Intertwined Destinies
Gennai has given the digidestined bad news: there is an eighth digidestined in Japan, and Myotismon, their new enemy, is on his way to get her. It is now a race against time to get home. If they lose this race, it will be more than the Human World that is in danger...every world will be facing its destruction. The children and digimon have just opened the Gateway to the Human World and are on their way there now.
The next chapter of their adventure awaits...
Chapter 21: Home at Last
Jade opened her eyes slowly and immediately noticed that she was lying in the snow. She sat up, looking around curiously, and saw a cabin directly in front of her. Behind her was a lake, and off to the side was a giant tree. They were back at the campground where they had started their little adventure.
"She's awake!" TK cried suddenly. Jade looked to where he was, and spotted the other children just behind him. It looked like they had just woken up moments earlier, and she was the last one. She grinned even as Tai appeared at her side and lifted her out of the snow. He was warm and she wrapped her arms around his neck so that she could stay where she was.
"This is where we left for the Digital World," Sora said aloud. "…but where are the digimon?"
"It couldn't have been a dream, right?" Izzy asked in fear. Tai put his hand on his shoulder, using the other to keep Jade off the ground, and looked around.
"Maybe it was the wrong card?" Sora stated in despair.
"No, it was the right one," Jade reassured her. The children all looked at her in confusion before she pointed off towards one of the walking trails. Standing there were the seven digimon, and they looked to be hiding something behind their backs.
"Looks like you're all awake," Palmon observed even as Mimi just about burst into tears of joy, on top of the tears of relief to be home that were already falling across her cheeks.
"Where were you guys?" Tai asked.
"Looking for food," Gomamon answered. "We figured you'd be hungry so we went and found some berries!"
From behind their backs the digimon revealed that they had picked the local wildlife in order to find something to eat. Thinking of food, Jade had a feeling that she wouldn't get much of it in the coming days as she would be returning to the joy that was her cousin.
"Ha! This is Japan, so you don't have to eat that stuff anymore!" Joe realised as he stared at the bushes. He was smiling as he thought about the food that they would be able to eat now that they were somewhere familiar.
"You'll be able to eat nicer things!" Mimi agreed with stars in her eyes.
"Put me down Tai, I've got shoes on," Jade told him. "Go and see to Koromon."
Tai did as she requested, and once she was down she opened her backpack to organise her belongings. The slip of paper Gennai had given her was on the top, and she stared at it curiously before hiding it down the bottom of the bag. It was as her hand brushed across the bottom that her fingers hit something small. She pulled it out in confusion before a smile lit up her face as she recognised her birthday present. She slipped it on her wrist happily before closing up her bag. Her photo was with the slip of paper, and she knew that none of it would make sense to Dudley if he raided her bag.
"Hey Tai? Why didn't you choose my card?" Koromon asked from where he was now perched in Tai's arms.
"Your card?" Tai asked in confusion, before realising what he meant. "Oh, I wanted to keep it as a souvenir."
"That's so nice…" Koromon said before narrowing his eyes at Tai. He could see through the lie. Jade just giggled and handed over the card that she had kept. Tai waved it at his friend before sliding it into his pocket for safe keeping. He then turned his attention to the rest of the children, ignoring Koromon's glare.
"Hey everybody, we've got to go and find the eighth child!"
"Yeah, and we've got to get a move on as Myotismon got here ahead of us," Matt agreed with Tsunomon under his arm.
"Hikarigaoka! I'm so happy we're finally going back to my old home!" Tai stated happily. "And we know that that's where we're going to find the eighth child!"
"How do you plan on getting to Hikarigaoka?" Jade asked curiously. "How far is it from here? You can't just run away from camp."
"It is a bit far from where we are," Sora admitted. "We'd never be able to walk there in a day."
"And Myotismon is already there," Joe pointed out. "We'll need to get a lift there."
"You don't think Myotismon has found the eighth child yet, do you?" Sora asked the group worriedly.
"According to my calculations, not even a minute should have passed between Myotismon's arrival in Hikarigaoka and our appearance here," Izzy reassured her. "The flow of time is different between the worlds."
"Yep!" Jade stated happily. "It's still my Life Day!"
"Oh! That's the longest birthday ever!" Mimi gaped. "We've been in the Digital World for months!"
"But that's impossible," Joe stated as he tried to wrap his mind around it. "You're saying that all our adventures took less time than to say 'Happy Birthday Jade'?"
"It was like that the last time I travelled to the Digital World," Jade told him reassuringly. "Granted, I was in the Digital World for a few years, but only a few hours had passed and no one noticed that I wasn't in my…room."
"How can we know that the same thing happened here?" TK asked. Jade pointed to the ground without saying anything, and waited until someone realised what she was pointing at.
"That's where the digivice hit the ground," Matt realised first as he spotted the seven little craters. "They look like they were made only a few minutes ago!"
"Right," Jade agreed. "No time has passed."
"I'm going to check out the camp," Tai told them. "For them, they would have just experienced a snow storm. I want to know what is happening."
"I'm coming too!" Jade told him as she ran off after him. Gomamon, Koromon and Biyomon followed her, though when Koromon slipped he crashed into Tai, alerting him that there were quite a few more people coming behind him.
"You don't all have to come," he told them.
"I thought I'd keep you company," Mimi told him.
"And we're going to keep Mimi company," Joe added.
"I guess we're all pretty curious to find out what happened while we were gone," Izzy explained.
"But how will we explain it if someone sees our digimon?" Tai asked them.
"They're a group of toys that we found once the snowstorm ended," Jade said instantly. "A large bag crashed into the side of the cabin, scaring us all, and once the storm was over you investigated and discovered seven toys. You're taking one home for your sister, Joe thinks he's too old for one, and the rest of us grabbed on each."
"Why do I miss out?" Joe asked her curiously.
"Because I'm stealing Gomamon off you," Jade told him seriously as she picked up the mentioned digimon. "You're also the oldest, and you feel that you have to set an example for us younger kids, and you don't have any younger siblings."
"Oh," Joe replied.
"Kids! There you are!"
"It's…our teacher," Sora gaped.
"Why is he running?" TK asked curiously. Tai walked forward a few paces as Mr Fujiama came at them very quickly. The teacher's hands dropped onto Tai's shoulders as he inspected him critically.
"Are you kids alright?" he asked. "Why didn't you answer earlier?"
"We didn't hear you," Izzy admitted. "We've just gotten free of the cabin we hid in."
"You eight were the only unaccounted for children, I am so glad that I found you," Mr Fujiama continued as he let go of Tai's shoulders. "Everyone is gathering their belongings so that we can get you guys home."
