Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews everyone.

OmnicromXR: Taichi's issues with Kimiko run a little bit deeper. You'll find out more next chapter. And if Meiko does appear, it will be no more than a cameo.

NarutoNineTaleFox: The questions about Kimiko's memory will only get bigger.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the lights of Tokyo came to life. Despite this, the night was still a sea of darkness that flowed into every unlit section of the city, such as an unused car garage, scheduled for demolition. That is until a light flashed from within. Just as bright as a lightning bolt and just as fleeting. Within seconds, it was gone and the garage returned to the darkness.

A teenage boy walked out the main entrance and over the caution tape and barriers. He wore a pair of brown shorts and a blue t-shirt. His hair was a brown mane but, surprisingly, he wore blue goggles on his head.

He scanned the short alley leading to the main road and when he didn't find any onlookers, he smirked. "Come on out."

A red dragon-like creature walked from the entrance and stood at his side. "All right Shoutmon, let's get to work."

Child of Courage

Chapter III

Taichi stood outside the door, studying the number painted on the frame until he was burned in his mind. He marched down the hall to the elevators, stopped, and walked back again. He reached for the door handle but pulled back. He breathed deep and reached again. He managed to grab the handle this time but didn't turn. He squeezed his eyes. He needed to turn the handle; he had to do this.

Then the handle suddenly turned on its own! He released it in surprise and stepped back. The door opened and Hikari stepped out. "Taichi! Y-you're here?"

He tried to think of something to say but only nodded. His sister studied him for a moment and then smiled. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.

Kimiko was lying in the hospital bed, using the remote to flip through the television channels. Her face lit up when she saw Taichi but then dropped. "Good morning, sir."

He winced slightly, not sure why that felt like a slap in the face. "I, um…"

Hikari interrupted. "I'll-we'll leave you two alone." She pushed Augmon, Tailmon and Kimiko's Yuki Agumon out of the room.

Taichi stared at the girl in the hospital bed. Her brown eyes looked so intense, so dark. Is that how his eyes normally looked? "So," she said, "do I get a hundred for passing the test? Do I get to call you dad now?"

She knew about the paternity test? Of course, she did; they needed to get her sample too. "Well, you're not exactly explaining yourself. I'm only twenty-five. How can I have a twelve-year-old daughter?"

She bit her lip. "I-I don't know."

"And what about your mother? You won't even tell me."

"I-"

"Is it Meiko? Is she your mother?"

"I don't know!" she snapped, "I can't remember!"

"But you remember me somehow." He crossed his arms, "Pretty convenient, don't you think?"

"So, what are you trying to say, huh?" Kimiko snapped, "That I'm part of some evil plan to get at you?"

"I've got enemies-"

She snorted. "You haven't had any, heh, archenemies since Yggdrasil and Meicoomon!" She blinked and whispered, "How did I know that?"

"There's still a lot of evil digimon-"

The bite came back into her voice. "You think you're a superhero? You're no Ultraman or Kamen Rider. Aunt Hikari said that you just lay around your apartment all day that Grandma and Grandpa pay for!"

He narrowed his eyes. "That's out of line, young lady!" He gasped. So did Kimiko.

The door suddenly swung open and Yuki Agumon tumbled inside. His Agumon, Hikari, and Tailmon were standing in the doorway. His sister blushed slightly. "I..T-taichi, you shouldn't be yelling at her like that."

Taichi rolled his eyes. Right, everything was his fault. "Whatever."

He marched past them and down the hall. He slammed the elevator button.

"Taichi!" Hikari called.

He ignored her and stepped inside, letting the doors close behind him. He exhaled; he'd either held his breath or was panting, he wasn't sure which. He ran a hand through his hair and then rubbed his eyes.

Taichi found Meiko on the bridge, staring out across the East River."I...I got your message."

She didn't move. "Meiko?" He took a step closer.

She turned around slowly and he froze. Her cheeks were red and her glasses slightly fogged. She'd been crying. "W-what?"

