I don't own digimon.

Story 61

The Kidnapping of Iori Hida

Every once in a while, Iori Hida would have the oddest dream. In it, he was a young nerdy boy with green hair who was talking to a taller boy with red hair. They were having a conversation in a library. Or was this a bookstore? Iori honestly couldn't say for certain. Even without being able to hear what the redhead was speaking, there was a loving quality to it. Like someone who was more than a friend. The oddest feeling for the third-year. He could say with certainty that romantic attraction was never really something he had felt in the past. Why did this mysterious stranger do it for him? Did it have something to do with the green-haired boy? Iori wanted to say yes, but he had nothing to go off of here. These could be completely awful people and he would have no way of knowing until it was too late.

"Haaru…" the redhead greeted, a layer of static running right across his body. Lasting only a second, it didn't faze the green-haired boy in the slightest. If anything, that just invited his hands to reach out and grab hold of his friend's hand. Holding them up into the light, they looked… artificial. Like someone had gone through the trouble of sculpting the body part to precise specifications, but forgot about the uncanny valley. "Wasurenaidene. (Please remember me.)"

The green-haired boy opened his mouth, but the words refused to come to him. Trying his best to force them all out, that only brought with it bright beams of light. Shielding his eyes to the best of his abilities, Iori woke up right after. Now back in his room, he couldn't shake the feeling of loss. Like a part of him was within reach, but he managed to push it away at the last moment.

"Ugh…" the chosen thought as he rubbed a hand across his eyes. Sitting up, he wasted little time in getting himself dressed. Between high school, kendo and cram school, there was not a second to waste. No, he needed to be on the top of his game to keep up with everything that awaited him in the future.

"Asa, Iori. (Morning, Iori.)" Armadimon announced and waved a foot at his partner. Iori waved back and picked his backpack up. Unzipping it, he took the time to check that he had everything. Between the various textbooks, stationary, pencil box and calculator among many other things, something felt like it was missing here. Looking for his shinai bag, he found it sitting on the ground. Currently containing his practice stick, that didn't feel like the right answer here. No, there was something else here that was missing. Right on the tip of the tongue, it eluded him at every turn.

"Arumajimon, watashi no baggu kara nanika ga ochimashita ka? (Armadimon, did anything fall out of my bag?)" Iori inquired and Armadimon raised his foot up once more. Casting his mind back to the previous night, he tried his hardest to remember if anything happened to cause that outcome to occur. As far as he could tell, nothing was out of the ordinary.

"Watashi ga kangaeru koto ga dekiru kotode wa arimasen. Daijōbu, Iori? (Not that I can think of. Are you okay, Iori?)" Armadimon inquired and Iori stared down at the floor. Part of him wanted to say yes, but he knew otherwise. If anything, this was as far as one could get from being remotely emotionally stable to go to school. Especially without factoring in kendo and cram school to boot. At the same time, this could just as likely be a fluke and nothing to worry about. Yeah. That was probably it. Taking a moment to compose himself, he pushed that thought to the back burner.

"Un. (Yeah.)" the chosen announced and scooped his partner up. Setting him down within the bag, Iori took the time to get his partner comfortable. Closing the bag up, he walked over to his desk. There, a yellow smartphone sat on the desk. Pulling it off the charging cable, Iori watched the screen turn on. Met with no new notifications, he scooped the device up and stared at it. For a single second, he swore he saw the device morph into an oversized USB stick with a red circular slider. Iori reached out to slide it, only to be met with his phone unlock screen. Scooping up his shinai bag, the chosen headed over to a nearby laptop. Bringing up the digiport app, it was a cinch to bring up the port for the school. Tapping the confirmation prompt, Iori's body was pulled through…

.

On the other side, the chosen found himself standing off to the side in the entrance area. Pulling his shoes off, he headed for his cubby. Setting his shoes within, Iori pushed the appearance of the strange USB drive to the back with the strange dream. Perhaps they were connected in some fashion. Closing it right after, Iori found his gaze shifting to a pair of girls. Dressed in the female uniform, they had their smartphones out. Little Keychains of a plush rabbit done up in a cloudy sky and someone's attempt at a ghost monkey demon thing respectively.

