Author's Notes: Alright, now getting into the game's first chapter. There's so much exposition to cover in each chapter and I couldn't really find a way to break them like I could with Persona 3. Also... the passage of time is really weird in this game. Unless it's obvious, I can't tell when a day passed or not so I don't even know how long this adventure is. Hell, I don't even know what season it is. Or how old Takumi is... I know he's a high school student, but that's pretty much it. For the sake of my sanity, I'm going to assume Takumi is either a first or second year, Nokia is the same age as him, and Arata is a year older than them.

Takumi was surprised when Kyoko led him into Nakano Broadway. She had said her agency was in Nakano, but he didn't expect it to be in the popular shopping complex. Still, it made sense that the Kuremi Detective Agency was located in a remote corner of the first floor. He slowly took in the messy office as he sat on one of the sofas Kyoko pointed out to him. At her prompting, Takumi began to explain the entire ordeal his first time in EDEN turned out to be.

When he finished, Kyoko crossed her arms as she considered the teen's situation. "I see. You've got a good grasp on the situation."

Takumi frowned at that. "Well, it's good enough, I suppose… I only told you all the details I thought were important."

She smirked at him. "That place in Shinjuku where you appeared," she pondered. "It's the same, or very similar, to the place you logged in to EDEN at, isn't it?"

"Uh…" the digital entity shook his head. "Not really… The login point I used was nowhere near Shinjuku."

"Hmm…" Kyoko rested her chin in her hand. "Well, you're here talking to me now, but it seems there's another body out there for you as well."

"Eh!?" Takumi blinked at that. "A-another body…?" He brought a hand up to his forehead in disbelief. "I guess that's plausible… Even more jarring is the fact that a few days passed while I was in the middle of logging out… Could that have anything to do with my current situation?"

"Maybe your mental data was separated from your physical body and manifested in the real world independently?" Kyoko proposed as another theory came to mind. "Or maybe your body was somehow moved to Shinjuku where it was corrupted into the form you have now." She shook her head as there was no way to tell. "The whole situation is entirely too peculiar. Yet here you are, standing before me, as much as that shouldn't make sense. At present, I can only form a simple hypothesis. We need to gather more information, and quickly."

"Alright," the teen agreed. "So what should we do?"

"Going by the book, you should check out where you logged in to EDEN…" Kyoko nodded. "Which was where?"

Takumi brought a hand to where his mouth should be as he wondered why the detective was helping him. "This isn't some part of some wicked scheme, is it?" he asked. His tone had been light enough to be taken for a joke, but still serious enough to convey his suspicions to the blonde detective.

"Come now," the woman gave him a slight frown. "You don't trust me? You are at the Kuremi Detective Agency, which has solved a number of rather bizarre cases, including cyber crimes," she told him with a smile. "I can think of nobody better suited to solving the mystery of what happened to you. And you're even sitting on the sofa for clients," she pointed out.

Takumi knit his eyebrows together and looked down at his seat. "Ah… I see…" Well, she has me there. "But even if I ask that you solve this case, I don't think I can cover the fees," he shook his head.

"No need to worry about compensation," Kyoko reassured him. "Your very existence is all the payment I need."

"My existence…?" The teen nervously chuckled at that. "So… like an indentured servant working off his debt?"

The blonde woman smirked at his comment. "Let's pretend you've boarded a luxury liner. Say, the Mary Celeste."

"Ah…" Takumi sheepishly scratched his head. "I meant for that to be only a joke… And I wouldn't really call a mysteriously abandoned merchant brigantine a luxury liner..."

Kyoko shook her head. "Anyway, let's get back on track here. Where did you log in? But first…" she frowned at his form. "Before we do anything else, we must do something about your appearance. You can't walk around outside like that. And it looks pretty unstable, as well."

"Y-yeah…" Takumi sighed as he could actually see through his translucent hand. "I don't want to get arrested just for looking like this," he muttered, remembering the detective cop from before.

"I've had a good look," Kyoko crossed her arms and smugly smirked, "and you are truly a mass of data: a true digital body. Yet you hear my voice, sit on my sofa, and can talk to me. Proof that you obey physical laws." She pensively brought her hand up to chin. "A digital body with real-world characteristics. Let's call it a 'half-cyber body'," she chuckled.

"Half-cyber…" the teen absently repeated. "Oh, if that's the case, it should be made of programmable data."

Kyoko nodded as he was quick to catch on. "If your body is comprised of data, then it could be easy to do something about your appearance. Incorporate compatible data and make repairs. You should have the same basic structure as an avatar used within EDEN. It would be excellent if there were avatar parts in the data found lying around Cron."

"There should if Cron is the remnants of EDEN's prototype," Takumi stated, remembering what Yuugo had told him earlier. "Why don't I check it out?"

"The only issue is whether or not you can login in your current state."

"Ah… Good point," Takumi paused to think things further before something flashing caught his eye. Huh…? The TV? Without another thought, he got up from his seat and approached the device.

"What is it?" Kyoko curiously watched him. "Did something happen with the television?"

"I'm not sure…" He intently stared at the wide screen before a strange voice called out to him.

"Over here. Jump."

"Huh!?" Takumi blinked as it wasn't a voice he recognized, but for some reason, it pulled at him. "Jump!? I couldn't possibly—!" He quickly shook his head to clear it of doubt. I might as well try! He held out his right hand towards the screen and watched as a portal opened up from the television, pulling him into it.

It was a similar sensation as to when he logged onto EDEN and when he was on the other side, he stared at the strange new network he appeared in. It looked like a road of sorts and he found that he was floating through the data stream. Takumi was a bit confused but suddenly his Digivice activated itself and his Digimon emerged. They all gave him a look of confusion and Takumi quickly explained it to them. "Urged on by a voice, I took a leap of faith," Takumi crossed his arms. "But what the heck happened?" He decided to take the chance and see if he could travel down the road-like system. "It looks like we can go forward after all," he smiled as he began gliding through the digital space.