She breathed in slowly. "Taichi, I…" Her shoulders heaved and she rested a hand on her stomach. She breathed in a few times. "Taichi, I have something to tell you…"

The elevator stopped and Taichi came back to the present. Kimiko was just trying to get him to lower his guard. He imagined the tween girl standing in the center of some elaborate villain's lair, cackling maniacally to herself. He shook his head. No, someone was using her, that had to be it. Someone wanted to get at him, but who? He, grudgingly, admitted that Kimiko was right. There hadn't been any major threats since Yggradisl and...and Meicoomon.

He frowned. It wasn't fair of him to take it out on Kimiko. She was just a kid. She was being used by someone.

He reached for the up button on the elevator but hesitated. He closed his fingers into a fist and continued out the door.

Hikari watched out the window as Taichi walked down the sidewalk. She sighed. "I'm sorry about your father." Strange how normal that sounded to her now. "He's just…" Just what? "...adjusting."

Kimiko sniffled slightly while Yuki Agumon held her. "It didn't take you long to adjust."

Why was that?

"Why did he ask if that woman was my mom?"

Probably because he was the only woman he'd been serious with. "Meiko. Um, well…" She turned to Tailmon but her part just shrugged. "Well, when two people love each other, they, um…"

Kimiko rolled her eyes. "I know where babies come from, Aunt Hikari. I'm not a little kid."

"Right, of course." Kids were exposed to so much more than when Hikari was younger. She then groaned and rubbed her forehead. That made her feel like an old woman.

"Aunt Hikari?"

"Yes, well, um, your father and Meiko were…

"Close," Tailmon said.

Hikari nodded. "Yes, close, until they stopped seeing each other, but that wasn't that long ago." She shrugged, "I guess he's trying to think of any explanation."

Kimiko nodded. "I wish I knew who my mom was." She lowered her voice, "Then maybe I'd have someone to go to."

"Kimiko," her Yuki Agumon said, "I'll always be here."

"Tailmon and I are here too," Hikari said, turning to her partner, "Right?"

The white cat was curled up on one of the chairs. "Sure, you got it."

Taichi leaned forward on the bridge's guardrail and watched the water swirl in Tokyo Bay. He spotted a chunk of wood in the water, spinning, and twisting.

Agumon was at his side. "If it helps, Kimiko smells like you."

Taichi turned and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I mean her scent's like yours…kinda."

"What does that mean?"

"I talked it over with Tailmon at the hospital just to double-check but she said the same thing. Kimiko's scent mostly smells like your scent but there's another scent mixed in there. It's kind of familiar but I can't quite remember."

Taichi felt his heart race and he opened his mouth but Agumon shook his head. "It's not Meiko's scent."

Taichi wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Wait, so how do you know that other scent's her mom's?"

He thought for a moment and then shrugged. "I guess I'm just guessing, heh."

"But you don't smell Meiko's at all?"

He shook his head. "No, sorry."

Taichi looked back over the water. That driftwood had gotten caught in the current and was now further towards the bay's mouth.

Then Agumon hissed. "Taichi! Speaking of scents, I smell a Digimon."

Taichi smiled slightly. Something familiar, something he could attack. "All right, lead the way."

Agumon led him downtown until a familiar Digimon appeared in the street. "Dark Tyrannomon," Taichi said, pulling out his Digimon, "Let's go."

"Agumon evolve to Greymon!"

The Dark Tyrannomon dropped the car he was holding and turned to face them. "Why don't we take a deep breath and calm down?" Greymon said.

Dark Tyrannomon roared.

"Didn't think you were gonna go for that," Greymon growled.

The Dark Tyrannomon pulled his head back and whipped it forward, spewing out a blast of flame. "Fire Blast!"

Greymon grunted and then answered with a fireball of his own. "Mega Flame!"

The two spheres of flame met in an explosion of swirling orange that twisted into the sky like a tornado before dissipating. Taichi lowered the arm he used to shield his face and surveyed the area. The buildings were unharmed but the pavement was starting to bubble. "Greymon! Don't use that attack again!"

"I gotcha," his partner said, eying the Dark Tyrannomon, "Let's end this quickly."