"Why?" TK asked curiously.
"We can't stay camping in the snow, Takeru," Mr Fujiama explained easily. "So, we're going to get you guys home."
"But what about the English students?" Tai asked with wide eyes as he looked at Jade. "Where are they going?"
"They're going to camp out in our gymnasium until they can get a flight back to England," Mr Fujiama answered. "We'll be sharing our buses with them so hurry and grab your belongings."
Jade really didn't like the thought of spending the rest of the trip in a school gym. Dudley would be unbearable, more so than usual. Mr Fujiama then turned to her and started to talk in English. It had been so long since she heard her birth language that she blinked in shock before listening to what he was saying.
"You need to grab everything you brought with you and find Ms Rein," he said. "She's looking for you, and I feel I need to warn you that the other teachers from your school aren't happy with the delay."
Jade nodded her understanding before Mr Fujiama turned back to the others and questioned them about the dirty toys in their hands. Jade scooped Gomamon off the ground, and into the mind of every digimon she ordered them not to make a sound, no matter what they heard. They did as she ordered, and the children stuck with her explanation about their discovery. When Mr Fujiama looked back at Jade and Gomamon, he opened his mouth to tell her to put it back as it wouldn't be allowed on the plane to go back to England but the words were caught in his throat when Jade gave him an honest smile of joy. To make it more convincing, she hugged Gomamon tighter and rubbed her cheek against his.
"If it can't go home with her," Joe began, seeing the shock on their teacher's face. "Then I'm sure Hikari won't mind having another doll to add to her collection."
"Very well," Mr Fujiama agreed, still shocked. "I would hurry to the buses if I were you."
He turned and left, probably to let the others know that the last few kids had been found and they would be ready to go momentarily. Jade turned to look at the others sadly, the smile sliding off her face.
"How are we going to get to Hikarigaoka?" Koromon asked once Mr Fujiama was gone.
"And how can we get Jade to come with us?" Sora added.
"I have a plan for the first thing," Tai admitted. "But no idea for the second."
"I don't like the sound of that," Joe admitted to Izzy who was standing next to him.
"I'm going to grab my bag from the cabin," Izzy said uneasily. "I'll meet you at the buses soon alright?"
"Sure, I'll come with you," Matt agreed. "Tai, TK, our belongings are in that cabin as well."
"We'll meet at the bus then," Sora agreed. "Our stuff is another cabin. Mimi, you need to get your stuff as well. Jade…"
"I'll see you at the bus," Jade promised. "Ms Rein will need to mark me off before we go anywhere, and it will be easier if I go alone."
"Take Gomamon with you," Joe told her. "He can be your back up if something goes wrong."
"As much as I would like to see it," Jade began. "Gomamon can't fight against the other kids. They don't know any better."
"They're bullies," Joe said sternly. "It won't do them any harm to realise that there are others out there who are stronger and smarter than they are."
Jade laughed, but nonetheless she agreed to take Gomamon with her as she hunted for her teacher. She instructed Gomamon to be completely silent and still, as she didn't want anyone to question her about him. Not that they would expect her to answer. Before she was pulled into the Digital World most recently, she was considered a functioning mute…or mentally challenged if you listened to some of her teachers.
"Jade!" a voice called in English. Jade turned slightly, recognising Ms Rein's voice, and walked over to where she was waving. She stopped slightly in front of her and tilted her head to the side curiously.
"For a moment I feared that you had gotten lost in the storm," Ms Rein told her once she was closer. "Are you alright?"
Jade nodded easily and allowed her eyes to dart around, looking for where her cousin was loitering.
"Thank goodness," Ms Rein breathed. "Now, we're going to be boarding this bus here, it will be a bit of a tight fit as all the Japanese children also need to go home as well. Thank goodness they have three buses otherwise it would take a really long time to get out of here."
Jade nodded her understanding, and noted that while there were English students lined up at the bus they were going on, the Japanese children looked like they were all trying to get onto the other two buses so that they wouldn't have to share with foreigners. Then she spotted Dudley at the end of the line and their eyes met. In that moment Jade knew that she was in trouble.
"Go and line up Jade," Ms Rein told her. "We'll start boarding in a minute."
Jade nodded slower this time. If she was to line up, it meant that she would have to hop into line with her cousin. Her grip on Gomamon tightened slightly. She knew that she was more than a match for Dudley if she used her abilities, but he was still just a child, a stupid child she allowed, but a child who didn't know any better. It wasn't her responsibility to make him a better person.
"What's wrong?" Gomamon whispered as she started to walk.
"You're about to meet my cousin," she muttered back, barely moving her lips. "Don't make a sound, or give any hint you're alive."
She stopped a few metres away from Dudley and stared at him impassively. He looked back with an evil grin, and Gomamon shivered in her arms. He strode towards her and Jade resisted the impulse to turn and run.
"Potty Potter," Dudley greeted with what he thought was great wit. "Did you get scared when the snow fell? Me and the guys were hoping that you were turned into an icicle, but oh well, I'm sure we can think of something else that should happen to you. Where'd you get that doll? Ugly looking thing."
Jade tightened her grip on Gomamon to let him know that she didn't believe he was ugly, and remind him that he was to stay still and silent. Dudley leaned in closer and Jade wrinkled her nose at his bad breath.
"When the teachers are gone, I'm going to rip the ears off your new toy and make you watch," he whispered cruelly. "You may have the pathetic teachers here wrapped around your finger, but where we're going…it's just going to be us. You won't be able to escape, Potter."
He laughed and turned away, and despite how much she tried to prevent it from happening, she went pale and thought about what he could do to her if she didn't fight back. The only teacher who was on her side was Ms Rein, but she couldn't protect her forever. Jade brushed back the fur on Gomamon's head calmingly. The next few days were going to be hard, but she wouldn't let Gomamon or one of the other digimon come with her. They needed to stay with their human partners, she would be fine on her own.
"That's your cousin?" Gomamon asked in disbelief. "Aren't cousins supposed to be family for you humans?"
"I don't have a good relationship with my family," Jade whispered sadly. "Though, he doesn't normally wait to do something to me. He must be afraid of the Japanese teachers."
"There she is!"
Jade tilted her head back as she heard TK yelling and smiled at him happily. She turned around so that her back was to the buses as the digidestined surrounded her. From the corner of her eye she noticed that Ms Rein had dropped the clipboard she was holding and her jaw had dropped, though Jade couldn't think what had caused her such a shock. She turned her head slightly and tilted it in concern at her, but Ms Rein just waved at her and picked up the clipboard before walking off.