At the end of the digital road, Takumi was surprised to find himself in a bright area. He turned around to check if he could go backwards, but the path disappeared. "The exit? It's gone. Guess I can't go back the way I came." Seeing as he could only go forward, Takumi took a moment to gather his bearings. "Is this… EDEN?" He paused when his Digivice began ringing so he promptly answered. "Hello? Aiba Takumi speaking."

"This is Kuremi Kyoko," the caller replied. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," the teen nodded. "I hear you."

"I nearly lost you, but I managed to get a trace," Kyoko nodded to him. "What the heck happened? It looked like you were sucked into the terminal and just disappeared."

The boy nervously chuckled. "Sorry… but I heard a voice telling me to 'jump' and so I did… into the TV…" He studied his surroundings and frowned. "I ended up here in EDEN somehow."

"I see," Kyoko pensively mulled this over. "I'm guessing you passed through the actual network lines themselves. The office terminal is connected to EDEN's network. You rode the flow within the wires as data and appeared in EDEN," she surmised. "So then for you, the network appears as an actual series of roads."

"That's one way to describe it," Takumi nodded.

"Still, it's shocking to see you make such a direct transition from the real world to the digital one," Kyoko stated. "To submerge in the digital world just by touching the terminal. A dive… no, a jump!" She gave the teen a smirk. "From now on I'm going to call that ability yours a 'Connect Jump'. What a happy little unexpected accident! Now you can go look around for avatar part data. Head to Cron," she instructed him. "There's plenty of junk data lying around there. It should be easy to find what you need."

"Understood," Takumi nodded before cutting the call.

He started for the terminal access point but paused when that strange voice from before spoke to him again. "This way. Come on."

The boy frowned suspiciously but decided to take another risk. "I guess I should go in the direction of that voice."

Takumi blinked when the terminal took him to another strange place. It looked like a lab of some sort and there was no one else here except for a woman with short purple hair and glasses. She seemed pleased that Takumi finally arrived and greeted him with a nod. "Ah, so you can hear my voice. Welcome to the DigiLab. This place has a faint connection with the Digital World. A paradise for Digimon." She flashed him a smirk and brought her left hand up to push her glasses back. "I am Mikagura Mirei. I open this paradise unto you!"

"Huh…?" Takumi frowned as none of that made any sense. "Digi…Lab?"

"The Digital Monster Laboratory," she nodded. "You could it the 'DML' for short, I suppose. I recommend calling it the 'DigiLab', though."

"O-okay…" Takumi crossed his arms as that didn't explain anything. He blinked when he realized she said something odd. "Digital World?" the hacker tilted his head to the side. "What's that?"

"It's okay if you don't know about it," Mirei told him. "For now, at least. When the time comes, I expect you will know what you need to know."

"I… suppose…" Takumi frowned. "So why am I here?"

"I called you…" she replied. After a while she shook her head. "No, that's not quite it. It was you who called to me."

"Me…?"

She nodded to the confused teen. "You are beginning to develop a deep connection with Digimon," she stated as she stared at the three Digimon he owned. "Our strings of fate intertwined and drew me in, and so I found you. In other words, it was you who called out to me. But that's enough of that for now."

"I still don't get it, but…" Takumi shook his head. "Okay… I'll go along with it for now." He scanned the room once more. "DigiLab, huh…?"

Satisfied with his open-mindedness, she motioned towards the various monitors. "First off, what kind of place is this? Go and check it out with your own eyes."

"Alright," the curious teen nodded before taking his time to check each facility with Mirei. It didn't take long before he got the basics down and he quickly called his team back to him. Mirei walked him to the terminal and he quickly thanked her for the tour.

"Do you understand the DigiLab?" she asked him with a smirk. "Use it carefully to further your interactions with Digimon. Let me see if you're the person I thought you might be."

"Huh…?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together in confusion, but Mirei quickly shook her head at him.

"Finally, one last thing," she pushed up her glasses. "A small token for you."

Takumi flinched as his body glowed. He stared at his hands to see if anything had changed, but nothing really stood out except a new message from his Digivice. "You got a Hacking Skill."

"Hacking…?" Takumi took a moment to take it all in. "So I really am a hacker now…"

"Hacking skills shine in combination with Digimon use," Mirei explained to him, "but are dangerous if used for unscrupulous hacking purposes. How you use your skills is up to you. Never forget that."

"That sounds like what Yuugo told me before," Takumi crossed his arms. "But… there's not really any goal I have in mind with these skills," he admitted.

"You can deepen your special ties with the Digimon," she suggested to him. "Live with them. Share their joys and sadness, and grow together! By deepening your bond with the Digimon, they'll surely offer you their aid. It is a very important ability. It will even change your life."

"My… life…?" Takumi looked down at his strange form.

"Connect Jump…" Mirei curiously studied the boy's half-cyber body. "That's what you call your curious skill. I know nothing of this power," she shook her head at him. "It's like a hacking skill, but… well, different. But I'm certain it's a skill that will serve you in unique ways. I'll see you later," she told him. "Take care."

"Alright," Takumi nodded to his team. "We're going!"

"You were heading to Cron, I suspect?" Mirei guessed. "Just this once, I'll let you use the special exit." She returned to her seat and pulled up a terminal. As she typed in a few codes, she smiled at Takumi. "Next time, go to the access point, if you please."

Takumi stared at the firewall that had prevented him from leaving Cron before. To test out his new abilities, he looked at the Digimon following him. "Ready?" he asked them. The boy held out his right hand to the firewall and attempted to hack past it. The blockade lit up and unlocked itself before disappearing. Alright! Let's keep going!" Takumi smirked as he entered Galacta Park. He paused when he received another call. "Hello? Aiba Takumi speaking," he answered.