The viral digimon snarled and then inhaled. "Fire-"

"No, you don't!" Greymon cried. He charged at his opponent like a raging bull. "Great Antler!" He slammed his nose horn into the Tyrannomon's chest while the two on the side of his head pinned the virus in the side. Greymon jerked his head to the side, throwing the Dark Tyrannomon to the ground. He then twisted around and slammed his tail down on his opponent. "Tail Crash!"

The Dark Tyrannomon cried as his body shattered into data that vanished into the night sky.

Greymon regressed to Agumon. Taichi ran up beside him. "Nice job."

"You expected anything less?"

Taichi chuckled. Sirens filled the air. "Let's get out here."

The boy with the red Shoutmon watched Taichi and Agumon flee from atop a nearby building roof. "He's heading back uptown," the Digimon said, "You think he's heading home?"

"Yeah," the boy said, "Probably. Let's stake out his apartment building and follow him tomorrow."

Taichi walked out of his room and found Agumon already awake. He was on the couch, scarfing down potato chips and flipping through the channels. "Morning!"

"Yeah, morning," Taichi mumbled. He switched on the coffee maker. "Agumon, are you sure that Kimiko smells like me?"

"Yup, without a doubt."

Taichi drummed his fingers along the counter. "Let's head over there after breakfast."

"What are you going to say to her?"

"I have no idea."

Taichi must have paced the sidewalk in front of the hospital ten, maybe twenty times. He'd actually lost count.

Agumon struggled to keep up with him trapped in his familiar trench coat disguise. "Taichi, how long are we going to keep doing this? Isn't someone gonna call the police soon?"

Taichi forced his legs to stop and he stared up at the hospital. He didn't believe it when Hikari told him, didn't believe the paternity test, yet, for some reason, Agumon's declaration hit him so hard that he couldn't even step through the hospital doors.

Her scent was like his. What did that really mean? He wasn't really sure how all that worked but unless Kimiko spent a lot of time with him how else could she smell like him?

Agumon was right about one thing; he couldn't stay out here forever. He breathed deep. "All right, let's-"

"Taichi!" Agumon cried.

The human spun around and gasped. Another Dark Tyrannomon was stampeding towards them! "What the hell? How many of them are there?"

The Dark Tyrannomon roared and threw his arm into a street lamp. It fell onto the ground in a shower of sparks. Taichi grunted and pulled out his digivice. Agumon evolved to Greymon in a flash. "Get him away from the hospital!"

Greymon charged and slammed his head into the Dark Tyrannomon's stomach. He pushed forward but the dark digimon slammed both his fists onto Greymon's back before kneeing him in the gut. The orange digimon scrambled back. "Yeah, that might be a problem."

Taichi glanced at the hospital and the surrounding buildings. They were too close together. "Evolving again's probably not a good idea."

"No worries," Greymon growled, "These guys are no problem."

The Dark Tyrannomon suddenly shot forward with a burst of speed and tackled Greymon to the ground. The virus lunged with his teeth bared but Greymon smashed him with a flick of his tail. The Dark Tyrannomon stumbled back but managed to grab Greymon's tail on the recoil before smashing him into the ground.

"What's going on?" Taichi shouted.

Greymon hopped back to his feet. "This guy's a little stronger!"

Taichi squeezed his digivice. "Great."

Kimiko gave the remote a final click before tossing it onto the bed. "Nothing's on tv. Wanna play a game?"

"Play what?" Yuki Agumon asked.

Kimiko frowned. "I wish Aunt Hikari would get here." Dr. Kido said they were well enough to leave but he had to release her to someone.

"We're probably gonna be just as bored there. I checked the place out when we were there before. They don't have any kind of video game setup."

"Yeah, but we'd be able to walk outside." She hopped off the bed and walked to the window. "Maybe Aunt Hikari would give us an allowance or something and then- What the-?" She looked out the window and gasped. A Dark Tyrannomon was running up the street towards the hospital! Then a flash of light exploded from the street and a Greymon was blocking her view. "Dad?"