"Do you have everything?" Sora asked curiously.
"Everything I brought is in this bag," Jade told her as she gestured to her bag. "Ms Rein has my passport."
"Do you have a plan to get to Hikarigaoka?" Gomamon asked. "One that allows Jade to come with us? We can't leave her with these kids."
"I'll be fine," Jade hissed at him.
"So, you met her cousin then," Tai stated in understanding.
"How can you be so calm about that human?!" Gomamon demanded, raising his voice. Jade shushed him by tapping his nose and rubbing behind his ears. Gomamon continued in a quieter voice. "He threatened to harm our Sovereign! He must not be allowed to!"
"I can look after myself," Jade scolded. "Besides, I have to stay with my classmates or there will probably be a huge political war started up, with Japan being responsible for my disappearance."
"That's if your school reported you missing," Matt muttered. Jade blinked at him, before she seriously considered what he was saying.
"Hey! That doesn't mean you can just disappear!" Joe protested, seeing the look.
"How are you getting to Hikarigaoka?" Jade asked, ignoring Joe. Tai nodded a few times as he looked around. He made a noise of success before running off to talk to his teacher and the bus driver. Jade looked around before following him and the others. They weren't going out of sight, and she knew that the digidestined would want to be on the same bus as her.
"Mr Fujiama!" Tai called out to get his attention. "Could you get the bus to drop us off somewhere along the way?"
"Drop you off?" Mr Fujiama repeated in disbelief. "Of course not! I have a responsibility to make sure all of you get back to your homes."
"Oh come on," Tai replied sadly. "Don't say that. You just have to take us to the housing complex in Hikarigaoka."
"Hikarigaoka? Why there?"
"…I used to live there," Tai told him. "I just suddenly felt like seeing it again. I've told Jade all about it, and I think it would be cool if I could show her everything I wrote about."
Jade blinked at Tai once before staring wide-eyed at Mr Fujiama. She stepped closer to Tai's side and was aware that the rest of the group, bar Mimi who had disappeared somewhere else, was standing behind them.
"Please?" they asked. Sora continued once their teacher's attention was on her. "See, today is Jade's birthday, and we had a party planned for her. But if we can't have the party then maybe we could take her around our old hunting grounds."
"Hikarigaoka is actually pretty close to the road we're taking," the bus driver spoke up from where he was being ignored. "We can go on the Kan-etsu Expressway and interchange to the Tokyo Gaikan, we'll be passing through Ooizumi. That place is within walking distance to Hikarigaoka."
"Great," Tai said. "Then could you drop us off there, mister?"
"Hey! I haven't given you my permission yet!" Mr Fujiama told him in anger. He looked at the bus driver to back him up, but the man just shrugged.
"I'm already taking a detour to Odaiba Elementary," the man said. "What's another stop on the way?"
"Please Mr Fujiama," Matt pleaded hopefully. "We really want to see the place our family lived happily together, before our parents got divorced."
"Brother!" TK whimpered as he buried his head against his brother's front. Matt hugged him tightly, and Jade looked around Tai's side to stare at them in confusion.
"Mr Fujiama, please let us off at Hikarigaoka," Joe added, staring sympathetically at the two brothers. "As an upper classman, I will take full responsibility in getting them home later, and getting Jade to Odaiba Elementary."
"Well, I guess if a reliable kid like you is going Joe, then I guess it's okay," Mr Fujiama agreed, before turning to Jade sadly. "However, I have no authority over the English students, you'll have to talk with their principal if you want to take Jade. And I want you to call your parents to let them know where you are."
"Thanks Mr Fujiama," Joe said with a bow. "I'll go talk to the Surrey Primary principal."
"You're the greatest teacher ever," Tai added with a bow of his own.
"Yeah, yeah," Mr Fujiama told him as he led the bus driver away. Tai grinned in delight, before looking down at Jade and frowning.
"Don't worry about me," she told him. "I'll head to Odaiba, meet you there as it were, and tomorrow you can tell me what plan of action you've come up with."
"I don't like leaving you behind," Tai told her.
"I won't be alone for long," Jade promised. "You'll see me tomorrow."
"How long are you going to keep that act up for?" Tai asked the two brothers, pulling his attention from Jade. TK, who had looked to be in tears turned around with a broad grin across his face laughing at the others.
"What's going on?" Joe asked in confusion.
"It didn't seem like he'd let us go unless we pulled out some waterworks," Matt explained with a smile. He rested his hand on TK's head in a congratulatory pat for good acting.
"So it was all an act?!" Joe demanded. "I was desperate to get Mr Fujiama's approval because I thought it was true!"
"Calm down Joe," Tai said with slight alarm. "It all worked out, except for not getting permission to take Jade with us."
"Right, I'm going to talk to your principal," Joe told Jade as he walked off. "Maybe you'll be able to come with us."
The children watched him go and Jade sighed. Tai threw his arm around her shoulders and led her back over to the buses. The English students were already boarding, and Mimi and her group of friends were slightly ahead of them so at least they were all on the same bus. Joe came up to them before they boarded and shook his head sadly. He hadn't gotten permission. They boarded the bus and headed towards the empty seats in the middle, though there was an uncomfortable moment when only six seats were available. Tai solved that by sitting down and pulling Jade onto his lap so that there was room for everyone.
Matt and TK sat together, but as soon as he was sitting Matt closed his eyes and relaxed. TK scored the window seat, and he and Patamon spent the trip staring at the scenery. Mimi was with her friends at the back, but Palmon and Biyomon were above her in the luggage rack so that they were nearby and could keep an eye on her. Sora and Joe were sitting together, with Gomamon sitting in the luggage rack above his partner, and Izzy was across the aisle with Tai next to him. Motimon and Koromon were squashed between the two boys, but once the bus was moving Tai went to stand in the aisle so that he could keep an eye on everyone.
"Everything seems to be in perfect working order back in this world," Izzy said as he typed away on his computer. Jade looked over his shoulder at the screen but the only think that made sense to her was that he was on the internet.
"The digivice is working as well," Sora told him.
"Cool," Tai told them both. Jade clutched at her tag and crest and leant back against her chair, she wondered how she was going to get in contact with Akili or Michael. Michael was the logical choice to call, as he was in America and spoke English fluently, but Akili was the Protector of Wisdom and probably had more of a hand in choosing the digidestined.
"What's that? Is that the latest toy all you kids have?" Mr Fujiama asked as he walked towards the back of the bus to see what had Tai out of his seat.
"No, just one of the old ones we all hate," Joe reassured him.