"It's me," Kyoko greeted him. "Whew, I finally got through to you. I lost your trace info and had to search again," she explained. "Where did you wander off to this time?"

"Ah… I made a stop at the DigiLab…" Takumi answered. "Something about me calling out to someone named Mikagura Mirei? She told me a few things about how to raise my Digimon, but that's it."

"I see," Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth. "So you ran into Mikagura Mirei."

"Huh? Do you know her, Kyoko-san?"

"Yeah, you could say we're acquainted." Kyoko hid her smirk. "Regardless, for there to have been a natural progression where you would meet her…" She chuckled at Takumi. "You seem to have the craziest luck."

"Luck, coincidence, fate…" Takumi shrugged. "It doesn't change my current situation," he sighed.

Kyoko nodded to him as she returned to the task at hand. "Let's assume you carried out your original objective. We'll start by…" She blinked as she noticed the firewall in Cron was gone. "What? You've already broken through the firewall?" She smirked at his innate hacking skill. "Well done! You saved me some time," she chuckled. "All right, on to our next move. I scanned the area around the entrance to Cron and marked key junk data sites."

"Junk data?" Takumi asked as he was about to slip on his goggles to scan around him. He didn't though as he noticed the information his Digivice was collecting was directly being relayed to him through his senses. He could actually see for himself the markers Kyoko laid out for him.

"Junk data will serve as your body parts," the detective told him. "You need to go find and retrieve some. It's something of a stopgap measure, and it may not be a perfect solution, but I'm sure your skills are up to the task. This is a key step to returning your body to normal, so buck up and get to work!" she directed him.

"I see you're already taking to being my 'boss' already, Kyoko-san, even though I have yet to agree to work for you," Takumi chuckled. He paused as a thought came to him. "Hey, wait a moment! I'm the client in this case! Why am I doing the field work for you? You're the detective here! Shouldn't you be the one searching for my body parts?"

"It's okay," she shrugged. "Searching for body parts isn't as hard as defeating 48 demons, now, is it?"

"That's… not what I meant…"

"Think of it as an emergency measure," Kyoko dismissed his concerns. "I look forward to meeting you in your normal body." With that, she cut the call, much to Takumi's dismay.

"She's… not quite what I imagined a detective to be," he smiled to himself.

"Petit Twister!" Terriermon stopped spinning as he took care of the remaining Digimon guarding the junk data.

Takumi quickly loaded the data into his Digivice and signaled his Digimon that they were done. "Alright! I'm loading the parts now!" With a flash, his avatar stopped flickering and his regular appearance returned. "Success!" he gave his Digimon a thumb up.

As if on cue, Kyoko called him to check his progress. "Hmm… You at least look normal again," she mused. "It's not a perfect solution, but it's a big step."

"Of course!" Takumi nodded. "I have my body back!" He paused and crookedly chuckled. "Sort of…"

"The objective has been met," Kyoko nodded to him. "Come back to the agency."

"Understood." He turned around to exit Cron, but stopped. "Um… How do I…?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that? You don't know how to get back?" She brought a hand up to her mouth. "Hmm… Try logging out as you would normally. Since you went in through an agency terminal, my guess is that you should come out through one. But to be honest, in your case, I don't know what'll happen until we try."

"I suppose…" Takumi shrugged.

"In the worse case, if your data gets scattered throughout the network, I'll salvage as much as I can." The look of surprise on Takumi's face made Kyoko chuckle. "I'm joking! Sort of."

"That's not funny!" Takumi wailed in horror. "But anyways, I'm heading back now." He cut the call and massaged the back of his neck. "Well, Kyoko-san doesn't seem like a bad person… A bit roundabout and difficult to figure out maybe, but she's genuinely interested in my situation." He stared at the back of his gloved hand. "Actually… I feel the same way… Maybe it wouldn't hurt to stick around…" He started to leave but paused to take a look at the locked terminal he had used before.

The redhead frowned when he noticed it was once again deactivated. Whatever Arata did back then must have only been temporary but at least it worked. Takumi checked the area once more for any sign of the monster or those other two Digimon. He crossed his arms when nothing turned up before deciding it was best to leave things be.

Takumi blinked as he found himself back at the agency. "I'm home!" he jokingly greeted Kyoko.

"Welcome back," the woman chuckled back at him. "You made it back in one piece, didn't you? I wouldn't have expected anything different."

"So you really were joking back then," Takumi sheepishly smiled. "At least nothing bad came from these little tests of ours…"

She smirked back at him before she became serious again. "Still, those abilities border on the unreal. Maybe the reason you still adhere to physical laws has to do with an instinctual fear present in all physical organisms." She laughed to herself at such a deeply rooted psychological phenomenon. "This is all truly fascinating!"

"Pardon me, Kyo-chan," a voice interrupted her from her thoughts.

Kyoko frowned before spinning her chair to face the middle-aged man Takumi and she failed to notice earlier. "There you go again, sneaking up on me, old man."

"Oops, sorry," the man smirked at her. "I did it again."

"And could you stop calling me Kyo-chan?" the woman crossed her arms. "It's embarrassing. That was a childhood nickname."

"Not going to happen," the man shook his head. "Kyo-chan will always be Kyo-chan to me." He began laughing. "No matter how old you get or how brilliant of a detective you become!"

"How long have you been there?" Kyoko asked him. "And what did you hear?" Her eyes wandered over towards Takumi in concern.

"I just got here," he crossed his arms. "Is something wrong?" He looked over at the red-haired boy standing in front of her desk. "Oh, you have a client. Sorry, sorry! Were you going over a case?"

"No, this is—" Kyoko paused as she didn't know whether to call the boy a client or her prospective yet reluctant employee, "well, a client of sorts, though of a somewhat unconventional nature."

"Oh?" This piqued the man's interest in the teen. "Just who are you, then?" he asked the young man.