"What's going on?" Yuki Agumon asked.

Kimiko snatched her digivice from the nightstand. "Come on!"

Dark Tyrannomon hoisted Greymon above his head and slammed him onto the ground.

Taichi gritted his teeth and his fingers twitched around his digivice. He scanned the surrounding buildings, aside from the hospital, they were mostly office buildings. Hopefully, enough people had cleared out by now. "Greymon-"

A girl in a hospital gown was running toward him. He was confused at first but then saw the Yuki Agumon at her side. "Kimiko?"

The girl stopped a few feet in front of him. "That was your Agumon? Oh, I thought that…"

Thought what? That it was another Chosen? Or maybe just two regular digimon battling? Either way, she wasn't expecting to see him. Why did that make his heart twitch?

Greymon roared and Taichi whipped his head back to the battle. Dark Tyrannomon had just executed a piledriver into Greymon's stomach. The dark Digimon jumped to his feet and, before Greymon could react, repeated the same move.

"You bastard!" Greymon snarled, "You got me in the same exact spot!"

Dark Tyrannomon roared slightly but it sounded more like a chuckle. He turned to Taichi and his eyes grew wide before dilating to slits. "You," he growled, "Found you!"

"Found me?" Taichi asked, "I've been here the whole-" He gasped and spun to face Kimiko. "You?"

The girl shook her head. "I…I don't…"

Dark Tyrannomon charged toward them. Greymon managed to flip onto his side but couldn't grab the dark digimon before he trampled past. Taichi jumped in front of Kimiko and remembered Koushiro's words: If she has DNA to test, she's human. Taichi stared at the Dark Tyrannomon. Daughter or not, Kimiko was still just a kid who-

"Yuki Agumon evolve to Allomon!"

A blue dinosaur appeared in front of him in a blast of light. She twirled around like a dancer, slamming her tail into Dark Tyrannomon's head. He hopped on his foot to regain his balance and then charged.

"Dino Burst!"Allomon exhaled a blast of her breath so hot that the air shimmered and twisted. It struck the Dark Tyrannomon's arm and he screamed as his skin sizzled.

Taichi turned around. Kimiko was holding up her digivice. "I get the feeling you've done this before."

She smirked. "Of course. Allomon, crush him!"

The Dark Tyrannomon spit out another Fire Blast but Allomon's Dino Burst sent it back in a whirlwind of red and orange. The virus screamed as the flames raced across his body. "Great job!" Kimiko cried.

Allomon then charged, headbutting the Dark Tyrannomon with enough force to blast out his back. "Dynamite Head!"

Dark Tyrannomon began to tip over backward but his data shattered before he hit the ground.

Both Greymon and Allomon regressed to their Child forms and their partners ran to their sides. Taichi stared down at Kimiko and Yuki Agumon. Her face was hard, like a stone. "You didn't come looking for me just because you were looking for me, did you? You're in some kind of trouble, aren't you? What's going on?"

Kimiko turned away. He opened his mouth but then shut it. He'd tried yelling at her before and it didn't work. "I-I'm still not sure if you're my daughter but you need help, don't you? So, I-I want to help you."

She turned back, her face a little softer. "Can I stay with you?"

"We…can talk about that. For right now, let's get back to the hospital before Dr. Kido starts freaking out."

The boy watched them walk down the sidewalk for another moment before pulling his head back around the corner. Shoutmon was hiding beneath the shrubs in front of the office building. He held up the phone. "She wants an update."

He snatched the device and put it up against his ear. "Yeah?"

A girl's voice answered. "What's going on, Taiki?"

"She made contact all right."

"You sure?"

"I watched them delete one of the Dark Tyrannomon."

"What about the others?"

"I lost one yesterday."

The girl groaned. "You know who's not going to be happy."

"So don't tell her yet. I'll report back tomorrow."

"You'd better."

Taiki hung up and dropped the phone in his pocket, murmuring, "And you'd better stop barking orders." He gestured to his partner. "Come on, Shoutmon. We've got some planning to do."

To be continued…