"Nora no saishin no appudēto o mimashita ka? (Did you see the latest update to NORA?)"

"Un! Watashi wa sudeni kame no nuigurumi no rokku o kaijo shi, tenshi no kiri kaki ni mukatte torikunde imasu. (Yeah! I've already unlocked the turtle plush and am working towards the angel cutout.)"

"Rakkī! Watashi mo rokku o kaijo dekimasendeshita. Sore wa nanika shimasu ka? (Lucky! I haven't been able to unlock either. Does it do anything?)"

"`Mada jikan ga aru' to iwa seru dakedesu. Sore ga nani o imi suru no ka. (Just makes them say 'There is still time'. Whatever the heck that means.)"

Iori rolled his eyes. He didn't get the allure of those pet raising apps. Seemed like they were a dime-a-dozen on the various stores offered by the smartphone. Heck, he could say that about all apps in general. Forcing his attention away, he headed for his first class. Perhaps actually doing some proper school work would get his mind off of this weird dream and the other stuff. At least, the chosen hoped that it would. With everything that had happened these last couple weeks, normal felt like it was so far away. By no means impossible, the odds of them going back so easily were unlikely to occur. No, they would give unto a new normal and survive. Just like they had before in the wake of the Eosmon attacks. Of course, this could very much be something that tested them at every turn. For now, Iori pushed those thoughts away and focused on the hallway. Making quick time towards his destination, the chosen couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched by someone or something. By no means out of the ordinary, this felt… different. Less of a digimon that had been alive during the whole Digimon Kaiser mess and more someone intent on causing legitimate harm to him and Armadimon. Coming to a stop, Iori took the time to look around. Beyond a couple people messing around with NORA and its special functions, no one was paying attention to the chosen or his bag's occasional movement. Definitely for the best. Just because digimon were accepted didn't mean that everyone had one or really wanted one for that matter.

"Nanika, Iori? (Something the matter, Iori?)" a voice called out and Iori spun around. Standing before him was a classmate. Obviously confused by Iori's behavior here, the chosen didn't blame him here.

"Nani demo arimasen. (It's nothing.)" Iori whispered and shifted his backpack ever so slightly. In retrospect, spending too much time in one spot was bound to make him look suspicious - regardless of his intentions at the time. Letting out a sigh, a head shake followed. Heading off once more, Iori paid his companion little mind. The concern was appreciated, he and Armadimon could handle whatever was thrown at them. Thankfully, the classroom was just a couple feet away. Stepping in, Iori headed for a desk and took a seat. Bag coming off his back, care was taken to pull the necessary supplies without disturbing Armadimon. Setting them up on the desk, his attention shifted to the classroom. A couple other students were already in their seats, messing around with their school supplies or on their phones. In the case of the latter, it was probably NORA. Moving away from that ,Iori directed his attention to the whiteboard. While nothing had been written on it, one could still make out the partially erased markings from the last class. Probably done in a hurry to get out and play, Iori couldn't stand it. If you were going to do the job, the least you could do was complete it properly. That was the bare minimum here, but somehow too lofty for a simple student to overcome. Getting up from his chair, Iori looked around for the whiteboard eraser. Had to be one around here. But try as the chosen might to find one, such an instrument escaped his vision at every turn. It was actually kind of annoying. What kind of asshole would go through the trouble of hiding all the erasers? It just didn't make sense in the slightest. Nonetheless, he headed over to the front of the classroom. Continuing his search for the elusive whiteboard erasers, Iori turned to the teacher's desk. Perhaps they had some that can be used. But as he looked about for his prize, the chosen came upon a laptop. Already turned on, his focus shifted to the screen. NORA already loaded up, they too were messing with the turtle plush and an angewomon cutout of all things. Set against the backdrop of a nondescript bedroom, something about it felt off to Iori. Shifting his attention to NORA itself, he was met with a short, slender body. Dressed in a white t-shirt with jeans of all things, a pair of lifeless silver eyes stare back. Waiting in anticipation of whoever it was to crack the code and do something or other with him.