Takumi smiled at the sketchy old man and politely introduced himself. "Aiba Takumi," he shook the man's hand. "As for my role here? Uh…" His blue eyes nervously darted towards Kyoko. "That's a secret," he crookedly grinned. His answer must have amused Kyoko because she raised an eyebrow at him as she too smirked at their guest.

The man narrowed his eyes on the detective and the boy. He's a lot like Kyo-chan back when she was his age… he thought as he crossed his arms.

Kyoko brushed her hair to the side as she guessed what the old man was thinking. "Hmph. Like I said, no one in particular. Not yet."

"Not yet, huh?" Takumi sheepishly chuckled before blinking at the shady-looking man. "Um… and you are?"

"Let me introduce you," Kyoko nodded. "This is Detective Matayoshi Gorou. He's an old friend from when my father ran the agency and I trust him completely. He's the most elite detective the force has on cyber crime."

"Eh? A detective from the police department?" Takumi blinked at the man in surprise.

Matayoshi nodded at him. "Looks are deceiving, you were thinking?" He shrugged at the young boy. "Well, I suppose I don't exactly fit the mold. But if I did, I'd never be able to tag along with the shadier element. Oops!" he grinned. "A slip the tongue!" he laughed.

"So, is there something afoot?" Kyoko asked him. "If it's a case, sit on the sofa and wait a bit." She stood from her desk with a smile on her face. "I'll just whip up some tasty coffee…" she offered.

Matayoshi immediately shook his head. "No, thank you!" he declined. Takumi blinked as he thought he caught a hint of fear in the man's voice. "There's no case today! No need for coffee!" He crossed his arms as a sly smile appeared on his face. "I heard a rumor about EDEN Syndrome. I thought you might be interested, Kyo-chan."

This seemed to have caught her attention and the detective seriously nodded at the old man. "Let's hear it, then."

Takumi watched as Matayoshi took a seat in the client's sofa and Kyoko sat on the sofa opposite of him. The teen felt a bit out of place but quickly stood off the side, facing Matayoshi. This made the older detective stare at him with a scrutinizing gaze. The redhead blinked at him while doing his best to not crack under the pressure he suddenly felt crushing him. Finally, Matayoshi crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

Takumi nervously tilted his head to the side. "Is something the matter, Detective Matayoshi?"

Kyoko chuckled as she explained it to the older detective. "No need to worry about my assistant, old man. This is someone with a rather… special connection with EDEN." She proudly smirked at the teenager. "My assistant has the potential to become something of a specialist in the field." She turned her gaze back towards Matayoshi. "Let's hear what you have to say."

"I see," the veteran detective nodded to her. "If you can vouch for your assistant, that's fine." His expression darkened as he suddenly became very serious. "The rumor concerns the special ward in the hospital where they're isolating the EDEN Syndrome patients." He looked over towards Takumi when the boy blankly blinked at him. "Oh. Do I need to explain what EDEN Syndrome is to your future specialist?" he asked with a smirk.

"Please do," Kyoko nodded.

"It's a rare condition where EDEN users suddenly lose consciousness and are unable to wake up," he began. "We see more and more patients with each year, but the cause, symptoms, and treatment remain a mystery. There's a special ward at Central Hospital for EDEN patients. Treatment and a search for the cure are underway. But information there is kept heavily restricted. There are facilities even relatives can't enter."

"Eh…?" Takumi crossed his arms. "That's pretty shady…"

Matayoshi nodded in agreement. "The rumor is that they're concealing facts to help protect Kamishiro's image. This remains firmly in rumor territory for now. But lately, there have been happenings behind the scenes at Central Hospital."

"Behind the scenes?" Kyoko brought a hand up to her chin. "Meaning Kamishiro Enterprise, right?"

"Yes," the older detective nodded. "The hospital is under Kamishiro's control. The same Kamishiro running the EDEN Network. The number of patients is increasing and symptoms are getting worse. Now of all times is when Kamishiro needs to come clean, not remain silent. An alarming number of people are being admitted to the hospital in question and security in the special ward has allegedly been beefed up. This means something is afoot."

"It was going to happen eventually," Kyoko mused.

"Yes, indeed," Matayoshi nodded.

The information put the blonde detective into a good mood so she stood up. With a chuckle, she started for the backroom. "I think I'll put some coffee on after all! We can toast the agency's success!"

Matayoshi tensed up again. "Oh, look at the time," he said, pulled his cap down over his face. "I'd better get back to the station. Sorry, but let's save the toast for another time. See you later!" He quickly started for the exit, but pulled Takumi closer towards him before whispering a few words of advice to the young prospective detective's assistant so that he may live a long, healthy life. "I'd watch out for her coffee. Especially the color and the solid chunks floating in it. I fear the day is coming when I'll be forced to actually taste her coffee." He sighed. "That day won't be pretty…"

"Chunks…?" Takumi asked but the old man was already gone.

Kyoko didn't seem to notice their exchange as she returned to her desk, a bit disappointed Matayoshi left, but there was work to be done. "It was as he said," she stated to Takumi. "Fresh information on EDEN Syndrome is hard to come by. Kamishiro's behind-the-scenes restrictions are doing their job. And security will only get ramped up all the more from here on out."

Takumi moved from the entrance of the agency to the front of her desk. "Kyoko-san, is it okay for me to ask why you're looking into this?"

"There's something very strange happening in EDEN, then you show up in your weird body," she replied to him. "And at the same time, Kamishiro's apparently on the move. Is that all merely a coincidence?" Takumi closed his eyes to ponder his answer but Kyoko shook her head. "No, it has to all be connected," she answered herself. "The rationale is plain as day. No leaps in logic are necessary."

"You sound pretty confident in that conclusion…" Takumi noted with a slightly worried frown on his face as he opened his eyes.