"Let me take a look at it."
"You can't," Tai said without thinking.
"Don't be stingy," Mr Fujiama told him as he pushed him out of the way. "After all, I'm letting you guys off at Hikarigaoka."
"Here," Sora said with a smile, handing over her digivice.
"Thank-you Sora, you're an obedient girl, unlike some other kid I know."
Jade giggled at the slight against Tai, though Izzy just reassured him that there was no harm in someone else looking at the digivice.
"For a second there I thought Mr Fujiama was an evil digimon," Tai muttered.
"You've spent way too much time in the Digital World, Tai," Izzy told him. Jade thought that was even funnier, because Tai had spent the shortest time in there out of everyone.
"Think about it," Tai continued, really getting into his idea. "When you forget your homework at home and he catches you he snares you with his attack Tickle Blaster!"
"I heard that last one," Mr Fujiama said softly behind him. Jade burst out into hysterical giggles as Tai's teacher tickled him mercilessly. The bus joined in her laughter, and as soon as he could Tai slid back into his seat and pulled Jade onto his lap. He grumbled about insane teachers, but no one really listened to him. Jade leant back against him and played with his fingers with growing nervousness. No matter what she said, she didn't actually want them to leave without her.
I have a bad feeling about leaving you with your cousin, Tai thought into her mind.
Me too, Jade admitted. But I can't legally go with you now. I don't even know if you'll be able to get me tomorrow. My school principal doesn't exactly like me, and Mr Sanders hates me. He won't let me do anything that constitutes as fun.
We're going to need you.
I know, but you'll always be able to contact me.
It didn't take too long until the bus reached its first destination, Hikarigaoka. Tai wasn't the only one reluctant to get off the bus, each child was sad to be leaving Jade behind, but Jade just pressed her hand against the bus window in a longing farewell, and stared after the digidestined for as long as possible. She wished them luck, before turning in her seat so that she was facing straight ahead. She needed to be strong, and she needed to find a way to get away from her classmates and cousin…without attracting attention.
Her previous good mood disappeared entirely when Dudley sat down next to her with a smirk. He said nothing, as there were still some teachers who didn't like him around, but his smirk at her let her know that she was in for it once they were alone. Mr Fujiama had noticed her change in attitude and was watching her in concern. He was sitting next to Ms Rein, and the two began a hushed conversation about her that no one else could make out.
"She seems different," Mr Fujiama muttered.
"Sakurai," Ms Rein began hesitantly. "She is special. I don't know how much you know about the political situation in England, but Jade is pretty well known for surviving when her parents didn't."
"So she is the same Jade Potter that was in all those newspaper articles eight years ago," Sakurai Fujiama said with a sound of understanding. "It was so ridiculous the way they spoke about her, especially seeing as her parents had only just been murdered in front of her."
"You are aware of the situation," Elizabeth said in relief. "The way you looked at her, I thought you recognised her name, but I wasn't sure. Can you-?"
"Mundane-born," Sakurai stated proudly. "First in the family to be given an invite to Mahoutokoro. It's well known in Japan as an elite private school, invite only as they don't accept applications, but that's because as well as general classes they also teach magical classes. Yourself?"
"My cousin was a muggle-born, which is probably your version of mundane-born, but I never got an invite."
"Muggle just seems so insulting," Sakurai explained. "In Japan, and most eastern countries, the term is not used. 'Mundane' was suggested back in the late 1800s, but it wasn't accepted worldwide."
"That's a shame," Elizabeth muttered.
"So, your Jade Potter is in actual fact the Girl-Who-Lived?"
"It's a horrid title for her to have," Elizabeth revealed sadly. "Imagine being constantly referred to as a survivor when the same thing you're known for is what killed your parents. I would go mad."
"Her name's probably down at Hogwarts, isn't it?"
"More than likely, it is where her parents went. Why?"
"Well, I start teaching at Mahoutokoro in September," Sakurai admitted. "If she didn't want to go to Hogwarts, I could arrange for an invite to be sent to her for Mahoutokoro. She wouldn't be hounded as bad as she would in England."
"I don't think she knows about her parents," Elizabeth admitted. "Her aunt and uncle have been telling her that her parents were killed in a car accident of all things. She probably won't know about anything until her invite arrives, and that's if her aunt and uncle let her go at all."
"She was laughing earlier, I haven't seen her laugh at all since she arrived."
"I haven't seen her smile in the year that I've been watching her. This Pen Pal Program is probably the best thing that's ever happened to her. She's finally happy, and I would love to see her remain so. But going back to England, I think, will probably send her back into her shell."
"We'll think of something," Sakurai promised. "But I hope that nothing happens to those kids we left in Hikarigaoka."
"Why did you leave them there?"
"They asked, they're with someone responsible, and they're good kids. Most of them I'll probably be teaching next year, and…well…I just felt that I had to."
"They'll be fine then," Elizabeth said with a smile. "Now, tell me about the layout of Odaiba Elementary."
Sakurai Fujiama smiled and began to tell her how the school was arranged, and the best way to keep the students separated.
As the bus pulled up alongside Odaiba Elementary School, Jade stepped off the bus like a prisoner heading towards their execution. Several Japanese children got off as well as they lived within walking distance of the school, but otherwise the buses would be taking the children directly to their homes. Jade watched the bus go sadly before turning back to the school curiously. This was where Tai and the others studied, except for Joe who was studying at another school.
"Where's your doll Potter?" Dennis called to her cruelly. "Did someone else already take it off you?"
"Does the little baby need something to hold onto?" Malcolm jeered.
"How quickly do you reckon you can run Potter?" Dudley asked her with a smirk. "We have a lot of lost time to make up for."
Jade took one look at their faces and their 'I'm ready to run' positions before turning and darting into the school. They were ready for her and started to chase her. They ran right passed the teachers, though Ms Trish, the principal, only remarked that it was nice to see the two cousins playing nicely together. Ms Rein was conflicted, but she couldn't do anything without losing her job. She wondered if Japan was hiring?
As she was in an unfamiliar place, it didn't take Jade long before she was trapped and cornered. All she could do was brace herself as the punches rained down on her. The four boys, Malcolm, Piers, Dennis and Dudley, had been waiting for her to be alone for ages. It seemed like whenever they wanted to 'play' with her, either a teacher or one of the Japanese kids she had taken to hanging around would show up and prevent them from attacking. It wasn't fair, but now there was no one to stop them.