"Doro-darake no petto shiiku gēmu ni, subete no dejimon no anjeu~omon no kattoauto ga fukuma rete iru no wa nazedesu ka? (Why does a cruddy pet raising game have a cutout of Angewomon of all digimon in it?)" Iori thought and reached down to the mouse. Grabbing the cutout, he pulled it towards NORA's body. He had expected it to pass right through. Instead, the cutout decided to attach to NORA's back. Giving off a soft 'click', Iori wasn't certain whether or not he was supposed to do that. Letting go of the cutout with the mouse, his focus shifted to the turtle plush. Unlike the cutout, this didn't look like any digimon the chosen had seen before. By no means out of the question, it was unlikely to be the case. Doesn't stop him from clicking the plush and dragging it in front of NORA's body. Coming to a stop a bit to the left of the person's body, Iori was met with another click.

"Hidaiori/ Shinkai haru/ Kosora o kami ga pazuru o hodoite kurete, omedetōgozaimasu. Kanashī koto ni, anata wa sore o kaiketsu suru koto o ito shita hitode wa arimasendeshita. (Congratulations Iori Hida/Haru Shinkai/Yujin Ozora for successfully solving the puzzle. Sadly, you were not the one who was intended to be solving it.)" a voice announced as NORA's eyes locked onto Iori's. Tears began falling down his face, the meaning lost on the chosen here. Especially as he pulled his phone out and dialed Kou. Perhaps the chosen of knowledge could somehow help here. It was worth a shot. Setting it down on the desk, he could hear the ringing come through already.

"Pikkuappu shite kudasai. (Please pick up.)" Iori thought and forced his gaze back to the laptop screen. While his possible captor was no longer crying, they instead were muttering something under their breath. Try as Iori might to decipher what was spoken here, he found himself coming up short. He would've spent longer, if not for the beam of dark energy piercing through the wall in the hopes of colliding with Iori's body. Ducking as soon as humanly possible, that was when his phone finally connected to Koushiro. Just his luck. Leave it to the school's lack of signal to screw him over in the most epic of fashions. Peeking his eyes over the top of the desk, he could make out a man. Resembling that of Koushiro but somehow older, he was clearly the one who was trying to get him. But how exactly was he connected to Nora and in turn, the weird things that had occurred so far? Doing his best to decipher the mysteries echoing about his mind, Iori came up empty once more. Why did everything seem so intent on messing with him in this fashion? It just didn't make any sense.

"Anata ga shitte ireba sore wa sore o tasukemasu ka? (Would it help if you knew?)" a voice called out and Iori's gaze darted about in search of the voice. Part of him wanted to believe it to be the source to be that of the computer. But instead, it was coming from the man. Especially as a ball of dark energy formed in his hands.

"Naze kō shiro no furi o shite iru nodesu ka? (Why are you pretending to be Koushiro?)" Iori announced and was met with an eye roll from his opponent. Of course no one was going to give him a straight answer here. Why would they? That was asking far too much from a stressful situation that was putting innocent bystanders at risk. Instead, he would have to play twenty questions to get to the bottom of his conundrum.

"Shiritaku arimasen ka. (Wouldn't you like to know.)" the man announced as Iori scurried over to his bag. Opening it up, out came Armadimon. Craning his neck to meet their opponent, he was already heading for him.

Korogaruishi! (Rolling Stone!)

Curling up into a ball, Armadimon charged towards his target. But all that got him was a direct shot to the back and launched up into the air. Going a few feet, he managed to land smack dab in the middle of a student's homework. Crushing both it and the desk with the impact, Armadimon wasted little in getting back to Iori.

"Kore o soto ni motte itte moraemasu ka? (Could you maybe take this outside?)" the student announced and was met with eyerolls from both sides. Then it's right back to staring each other down in anticipation of the next attack.

"Moshi Iori ga dejipōtode wanaku soto o sanpo shitai to kesshin shita nonara, tabun watashitachi wa sō suru koto ga dekitadeshou. (Maybe if Iori had decided that he wanted to take a walk outside instead of taking the digiport, then maybe we could have.)" the man announced and Iori sighed. Now this was somehow his fault? If anything, it was this guy's fault for deciding that right at the start of school was the perfect time to fight a kid and his digimon partner. "O ̄. Watashi wa anata no shinkeishitsu ni narimashita ka? Zan'nen'na. Sore wa anata ga shinpo no tame ni shiharau tsumori no daishōdesu. (Oh. Did I get on your nerves? Too bad. That's the price you're going to pay for progress.)"