Kyoko looked up a few things on her computer before rising to her feet again. "I'm heading to Central Hospital," she stated. "I need to get as much info as I can before security is stepped up. I'd be thrilled if you came with me," she seriously looked into Takumi's blue eyes.

"Eh!?" Takumi was surprised by her request. "Really!? But… I'm not really your assistant…"

"You might be able to get some info on your current state," she pointed out. "Seek and ye shall find! Knock and it shall be…" She paused for a moment and brought her hand to her chin. "No, in your case, let's go with 'Open Sesame'," she chuckled.

The redhead chuckled at that. "From the Bible to 'One Thousand and One Nights', huh? Well," he crossed his arms and grinned, "I can live with that."

The detective and her prospective assistant entered the hospital and looked around the lobby. Kyoko wore a small smile as she considered their plan of assault. "Well, what to do? At times like these, I tend to start off with a frontal attack." She nodded to the teen accompanying her. "Let's try direct negotiations to get us into the hospital's Special Ward."

"A frontal attack?" Takumi nervously asked, bringing his gloved hand to his mouth. "What does that entail exactly? It sounds dangerous..."

Kyoko chuckled at his reaction. "You're a sharp one! But preconceived notions can sometimes lead to unintended consequences," she told him. "Don't ask for details. They say that ignorance is bliss, after all."

"Sure, people say that, but it doesn't make it true," Takumi pointed out.

The detective shook her head at him. "I'll give you instructions later. Until then, gather info inside the hospital."

The redhead blinked at her and frowned. "That's… it?"

"Asking questions is the most fundamental cornerstone in detective work!" she nodded before giving him an encouraging smile. "I wasn't joking when I said you could become a specialist in the field, my dear prospective assistant."

"I got that, but…" He shook his head as an uncertain frown appeared on his face.

Kyoko studied his serious expression before coming up with something to say to put him at ease. "Become a GP and record my activities in a chart or become a boy with shining red cheeks…" she offered him. "It's really a lot of fun," she chuckled.

"I have no idea what you mean," Takumi sighed as she walked away. "And of course all the legwork goes to me…" he sagged his shoulders. He quickly straightened up though as this was his only way of repaying the detective for taking on his "case". And what a complicated case it is… "At the very least, becoming a detective's assistant will be interesting. Despite the fact I know she's just using me, I'll stick with it for now…" Takumi turned away from the hospital entrance and scanned the lobby. "Where should I start?" he asked himself. His eyes skimmed over the reception desk before he spotted a nurse speaking with a girl his age with long black hair. He paused as something about her caught his attention. "Huh…?" Before he even realized it, his body was already walking towards her. He quickly stopped himself though when he was halfway across the lobby.

Takumi continued to stare at the girl and the nurse. He couldn't make out what the lady was saying to her, but the girl seemed a bit sad. A lot of different theories began forming in Takumi's mind, but he couldn't quite keep up with his own rapid thought process. Soon, the nurse finished speaking with the girl and the raven-haired teen watched the lady walk away. Takumi froze up when the girl spotted him staring at her.

Ah…! The redhead gulped. After a while, he mentally frowned to himself because there was something about her dark grey eyes, fair skin, black hair, and small frown that seemed familiar. For some reason, the longer he stared at her, the sadder he felt and he didn't quite understand why.

The girl blankly stared back at him and Takumi wished he could figure out what it was she was thinking as they silently faced each other. It didn't seem as though she was going to be the first to break her gaze, so Takumi decided to make an attempt to lighten the mood.

He awkwardly smiled at her as he came up with the first line that popped into his head. "H-hey, girl. Have we met?"

Takumi let out a shaky laugh, but the girl didn't respond. She finally looked away from him when the elevator behind her dinged. Without giving the redhead another glance, she entered the lift. Takumi watched as the doors closed behind her before frowning at what a mess that encounter was.

"I wonder why she looks so lonely…" he muttered to himself as he recalled how sad her eyes were. He didn't quite understand it himself, but the girl's loneliness gave him chest pain. He placed his gloved right hand over his heart and grabbed his shirt. Why do I suddenly feel like crying? Takumi closed his eyes and shook his head when he remembered his current task. "I'd better get to work," he reminded himself. He opened his blue eyes before scanning the lobby again for a suitable place to start his investigation.

After running around the lobby and General Ward, Takumi took the elevator up to the Special Ward. As soon as he stepped out onto the thirteenth floor, he frowned. There was something different about this floor that made him wary so he carefully scanned the hallway before proceeding.

"There's no one here," he muttered to himself as he started walking. "Wait…" he paused when he spotted two guards standing in front of a key-gated door. Takumi nervously approached one of the men. "Excuse me! Is it possible for me to visit a patient here?"

"Anyone without permission is prohibited from entering this area!" the guard mechanically stated. "In other words, get out!"

"I see," Takumi frowned. "Sorry for disturbing you then," he bowed his head and backtracked into the hall to contact Kyoko. "Kyoko-san," he whispered.

"It's me," she replied.

"I'm on the thirteenth floor, but the guards won't let me pass."

"We can ride the elevator to the Special Ward floor but can't enter the rooms without permission," Kyoko frowned. "It goes without saying that we have no such permission."

"Then what do we do now?"Takumi asked.

"We take out the two guards and hack our way past the door, which is likely locked, to get into the room. This is what I call a frontal attack," Kyoko told him. She paused for a moment before shaking her head. "But it takes time to prepare, and the risks are high. Let's not rely on a frontal attack now. We'll trust in your abilities—our trump card."

"Trump card…?" Takumi had a vague idea of where this was heading.

"The terminal in the nurse's station should be connected to the hospital network," Kyoko notified him. "I don't have to spell it all out for you, do I?"

"A Connect Jump," he nodded. "I got it." He ended the call and started back down to the General Ward.

Takumi quickly answered his Digivice as soon as he successfully finished his Connect Jump. "I'm in, Kyoko-san."