Jade knew that she should just let the boys do what they normally did, as she had allowed them to do for a long time, but she had just spent months in the Digital World battling against evil, evil that she had come back to fight. Just letting herself get beaten up, even if she knew it would benefit her in the long run because there would be no consequences from her uncle if she didn't hurt Dudley, she just couldn't rationalise away the pain. So she set part of her body on fire just as Dennis punched her, burning his hand. She rolled away from them as they recoiled and put the fire out.
"You freak," Dudley accused. "I'm telling dad when we get home!"
"Weirdo," Malcolm agreed.
"Monster," Piers stated.
"You burnt my hand!" Dennis cried. "Why would you do that?!"
Jade raised her eyebrow at him in disbelief. Really? Why hadn't she done it sooner is the question that she should be asking herself. The four boys turned and ran, and Jade slowly made her way after them so that she could figure out where she would be sleeping. Fortunately, she hadn't really been hit on her face, though she was positive that one of the boys had kicked her forehead, it could be hidden behind her fringe.
When she got back to the group she walked passed a radio that was reporting the news. First there was a segment on a terrorist attack in Hikarigaoka, though no one had taken responsibility for it, and then there was the incident of the 'not a whale' in the harbour. Jade shook her head in disbelief. Leave the digidestined alone for a few hours and they get into trouble with two digimon. She hoped they were all alright.
Dinner was served a short time later, though because Jade 'had started a fight' she was deprived a meal and told to go to bed early. Jade sighed, she was hungry but she had gone for longer without food before. She slipped into her sleeping bag, hoping that she would be able to get a good night's sleep, but not really believing that it would happen. Her bag and shoes that Tai had given her were put into the sleeping bag with her for protection, and she lay still as she watched the other children slowly make their way into the gym so that they could go to sleep as well. She wanted to stay awake, but she was tired and fell asleep almost immediately.
The first inkling that she had that something was wrong was the fact that the sleeping bag was moving with her still inside it. The malicious giggling of her cousin and his friends invaded her mind, and when she opened her eyes with a start it was to see them disappearing with a laugh. She sat up and looked around in alarm, especially in seeing how they had moved her not only from the gym, but onto the road without her awakening. Lights blinded her and she had enough awareness to throw herself back to the ground before the truck hit her.
So, her cousin didn't want her in the gym? That suited her fine. She crawled out of her sleeping bag, pulled out her bag and shoes, put her shoes on and forced the sleeping bag into her backpack. She would go looking for Myotismon while it was dark.
Creeping silently through the town, Jade wondered if anyone would notice that she was missing. She hoped not, she had too much to do without also hiding from the police.
Matt watched as Tai and the others continued on to their homes, leaving him and TK at his apartment. After Ikkakumon had brought them as close to Odaiba as possible they had walked the rest of the way, with Tai determined to see everyone home before going home himself. If TK hadn't lived so far away, Matt was sure that Tai would insist on walking there and back to get him there. Fortunately, they were all tired and Matt told him that he would keep TK home with him for the night.
"I don't mind," Tai told him easily. "It's been a while since we all saw our parents."
"I'll call my mum," Matt told him as he pushed TK inside. "Relax, I'll take him home tomorrow when we've all slept in a real bed and eaten some real food."
"Alright," Tai agreed. "We'll see you tomorrow at the park."
Matt waved, shaking his head with a laugh. Tai was going to get himself killed if he didn't start thinking about himself a little bit more. TK called out to them with Patamon on his head, waving both his arms and laughing. Matt pushed him again and they entered the apartment complex. Already Matt was thinking about what he needed to do before going to sleep. He supposed the most important thing would be to call their mother, let her know that TK was safe and that he would bring him home tomorrow. Then he needed to feed TK and the digimon, and call his dad.
"I'm hungry," TK told him as they entered the apartment. "Do you think there's food in your apartment?"
"That depends on whether or not dad went shopping recently," Matt told him. He walked over to the fridge. "Looks like…the eggs are still good, and potatoes, and – ew! – that's passed its used-by date!"
TK giggled from where he was sitting at the table, and Patamon and Tsunomon joined him. Both digimon were looking around the somewhat messy apartment. It looked like the apartment hadn't been cleaned since the last time Matt was home, which meant that their dad probably hadn't been home much.
"Where's dad?" TK asked as Matt started to pull out food that could be cooked.
"Probably at work still," Matt told him. "I'll call him after I call mum to let him know that we're back from camp and that you're here with me."
"Can I talk to her too?"
"Sure, now where's that phone?"
Matt found the phone buried under a pile of dirty clothes and dialled his mum's phone number after checking with TK as to what the number was. As he listened to the dial tone he thought back to when they were younger and still lived together. His mother, Natsuko Takaishi was a dedicated journalist who had chosen her career over staying as a family. There could have been more to it, because Matt remembered his parents fighting a lot, especially after moving from Hikarigaoka four years previously. He thought it had been because of the terrorist attack, but that couldn't have been it.
"This is Natsuko, how can I help you?"
Matt blinked as the phone connected and he rested it between his shoulder and ear so that he could prepare something to eat at the same time as talk to her.
"Hi mum," he greeted. "It's Yamato."
"Yamato! Aren't you supposed to be at camp?"
"It snowed," Matt explained. "So they sent us home early. TK's with me, and I wanted to call to let you know that. I'll bring him home to you tomorrow."
"Takeru is with you? Why wasn't I called earlier? I would have come to get him."
"It was just easier to bring him back with me," Matt told her with a frown. "He's fine."
"Can I talk to her Matt?" TK asked, seeing the frown. "She'll listen to me."
Matt handed over the phone as he focused on making dinner. It knew that his mother was just worried, but surely she knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to TK? TK started to chat happily away with their mum, talking about the kids that they had met at camp, some of the things they had done before getting sucked into the Digital World, and about Matt's Pen Pal who hadn't wanted to hang around with him. Once dinner was ready he hung up and explained that she would expect him tomorrow, and that she was glad the two of them were having fun together.
As TK started to eat the food Matt had prepared, Matt took the phone back to call their dad. Hiroaki Ishida was a reporter, and that was how he had met his wife. They had worked together on the same story and gotten married not long afterwards. After the divorce, and Hiroaki had gotten custody of their eldest son, and it was like the whole world had changed overnight. Everything changed. Matt learnt how to cook, because Hiroaki was terrible in the kitchen, and he learnt how to do his own laundry. He learnt how to become independent, but that didn't mean that his dad wasn't there for him. In Matt's opinion, his dad was the coolest dad in the world.
"Ishida, what do you want?"
"Hey dad!" Matt greeted with a laugh. Trust his dad to answer the phone like that. "I'm home!"