Iori looked away, making an effort to decipher what the hell this guy was talking about here. Much like everything else that had happened, this too remained a mystery. Even worse, he was bound to not get anything further out of him. But that was judging by his opponent's current attitude more than anything else.

"Nani no tame no shinpo? (Progress for what?)" Iori countered and looked around for something to throw. Settling for a book, he picked it up and threw it in the man's direction. Getting met with an orb of darkness, the two projectiles managed to cancel each other out.

"Anata no nakaniha 2-ri no tokubetsuna hito ga imasu. Criasu Corp wa, daremoga kono jōhō o chūshutsu suru koto o ito shite imasendeshitaga, watashi ga sore o sonomama ni shite oku to kangaeru no wa bakadeshita. (Within you are two special people. While Criasu Corp never intended for anyone to extract this information back out, they were fools to think I would just leave it alone.)" the man continued and was met with yet another confused look from Iori. What the hell were they talking about now. No such company existed. Unless this was one that purposefully remained hidden from the public eye to all kinds of awful things. Yeah, that sounded right here. Shoving that thought away, the room began to darken. Looking for his classmates and Armadimon, Iori found them gone. The only thing that remained was this strange man. Walking over, he put a hand on the chosen's shoulder.

"Watashi wa anata o kizutsukenai koto o yakusoku shimasu. Sukunakutomo, anata ga watashi ni hoshīmono o kurereba. (I promise you that I will not hurt you. At least, if you give me what I want.)" the man continued as a portal appeared behind him. Grabbing Iori with ease, he pulled the chosen through.

.

Koushiro Izumi approached the outskirts of the high school. Part of him wanted to be in time to at least defuse whatever it was that had occurred at this place. Even with no signs of destruction or at least vandalism, the only clue that anything had occurred was a shadowy mist layered over every surface surrounding the place.

"You're late, Mr Izumi." a low deep voice announced and the chosen of knowledge spun around. Standing before him, was a large yak standing upright with a minigun on his back. Dressed in a nice kimono, one could not see their eyes. Flanking his side, was turkey dressed up like he was ready for a stealth mission. On the opposite side, a strange-looking humanoid pulled straight from the 1800s stared back. Didn't explain why he had four longswords floating around his back in a circle. Beside him, floated a young winged child dressed in a white toga.

"Let me guess, you're Joey and Suiko's partners respectively?" Koushiro announced as the pair from Delta caught up. Shooting them a look, Koushiro was met with a shrug. Focus shifting to the school ahead, what were definitely curse words echoed out from their mouths.

"Crap. We didn't get here in time." Joey muttered and smashed his fist into a nearby street post. Getting a look from Koushiro, a sigh escaped his lips. "Before you ask. No. We don't have a way to follow Shade. If anything, maybe you should have one of the younger group members do it."

Koushiro remained silent. Anger bubbling to the surface, he could already feel the words of his former partner warming to take a moment to calm down and not push his luck. But in the face of his time wasted and nothing in the way of answers,

"If anything, this is your fault!" Koushiro announced and smashed his fist into Joey's chest. The shadow scientist gritted his teeth, stumbling back a couple steps in the process. Locking onto his opponent's eyes, he responded with a punch. "You had one job! Just give me information on digimon hybrids! That was all! But no, you had to drag your mess into ou-"

Koushiro's attempt to make Joey feel bad about himself was cut off by his phone choosing to ring now of all times. Before he could get a chance to answer said phone, he got a kick to the balls.

"Dude. You're well out of your league. So answer your phone and come back when you're willing to listen." Joey announced and ran off. Partners following right behind, that left just Suiko and her partners.

"I get that you're all trying to make sense of a far wider world that you now find yourselves in. But the impression you've been giving is shit." Suiko announced and walked over the chosen of knowledge. Slapping him across the face, his phone continued to ring. Walking off right after, that was Koushiro's cue to finally answer his phone. Bringing it up to his ear, he listened in.