the other worlds are coming to this world, eh?" Male #1 asked with a sneer. "I guess Master wasn't just whistling Dixie when he said there were some side effects to this project he's working on. So what do we do with them?"
"Let them be for now. They still haven't noticed of our master's plan just yet." Male #2 answered him calmly. "Still, it doesn't help to take some extra precautions for now. We'll send one of the experiments to deal with them and see exactly what they're made of."
"You mean send in one of the Death X prototypes out there?" Female asked in concern. "But you know how unstable and unpredictable they are. They're not even fully developed yet."
"Maybe so, but we still don't know when those humans would catch on to us." Male #2 said darkly. "Plus, it'll be the perfect end for the failure that escaped us last time. He won't survive what we have planned for him."
Our view turns to a tube that has what resembles Dorugamon, but is much more mechanical and has wires sticking out from its tail. Suddenly, the Dorugamon lookalike opens its eyes to reveal a red glow as everything goes black with only its eye glowing.
To be continued…
Next chapter: The Cute Digimon Calumon and the DexDorugamon: Clear Dorumon's Name! Enter The Hundred Slayers!
A/N: Uh oh. Who are those three mysterious figures who worked for this unknown Master? And who is the Digimon that looks like Dorugamon? And what do they plan to do with it? We'll find out next time. Also, me and Panther J have decided to do something new. We're planning on writing the Final Fantasy XV x Infinite Stratos X RWBY crossover called Final Fantasy XV: Dawn of Eos and write chapters for both Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth IS and Final Fantasy XV: Dawn of Eos. So expect the next chapter of Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth IS to come shortly after we write the first chapter of Final Fantasy XV: Dawn of Eos. See you next time!