"Yamato? How'd you get in?"
"You left the door unlocked again dad," Matt told him. "Anyway, I'm here with TK, and I'll save you some leftovers if you get home tonight."
"Was there something wrong with camp?"
"Just that it snowed. All of us are home, but I figured that you'd working so this call is so that you don't panic when you get home and see that someone besides yourself has been here."
"Great, thanks for the call. I'll probably be back late, everyone is working around the clock to get to the bottom of this weather phenomenon."
"I'll leave the door unlocked," Matt promised.
"Thanks Yamato, tell your brother goodnight for me. I'll see you tomorrow if you're up before I go to work."
"I wouldn't count on it. I'm so tired that I could sleep for the next week if I could."
"Goodnight, son."
"Night dad!"
Matt laughed as he hung up the phone and settled down to eat. His plan for the rest of the night was to eat, shower and then sleep. TK had the same idea, but he wanted a bath and the two digimon joined him happily. The bath didn't last long because they were all tired, and Matt put TK in his bed with Patamon while he set up the couch and collapsed onto it with Tsunomon. He was unconscious moments later.
A few hours later Hiroaki walked through the front door and dropped his jacket onto the back of the kitchen chair. He quietly walked around the apartment, looking in on TK with a smile and chuckling to himself when he saw Matt on the couch. It had been a long time since both boys had slept in the same house.
He had always regretted agreeing to a divorce with the woman he loved more than anything. But he had kept his past a secret from her, and once she found out about it she just didn't trust him anymore. In certain circles, Hiroaki was considered a half-blood, the son of a mundane-born witch and a pureblood wizard. He had grown up around magic, but he hadn't liked how segregated it was from the mundane world. He had become a reporter in order to spread knowledge to people, no matter if they liked what he was saying or not. His dedication to his job was what had attracted Natsuko to him in the first place. She was a mundane, but her lack of magic had only attracted him to her that little bit more. His family had supported his decision, though they weren't sure hiding the magic from her was a good idea. They were right.
When she had caught Yamato entertaining Takeru with magical lights, he had come clean and told her everything. Then the terrorist attack had occurred, though Hiroaki didn't believe that it was terrorists who had caused the devastation, and they had moved away. They had tried to make it work, but there was no trust anymore, so they had gotten a divorce and Natsuko took Takeru further away, leaving him with Yamato.
But he loved his son more than anything, and there was nothing he wouldn't do to keep him safe.
Mimi didn't wait for the group to catch up as she came within sight of her apartment complex. She just darted ahead with Palmon, calling back behind her that she would see them the following day, before charging inside to greet her parents. They were so surprised to see her that it took several moments before the screaming started, and then the tears, while through it all there were hugs all round. Palmon was able to sneak into Mimi's room without being spotted, and curled up on Mimi's bed so that she could rest. She knew that Mimi would bring her something to eat later.
To celebrate her early return from camp, Keisuke Tachikawa decided that he would take the family out to dinner, to the best restaurant in town. Her mother, Satoe Tachikawa, knew the best restaurants better than the back of her hand, and agreed instantly before rushing off to get changed. Makoto, her baby brother, was just learning to crawl, but despite how needy he was at the moment, there was no denying that Mimi's parents had more than enough love to spoil them both at the same time.
Mimi had the time of her life just simply enjoying the time she spent with her family. She hadn't realised just how much she had missed them until they were so far away that she couldn't contact them just to hear their voices. She had even missed her brother, of who she had resented when he was born, but he had grown on her and she just loved to dress him up. She had deliberately ordered more than she could eat with the intention of bringing home her leftovers for Palmon.
Of course, once she was home she was tired enough that she only had the energy to go to her room with her food under her arm and collapse onto the bed. Palmon woke at her arrival, and while the plant digimon was eating she gathered the energy to have a shower and wash off the dirt of the day. She couldn't believe that she had forgotten the battle four years previously, even though she had been right there. Now that she was thinking about it, she remembered how scared she had been for weeks afterwards. Her parents had moved to Odaiba, and in time the nightmares stopped and she felt safe playing outside again.
Who could the eighth digidestined be? And why couldn't Gennai remember? Surely, as the person who had chosen them, or said that he had chosen them, he would remember such an important fact. Even Jade seemed to remember more than Gennai, but she hadn't been in the Digital World at the time of the selection. It didn't make any sense.
As Mimi got out of the shower and crawled into bed under her covers, with Palmon snuggled up next to her, she wondered about the others and if they had gotten home alright. And she worried about Jade. That fat pig of a cousin had it in for her, and Mimi was worried that Jade would be hurt without them around. It was one thing to fight against digimon, but fighting against children? That didn't sound like something Jade would do.
"Sleep Mimi," Palmon ordered. "You're tired, I'm tired, and we'll see everyone tomorrow."
"You're right," Mimi agreed. "But, I just have this really bad feeling that something bad is going to happen to one of us, and I'm lying around surrounded by comfort."
"Jade will be fine," Palmon reassured her, knowing exactly what was bothering her. "If she was in any danger she would call us, you know that."
Mimi admitted that that was true. Jade had proven capable of looking after herself, but she was only young. She decided that it would be better if she went to sleep and worried about it in the morning. She wouldn't be doing her friends any favours by falling asleep when they needed her the most.
Out in the living room, Keisuke and Satoe cuddled together on the couch talking about the changes that they had seen in their daughter. Mimi may have been trying to hide it from them, but they could see that she had grown up a lot since they had seen her two weeks previously. They weren't strangers to weirdness, after all, they both came from what others would consider and unusual background.
Graduates of Mahoutokoro, Keisuke and Satoe could both use magic, and did so often to make their life easier. Several appliances in their home used magic to function, but they still did everything by hand so that they wouldn't become lazy. They had heard of the war in England, and how no one had been able to fight against the terrorist killing everyone, and both were glad they lived in Japan where everything was much more open and blood status didn't mean the same as it did in England. The Japanese purebloods, those of noble decent, only cared about their family's prestige. The only ones they were prejudice about were those of burakumin decent, the impure outcastes from the Japanese feudal era.
Blood only mattered in how much prestige new blood could bring to the family, whether they were magical or mundane. Keisuke's father was considered a half-blood with a noble father and a mundane-born mother, whereas Satoe was the daughter of a pureblood witch and a mundane-born wizard. They weren't discriminated against, and their families supported the unions.
They weren't hiding their abilities from Mimi, but they believed that she needed to find her own place and recognise it for what it was on her own. She was spoilt, but she was also honest to a fault, but now that she was home it was like she had fought in a war of her own. Satoe had seen it once before, in one of her friends from Mahoutokoro, but she had never discovered what she had seen. Yuuko had turned her back on magic after the war in England ended, but Satoe had never discovered why.