"You managed to get there without incident!" Kyoko gave him a satisfactory smile and nod before chuckling. "Just as I expected it would go! Okay, let's move into action. Get the data from the room in the back while keeping an eye on the patients."

Takumi frowned at her. "Isn't this a crime?"

"That's for the authorities to decide, not us," Kyoko shrugged. "If it's against the law, then the law will try us. But until then, we're in a bit of a gray area. Detectives generally operate unchallenged when it comes to this sort of thing," the woman reassured him.

"Alright, I get it," the teen nodded. "I'll get the data now." He cut the transmission and continued forward but before he could reach the control room, one of the patients caught his eye. He rushed over to the window in front of the patient and the sight of who it was made his breathing hitch. "No way!" he choked out. Takumi pressed his half-cyber hands against the glass. "Is this… me?" He rested his forehead against the window next. "Is this my… physical body!?" The redhead shook his head and closed his eyes. "This is shocking but… I wasn't expecting to see that my own body was in such good shape. I should be happy, I suppose," he said with a forced smile. He opened his eyes when he realized something. "But if I'm being kept in the isolation ward… then I really must have EDEN Syndrome," he sadly concluded as he forced himself to turn away from his physical body.

The detective's assistant approached the heavy doors leading to the command room and watched as they opened for him. He took a quick look around before spotting an active monitor. He hurried over to it and began accessing its files.

File 001: EDEN Syndrome

A mysterious illness whereby people suddenly fall into comas while connected to the EDEN Network. Originally the term was given to the incessant vomiting and other symptoms common to those unused to spending time in the Digital World. But now, EDEN Syndrome is used to describe the more serious malady of inexplicable loss of consciousness while connected to the EDEN Network. After extended time in a coma, the body weakens, becoming more susceptible to complications. In the worst cases, this has led to death.

Takumi frowned as he moved onto the next file.

File 002: Treatments for EDEN Syndrome

No effective treatment has been found for EDEN Syndrome. Research continues into treatments and causes of this unexplained illness.

The redhead sighed, but continued delving further into the computer.

File 003: Association with Kamishiro Enterprise

EDEN is a large-scale digital space operated by Kamishiro Enterprise. Deeply affiliated with governmental agencies, EDEN's business areas are expanding quickly. Immediate improvements and user training must be provided to warn users against long login times. Furthermore, the EDEN interface uses Kamishiro Enterprise's proprietary technology, making future research sharing problematic.

Satisfied with the information he just downloaded onto his Digivice, Takumi decided now was the best time to leave. He couldn't risk overstaying his welcome and there wasn't anything else of interest left on the computer. As he exited out of the command room though, he was shocked to see someone in the Special Ward.

Ah…! It's that girl from before! His body froze up when she stared back at him with an equally surprised expression on her face.

"Why are you here?" she asked him.

"Maybe I'm stalking you…?" Takumi weakly joked. He let out an uneasy chuckle as he peered over her shoulder towards the terminal he used to get into the Special Ward.

After dismissing his poor joke, the girl regained her composure and glared at him suspiciously. "This area is supposed to be off-limits, with guards watching over the only entrance. How did you get in here? Did you do something to the guards? Who even are you?"

"Well…" Takumi shifted his gaze away from her as he tried to come up with something to say. After a while he shook his head before he decided to ask questions of his own. "Who are you? Are you a relative of a patient? Are you with Kamishiro?"

"Don't answer a question with a question!" she frowned at him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Perhaps she had been a bit too hasty with her interrogation so she quickly calmed herself down. "Answer me," she calmly told him as she opened her eyes.

Takumi relaxed his guard a bit, but he still knew it was best he didn't answer directly. "I'm just a plain old detective's assistant," he finally settled on saying.

She gasped in surprise and brought her hand up to her mouth. "Wait, is Kuremi…?"

The redhead frowned at this. She knows about the agency… He was prepared to raise his guard again, but to his surprise and relief, her brusque demeanor further lessened now that she assumed he was a part of the Kuremi Detective Agency.

"I see," the girl nodded. "Well, never mind, then."

"Never… mind?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together.

"You came to investigate EDEN Syndrome, right?" she asked him. Takumi curtly nodded in response. "Was there something you wanted to ask?"

"Eh!?" Takumi blinked at her in surprise. "Is this a trick or something?"

She shook her head. "I'll answer your questions." The girl saw that the boy was still reluctant to speak. "Don't get me wrong. I'm just trying to come clean in order to clear my own name here."

"Clear… your name…?" the redhead finally relaxed. Is her name Kamishiro?

"I am in debt to Kamishiro," the girl further explained, "so if you have a few questions, I can answer them, I think."

"What should I ask?" Takumi muttered into his hand. His eyes wandered slightly and before he knew it, he was staring at his body again. I suppose that's a good place to start… I need to know how much I can trust her. He pointed to his physical body lying in the bed. "Who is that patient?"

The girl looked over to who it was he was pointing to and intently stared at the sleeping boy. "This patient here?" She tried to think back to if she had ever seen him there before. "They were just brought in. They weren't here a few days ago. Are you worried about them?" She blinked when there was something strange about the patient's appearance. "Eh?" She looked between Takumi and the patient. "You two look exactly alike! Do you have a twin perhaps?"

Takumi truthfully shook his head. "N-no…" he sadly replied with closed eyes. That's about as much as I expected as a response. He took a deep breath before returning his gaze on the girl.

She pensively stared at Takumi's physical body. "Hmm. I see. That's… quite the coincidental resemblance then."

"I guess…" Takumi wryly responded. "Next question… What happens if you contract EDEN Syndrome?"

"What happens?" the girl frowned as she looked around them. "Well, as you can see, patients with EDEN Syndrome all fall in a coma. I've heard of no other symptoms. Do you know someone who's shown others?"

Takumi stared at his own body before shaking his head. "Not really…" He cleared his throat before asking one last question. "Is there a cure for EDEN Syndrome?"