"Do you think she's alright?" Satoe asked her husband.
"Yes," Keisuke said instantly. "We've raised her well, and I know she'll be ready for Mahoutokoro next year. I don't know if she'll be able to handle the green uniform, but the way she's acting, I know she'll make us proud."
"She's hiding something from us."
"And we're hiding something from her. She's allowed to have secrets, and as long as those secrets don't hurt her, I say let her keep them."
"I love you honey bunch."
"And I love you," Keisuke told her.
Joe and Izzy waved off Tai and Sora together as they lived in the same complex. They separated at the first floor, with Gomamon disappearing into Joe's bag and Tentomon going around the back so that neither digimon would be seen by their partners' families. Joe went further up, agreeing to meet the following day, and eagerly walked into his apartment. He had never been so happy to see his family.
His mum, Misaki Kido, was a paediatrician and worked at the local children's hospital every day, but still made it home in time to cook dinner and listen to the family talk about their day. His father, Manabu Kido was a well-respected doctor and didn't always make it home in time for dinner because he was in such high demand. Shin, his older brother, understood more of the terminology that their dad used when discussing his day than Joe did, because he was part way though his doctorate. It was like everyone in the family wanted to do something with medicine…except Joe.
Joe found it easy, throughout dinner, to slip food to Gomamon beneath him. After all, the little digimon had saved all their lives when he digivolved into Ikkakumon to carry them home. Joe still couldn't believe that Sora's cousin was such a jerk. If Tentomon hadn't digivolved to catch him, Izzy might have ended up at the bottom of the river after Duane pushed him. Going home by water though, that was great. He had never seen Odaiba from the water before, as he got seasick easily, but it was a great view.
"So, Joe, how was camp?" Shin asked curiously. "Was it as much of a drag that you thought it would be?"
"Hmm? Oh, camp was interesting, that's for sure," Joe told him. "Once the English students arrived I was able to see exactly how different our cultures are."
"Did you make friends with any of them?" Misaki asked. "I'm sure they were all scared being in a different country."
"I met one girl, her name is Jade, and she was the Pen Pal of Taichi. I think she was the only one who could understand Japanese, and I'm pretty sure that no one in her class liked her."
"What makes you say that son?" Manabu asked him around a mouthful of rice.
"They would bully her a lot," Joe admitted. "In the end we got together and had her moved into Sora Takenouchi's cabin just to protect her. I have a suspicion that she isn't treated very well at home."
"Define 'not well'," Misaki requested.
"Well, she turned nine today but she could pass for a six year old easily," Joe started. "She's really light, like she doesn't eat, and she doesn't like people touching her. Her body goes really tense and she closes her eyes like she's afraid that someone would hit her. And then there's the fact that her cousin took great joy in hurting her, or getting her into trouble, like he had been doing it for years."
"Did you see any bruises?" Shin asked.
"No, and she didn't talk much until we got to know her. She hasn't said anything about her home, except that one time where she said that she cooked for her aunt and uncle."
"I can make some calls," Manabu mused as he put his bowl down. "I know some people in England. They could look into the situation for me, but there's not much else I can do. She is an English citizen, not Japanese."
"That's better than nothing though," Joe said happily. "You're the best dad!"
Manabu waved off his gratitude and changed the topic to something less depressing. Joe excused himself and retreated to his bedroom for some well-deserved sleep. Gomamon disappeared under his bedcovers the moment they were pulled back, and once Joe had a quick shower he was buried with his friend. They were asleep seconds later.
Izzy walked into his apartment building with a smile on his face after waving his goodbyes to Joe. Tentomon, who had digivolved to save him from Gesomon, would be coming in through his bedroom window when he got there so that he wouldn't be spotted by his parents. Falling off that bridge, that had been the most terrifying moment he could recall in the Human World. Seeing everyone's alarmed faces staring back at him as he dropped over the ledge…well, he was more than ready to give Tentomon whatever he wanted in gratitude. He had never really had a friend before.
In his ten years of existence, it seemed that aside from his parents, everyone was daunted by his intelligence and didn't know how to treat him. The kids at school thought he was weird, and 'nerd' was probably the nicest thing he had been called. There had been a stage where he had tried to be accepted and joined the soccer team, but even there the other players had treated him like dirt.
Except for Tai.
For some reason, Tai was the only one who had treated him like a person. He had also given him his first friendly nickname 'Izzy'. It had felt good, to be treated like he mattered for just a short time. He had tried to make Tai happy to have him on the team, but he just wasn't any good at sports and gave it up as a bad job. He still saw Tai often, and had even been invited over to his house a few times. He had gone, and it had been fun. Tai's mum loved to experiment in the kitchen, but her food turned out good most of the time. Hikari was just like her brother, just a little less extroverted, and she seemed to idolise the ground he walked on. It had made Izzy long for a younger sibling of his own.
"I'm home!" Izzy announced as he opened the door. He smiled as he saw his mother standing in the hallway talking on the phone.
"Koushiro? Is everything alright, sweetheart?"
"Yes mum," Izzy said grinning. "Camp was cancelled due to abnormal weather phenomena."
"Is that so?" Yoshie Izumi wondered. Izzy grinned at her sheepishly as he brushed off his pants. He knew that he was dirty, and hoped that he would have time for a shower before dinner.
"I'm sorry for worrying you," he said with a bow. His mother smiled at him and he retreated to his bedroom. After he shut the door and opened his window to let Tentomon in he thought about whether he should tell his parents about the digimon and the Digital World. It would ensure that he didn't have to hide what he was doing. He didn't like keeping secrets from his parents…even if they were keeping something big from him.
Tentomon flew through the window silently, and Izzy quickly shut the window behind him. The hard part now over, Izzy now needed to figure out how to keep Tentomon hidden from his parents, and how to get him something to eat. First, he needed to find a way to keep his door locked, and to do that he would need to take a trip to the local hardware store.
"I need to go out for a bit," he said quietly.
"For what?" Tentomon asked.
"A lock for the door," Izzy started to explain.
"Koushiro? Is something the matter?" Yoshie asked through the door. Izzy froze for a minute before forcing Tentomon to hide in his cupboard in case his mother decided to enter the bedroom. He might not agree with keeping her and his father, Masami, in the dark about his adventures in the Digital World, but he also wasn't ready to tell them everything just yet.
"Nothing at all!" he called back, mentally crossing his fingers in hope she wouldn't come in. When she didn't, and instead walked away, he sighed in relief and walked over to his monkey box to hunt for some coins. With one last word of warning to Tentomon, he left his room and under the pretence of going over to visit Tai for a reference book he disappeared to the local hardware store and back again with a new lock for the inside of his door.
"My parents won't appreciate this," he told his partner. "But I think it's imperative."
"Why?" Tentomon asked curiously. "What's the big deal Izzy?"
"We'd be in big trouble if my mum and dad came in here and discovered you," Izzy explained. "I'm positive that they'd never comprehend our situation. The others also agreed that we'd keep the digimon a secret from our parents unless there was no other choice."
"I guess you have a point there. Oh, by the way…"
"What?"
"I don't know too much about humans, me being a digimon and all, but I can tell you one thing for sure: your mum is a really kind lady, and judging by the smells that have been coming from outside ever since we got here…a really good cook as well. Your mother must be making something delicious for you."
"She's the greatest," Izzy agreed happily. His smile then faded as he thought about a conversation he had overheard when he was younger. He had been sneaking around, and hadn't been caught, but he had overheard a conversation about how he wasn't biologically an Izumi. He was adopted. Granted, he wasn't supposed to know, and he had been devastated when he found out, and that was probably why he had turned to computers. They weren't as complicated as humans.
"Izzy? Earth to Izzy?" Tentomon called, breaking into his thoughts. Izzy mentally snapped himself out of his memories.
"Sorry, I guess I was just thinking."
"But you're always thinking."
"Koushiro? Are you in there?"
Izzy visibly jumped as his mother's voice came through the door. It sounded like she was just outside. He called back an affirmative to her, and asked her what she needed.
"Dinner's ready," Yoshie told him.
"I'll be just a minute!"
"If you have a friend over, he can join us too," Yoshie continued, scaring Izzy a little. "I thought I heard someone speaking in a funny sounding voice. Is that what I heard? Koushiro?"
Izzy panicked just a little, and as he and Tentomon stared at each other Izzy thought rapidly about what he could do to defuse the situation. In the end, he panicked and just said the first thing that came to his mind.
"No mum, that was me! I'm practicing my new comedy act! They're having a talent contest at school this year and the winner can win a new computer!"
"You tell jokes?!"
Sora lived a few levels down from Tai, but she still watched as he travelled the rest of the way to his apartment until he was out of sight. Then she went home herself. Biyomon was just about asleep in her arms, but she had been through a lot that one day so Sora allowed her to sleep while she entered her apartment. Her mother, Toshiko Takenouchi, was in her study, working on the inventory lists for her flower shop down the street, but she stopped when Sora returned in order to ask what was wrong.
"It snowed, so everyone was sent home."
"You came alone?" Toshiko asked in alarm.
"No, Tai came with me as he lives a few levels above us."
"Oh," Toshiko uttered. "Well, it's good to have you home. Dinner will be ready at the usual time."
Sora nodded and watched as her mother walked back into the study. She quickly had a shower before dinner, wanting to get rid of the dirt that had accumulated throughout their adventure. But still, once dinner came around she watched her mother carefully, and was able to sneak food down to Biyomon who was pretending to be a stuffed toy at her side. Ever since her crest glowed, and she realised that her mother loved her, she had started to think about everything her mother had done for her. She decided that her mother wanted her to work in a flower shop because it wasn't dangerous, and that she was always encouraging her to wear girly clothes so that she wouldn't scare away boys. She figured that she owed her mother an apology for the way that she had treated her. But still, she wasn't sure how to.
Conversation was awkward between them, and in the end she gave up and ate in silence. Once she was done she gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before retreating to her room where she could change for bed. The day had been hectic, and the worry was in all of them for Jade. They hoped that Myotismon hadn't attacked her while they weren't there, or that her cousin hadn't harmed her while there were no adults around who cared about her.
"Jade will be fine Sora," Biyomon muttered as she curled up under the thick bedcovers. "She's probably already asleep and dreaming about our adventures. We'll see her tomorrow."
"You're right," Sora agreed with a smile. "Good night Biyomon."
Once Sora was in her room asleep, Toshiko carefully opened her door to check on her. She loved her daughter, she really did, but she was so much like her father that it was difficult sometimes to understand her. Toshiko had never really gotten into sports, and the only sport she would even consider plating when she was younger was tennis. She loved flowers much more than sport, and when Sora was born she had hoped to be able to share her love of flowers with her. That had backfired, and the relationship between the two of them was strained. Sometimes Toshiko wished that her husband wouldn't spend so much time away, he would be able to talk so sense into their daughter.
But still, was it wrong that she only wanted her daughter to be safe and happy? With a sigh Toshiko closed the door and walked back to the study. Maybe it was time to write that letter to Haruhiko, and encourage him to call their daughter soon. He had mentioned that there was something he needed to talk to them both about once Sora was eleven, and she had been eleven for almost five months. It was starting to worry her a little bit.
She considered calling Yuuko, to make sure that Taichi had gotten home alright. She worried about that boy, for much the same reason that her daughter did. That boy was like a trouble magnet, it always seemed to find him. She had eavesdropped on a few conversations the two had had over the phone, it always seemed like Taichi was hiding something from his parents and Sora was trying to talk him into talking to his mother. They had such a strange family dynamic.
Yes, she would call Yuuko just to make sure that everything was alright.
A lot of guesses that were correct that time round, and some that weren't so correct. Still, you're ideas were creative and made sense. Tai will go home in the next chapter, this one was just getting a little bit too long. Thank-you for your support! Answers to some questions:
Liedral: Tom and Gatomon will meet eventually, but there is much he must do before that happens. And Jade has never needed a digivice to enter the Digital World. It is a part of her data that allows her to travel between the worlds, though I'm going to create something to help her later, like a phone or something. She also won't be able to access the Digital World within certain wards (like Hogwarts and the Ministry). As for the time difference...you're right that it is a long time to be gone, but with the difference in timelines it cannot be helped until it is fixed. But th point is it will be fixed.
sujulove: In a way, Wizardmon could be an older brother, but at the same time he could be an Uncle to her. Remember, Lily was first in the Digital World when she was six, the same age as Jade was, and Wizardmon would have been overly protective of her. So, Lily and Wizardmon would have been like siblings, which would make Jade his niece. XD
ReadAlert: There will be some of that much later, as I do like the idea. He just seems way to manipulative to me, though circumstances may prompt him to become less so, and more supportive. That is debatable though.
Next up in Intertwined Destinies:
Chapter 22: The Eighth Digidestined