"I've never heard of anyone recovering from it," she replied. A sad expression washed over her face as her gaze lowered to the ground. "Someone I know has been stuck in a deep sleep… for a full either years now." Takumi noticed her left hand tighten into a fist. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Someday he's sure to wake up. For now, all I can do is wait."

Maybe I brought up something I shouldn't have… Takumi sadly thought to himself as the urge to cry returned to him once more. He shook himself from those thoughts though. Now wasn't the time for him to be distracted by such things. "There are rumors that Kamishiro is involved in some kind of conspiracy…" he began.

The girl tensed up and glared at him. "That's a… misunderstanding! A mistake! Kamishiro wants to find a cure for EDEN Syndrome, too!" Takumi caught the hints of desperation leak into her voice. "That was why they built this special ward and have specialists working around the clock looking for a cure. It's ridiculous that anyone should suffer because of EDEN!" she frowned to herself. "I've… I've got to do something!"

Takumi blinked at how agitated she became. "S-sorry if I said things that upset you… But I think I unders—" he was interrupted when his Digivice began to ring. Sensing it was urgent, he quickly answered. "Aiba Takumi here."

"I apologize for interrupting such an important conversation," Kyoko told him, "but you have an uninvited guest." Her warning quickly prompted Takumi to look past the raven-haired girl.

"Is someone there?" he asked with a frown.

The girl turned to face the entrance to the ward and the two teens managed to hear snippets of a woman flirting with the security guards outside. "Hello, guards! Thanks for working so hard! Ooh! Another hottie!"

"Rie-san?" the girl gasped in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you today!"

"Who is she?" Takumi asked the girl as a chill ran down his spine when the woman began speaking again.

"Check out the bulging pecs on this guard! One look and my heart is all aflutter! Oh! I can't resist! Poke, poke. Poke!"

"Kishibe-sama!" Takumi heard the guard outside nervously try to resist the woman's advances. "I'm on duty!"

"Ooh! So hard!"

Takumi groaned as he returned his attention to his Digivice. "Kyoko-san…!" he hissed. "What do I do!?"

Kyoko remained calm though as she considered the situation. "Kishibe Rie… Making the rounds behind the scenes? I'm curious what a Kamishiro bigwig is doing here." She shook her head as that was a question that would have to wait. "We got the information we needed. Now get out of there," she instructed him. "No need to overstay your welcome." She looked away from the screen. "Oops! I've got a visitor as well." She urgently looked back at Takumi with a smirk. "Let's meet in the lobby, then. Don't rush and don't make a fuss!"

"Easy for you to say," Takumi wryly chuckled as they both terminated the call. He looked around the ward in a panic before the raven-haired girl grabbed his arm.

"Hide! Quickly!" she told him before pushing him into the command room.

"Right!" he nodded to her. "Thanks!"

The girl was a bit surprised by his gratitude but she didn't have too much time to focus on that. As soon as the blue-eyed boy was safe behind the command room doors, the entrance doors began to open. The girl turned to face the green-haired woman coming towards her.

"Oh, Yuuko-chan," Kishibe greeted her with a smile. "You're well, I trust?"

"Rie-san," Yuuko knit her eyebrows together. "Did something happen today? I don't recall seeing your name on the approved visitors' list."

The woman giggled. "No, I'm not! But maaaybe I was just struck with a sudden urge to see my dear, darling Yuuko-chan!"

"Are you worried about me being all by myself?" Yuuko frowned.

"Mm… My Rie-chan Sense was tingling and I had to come see if you were being a gloomy Gus again," she said, placing her right index finger on her lower lip. She studied Yuuko's downcast expression and smirked. "I knew it! This is all so terrible, isn't it?"

"Not particularly," Yuuko responded, lowering her gaze to the ground.

Kishibe giggled at the teen's façade. "Look at you, acting all strong. But I know." Her grin grew wider as she stepped closer to Yuuko. "Onee-chan knows all about it!"

Within the command room, Takumi nervously had his back pressed against the door. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but the situation was completely unavoidable. They were right outside, for crying out loud. The redhead grit his teeth as this was an extremely uncomfortable situation for him to be in but there was nothing else he could do. Come on! Think! If there was ever a time I needed for my thoughts to run wild, now would be it! He shivered as Kishibe's giggling sounded a lot closer than it did before.

"By the wayyyy! What HAVE you been doing here?" Kishibe asked Yuuko.

"Eh… Nothing…" Yuuko shook her head. "Nothing special."

"A picnic of sorts?"

"Yes!" Yuuko nodded before shaking her head again. "I mean, no… It's not…" She bit her lower lip as she found herself tongue-tied.

"Hmm?" Kishibe smiled at the girl. "Yuuko-chan, is something the matter?" When the teen didn't answer, the woman put her hands together. "No? Is there perhaps someone else here? Perhaps… a boyyyfriend?"

Yuuko snapped her head up. "No! It's nothing like that!"

"Or maybe it's a girlfriend?" Kishibe giggled at how flustered the teen was. "Shall I have a little look around?" She lifted her gaze towards the command room doors. "Doing something unscrupulous in that room? Or better yet, something scandalous!" She giggled.

Yuuko's breath hitched in her throat. "Ah!"

Takumi heard footsteps coming closer as his blue eyes darted back and forth across the room. He spotted the computer he was using earlier and it suddenly occurred to him he had an exit available all along. Without another thought, he quickly ran to the desk.

Kishibe paused right in front the doors, relishing the amount of panic that was beginning to fill Yuuko's face. "Now, now," the woman called out to whoever might be in the room. "I've you all figured out. You can come out now, Yuuko-chan's lover-san! My name is Rie-onee-sama, and I am tasked with being Yuuko's guardian here." She giggled to herself and put on a wide grin. "Holding hands or locking lips? Guiding each other step by step towards adulthood!" The woman opened the door and looked around the empty room. "Well, drat! There's nobody here!" she whined. She shrugged it off before turning back to the slightly confused but very relieved raven-haired girl behind her. "But Yuuko-chan, it doesn't matter. You can bring one or two boyfriends, or even three dozen of them, if you'd like. Why, when I was your age…" she giggled as it probably wasn't a proper story to be telling to the poor girl. "Now, then. Let's check in and see how he's doing. Don't you think he'll be happy to see the two of us, together?"

Yuuko blinked as she realized Kishibe had been speaking to her. "Um, sure…" She frowned a bit as the woman walked past her. She curiously looked into the command room once more but found no sign of Takumi. "Where did he…?" She shook her head as it didn't really matter so long as he managed to get out safely.

Kyoko greeted Takumi with a proud smirk as soon as he came out of the elevator, relatively unscathed. "You escaped that predicament all on your own," she chuckled. "See, I knew you could do it!"

Takumi flashed her a smirk. "It was an ordeal, but I guess I did make it out alive in the end with my innocence intact."

The detective shook her head at his joke. "Now, then, shall we head back?"

Kyoko sympathetically frowned as Takumi finished his detailed report of what happened. "I can't imagine what the shock of seeing your own body from the outside is like," she shook her head. "If we think of it like an out-of-body experience, maybe we can find a solution."

"Do you really think so?" Takumi asked with a worried frown.

The detective nodded. "You're the first EDEN Syndrome patient to exhibit these particular symptoms—the first 'irregular' amongst them."

"Irregular?" The redhead frowned as he remembered Yuugo had used that term to describe him before.

Kyoko smiled. "Simply knowing that is a major step in getting to the bottom of this. We can't rush the investigation," she sternly crossed her arms. "We mustn't hurry things along. Stay cool. Stay calm." She looked up at the calligraphy framed above the window behind her, directing Takumi's attention to it as she did so. "Doggedly and with all your might, exhibit endurance like hard black iron," Kyoko nodded before looking back towards Takumi. "My father used to say that all the time," she fondly recalled. She blinked at the teen when she noticed he was fixated by the agency's motto.

"Doggedly and with all our might, exhibit endurance like hard black iron," Takumi seriously repeated as he engraved the quote into his memory.

The detective smiled at his earnestness. "But back to the issue at hand," she stated, recapturing his attention. "What are you planning to do next?"

The blue-eyed boy's face slightly scrunched up in pain before he settled on a sad frown. He brought his hand up to his chin as he truly considered his next move. "I… don't really know…"

"Don't you want to return to your original body?" Kyoko asked him. "Don't you want to know the truth of what happened?"

"I do but…" He glanced up towards her in surprise. "Are you really asking me to be your assistant?" he tentatively asked back. Takumi noticed she was serious about her offer so he gave her a determined nod. "If that's the case, then I accept."

"Hmph," the detective crossed her arms and wore a satisfied smirk. "Then it's decided. You should work here, as my assistant."

"Just like that!?" Takumi blinked at her.

"There'll be many cases dealing with EDEN and cyber crime. The more work you do, the more clues we'll be able to find. Don't worry," she reassured him. "I'm certain of your potential. And while you're at it, I'll cover your room and board," she chuckled. The woman smiled at him and nodded. "Besides, with your talents, who else is better suited for a cyber-investigation? I'm expecting great things!"

"Understood," he stated with a nod.

"Excellent!" Kyoko smiled back. "We have an agreement. From this point forward, you are my assistant Cyber Sleuth." She nodded her head towards the sofa she usually sat at. "Hmm. Have a seat on the sofa and wait. I'll make some coffee. We'll drink a toast to celebrate!" She got up from her seat and quickly prepared a cup.

When it was finally presented to Takumi, the redhead frowned at the swirl of green and pinkish purple sludge drowning in the mud-colored liquid. Ah… Didn't Detective Matayoshi warn me about this? "H-hey, Kyoko-san… What did you put in here?"

"Seaweed and red bean paste coffee," Kyoko said as she took a sip from her own cup. "My specialty."

"E-eh!?" his blue eyes widened as the woman seemed to be enjoying her strange blend. "S-s-specialty…?"

"Oh, I know it looks all fancy," she nodded, "but wait until you get a load of the flavor and aroma!" She raised her cup into the air. "Here's to you, Cyber Sleuth!"

"Y-yeah…!" Takumi raised his cup too before hesitantly leveling it in front of his face. He stared at it for a few seconds before deciding it was probably best if he downed the drink as quickly as he could. He attempted to gulp it down but the strange texture on top of the awful taste caused him to gag. Still, he forced his body to accept the concoction. "That wasn't so… bad…" he nervously tried to convince himself with a laugh before passing out from what Kyoko believed to be the day's excitement.

"Hmm…" the detective smiled at her new assistant's zeal. "He's a lot tougher than I thought. To become a hacker, obtain three Digimon without the Digimon Capture, lose his body, infiltrate a hospital, and become my assistant all… It's quite remarkable that you've accepted and adapted to the situation in just a span of a few days. Aiba Takumi… You truly are an 'irregular', even amongst irregulars."

Final Notes: So... Matayoshi's first name was never really given in the game. It was in the credits though, not that anyone would call him by 'Gorou'... Writing Takumi's personality was a bit difficult for me since I'm so used to writing for characters like Minato... Heck, even Hamuko was a bit difficult, but at least with her, I consistently just made it so she loved teasing her brother and friends while harboring a strong affinity to helping others smile. For Takumi, he mimes everything in the game and his reactions make him seem like the only sane person, but then you have his voiced thoughts and dialogue options which make him completely random and silly. In general, I try to have Takumi to be extremely upbeat, taking everything in stride with a simple smile on his face. He's probably also a genius, but he doesn't tend to come off that way because he's too busy with keeping up with the insanity of his friends around him.