Author's Notes: Only two side cases this time, but I gotta say, this set is probably my favorite.

~BROAD~DAYLIGHT~

Kyoko sat back in her office chair and frowned at the monitor. "Hmm…" she crossed her arms and stared at her latest results.

"Is something wrong, Kyoko-san?" Takumi asked as he carefully reorganized their case files.

"Lately, the Digital Waves seemed to have stabilized, but that shouldn't be the case, considering that ley line tunnel you discovered." The detective frowned as she started another scan of all the Digital Waves in the Tokyo metropolis. "Rather than the waves settling, could someone be manipulating them to make it appear settled?"

"Is there any place you want me to check out?" Takumi pushed the filing cabinet closed and approached her desk. "I could search for a distortion or other signs of a labyrinth if you need me to."

"It would probably be best to search areas where a labyrinth has already been established," Kyoko nodded to him. "So, the labyrinth entrance in Shinjuku would be a good place to start… If you have the time, stop by and check it out."

Her assistant nodded to her before setting out. "I'm off!"

"Have a safe trip," she smiled at him.

Takumi strolled down Shinjuku's downtown before he felt a strange shiver run down his spine. "What is this chill I feel!?" he asked as he looked around. "It feels like something's…" his eyes widened as he quickly took a step back, "out to kill!?" A bright flash of light whizzed past him but looking around, Takumi didn't notice anything else out of the ordinary. "H-huh…?"

The redhead was about to take time to think it over but his Digivice began to beep. "A case came in from Detective Matayoshi," Kyoko notified him. "Hurry up and come—"

"Kyoko-san, I think something almost tried to kill me!" the boy told her.

"What? You felt something ominous in the air just now?" she raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when have you been so superstitious?"

"But I felt it," Takumi frowned as he looked around the street again. "My body reacted to something. I know it."

"It's probably nothing," Kyoko reassured him. "Just get back here so we can get to work already."

"Hey, don't forget you were the one who wanted me to check Shinjuku's labyrinth in the first place," the boy pointed out with a grin. "That said, though, there's nothing to report on that." He shook his head as he started back for the office. "Anyway, I'll be back soon."

Client: Matayoshi Gorou

Place: Shinjuku

Details: An invisible slasher is rampant in Shinjuku. Catch the culprit before something serious happens. Please help!

Takumi blinked at the note and thought back to that ominous wind he had felt earlier. He looked up at the detective sitting on the client's sofa and frowned. "So what's this about, Detective?"

Matayoshi placed his hands into his pocket and seriously nodded at Kyoko and her assistant. "There has been a string of some real oddball incidents lately out in Shinjuku. Cars, trees, building exteriors, they're all getting sliced up. And with clean cuts, too, like someone took a real sharp knife to them."

"That sounds dangerous," the teen's blue eyes widened.

The old detective nodded. "Thankfully, nobody has actually gotten hurt by this so far. Right now, it's just a case of trying to curb vandalism we're dealing with here. But it's heavy-duty stuff getting damaged here. Imagine if people started getting targeted somewhere as dense as Shinjuku. It'd be a real problem."

Takumi crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. "Yeah…"

"As long as we don't know who's behind this, we can't predict what'll be next," Matayoshi sternly stated. "And the police can hardly be bothered to get off their asses and—" he quickly stopped talking and shook his head. "Like this'll help us. It's after the last incident."

"I see where this is going…" Kyoko nodded. "All right, we'll check it out for you," she smirked as she immediately returned to her desk.

Takumi curiously peered over her shoulder and watched her work. "What are you doing, Kyoko-san?"

"I've hacked into… I mean," her eyes shifted to the detective also staring at her monitor, "I've, uh, 'politely borrowed' access to a security camera in Shinjuku so we can check out what it's been recording."

Matayoshi turned his head away from his late partner's daughter. "I don't see anything and I damn well don't hear anything right now, either."

"It doesn't look like I can find any of the actual crime scenes…" Kyoko shook her head. "Though I'd wager that you've already checked on this much yourself."

"There's really nothing left on there, huh…?" Matayoshi sighed.

"Oh," Kyoko chuckled as she spotted a certain redhead coming down the street on her screen, "I just found something interesting. Here's my trusty assistant from just a little while ago. Let's take a look."

"I'm telling you I really felt something try to kill me, Kyoko-san," Takumi frowned as he placed his hands on his hips. He intently watched the video and nearly didn't see the flash of light that streamed across the screen, narrowly missing him. "Eh!?"

"Wait," Matayoshi blinked in surprise, "what was that flash of light just now!?"

"Hmm… We just might have a real live 'Kamaitachi' on our hands here," Kyoko stated as she crossed her arms. "You've probably heard about them before from folktales, right?" she smirked. "Kamaitachi are weasel spirits with claws as sharp as a sickle. To hear the stories tell it, they attack people by appearing inside a sudden whirlwind, cutting their victim's skin sharply in its wake. What probably really happens is that when people's skin gets really dry, it can get cut up by small rocks blowing in the wind… or so we thought." She reexamined the video again. "Looking at this footage, I think it's safe to say that's no ordinary gust of wind. Knowing that, there well could be an actual kamaitachi on the loose in Shinjuku. Hrm…"

"Putting fairy tales aside for the moment…" Matayoshi frowned. "What we do know is that light reflected off something. Maybe the wind somehow, or a blade…"

"Or maybe something else entirely… Who knows?" Kyoko shrugged before looking over her shoulder towards her lucky assistant. "But that light definitely skimmed really close to your head there in that footage. If you hadn't felt anything 'ominous' back there, we might have seen your head pop off your shoulders," she chuckled. "Better stay sharp. You can stay lucky for so long, you know."

"That's not funny!" Takumi frowned at her. "You were the one who told me it was 'nothing'! I could have died back there!"

Kyoko smirked at him as she relayed new instructions to him. "Head back to Shinjuku and investigate the surrounding area. Detective Matayoshi and I will stay here to analyze the footage some more."

"Oh, sure, let me take on the dangerous task," the redhead nervously chuckled. He shook his head as he knew his body was the best equipped to handle the situation. "Well, I have the reflexes for it, I suppose. Alright, I'm going to check it out."

"We'll be doing our own investigating from here, too," Matayoshi nodded to him. "Be safe out there."

Takumi knelt down by a wall and frowned at the scorched building. "There's a thin line coursing here that looks like a burn mark…" he blinked at that. "Wait, a burn mark?" He quickly captured an image of the scene with his Digivice and called the office. "Kyoko-san, can you take a look at this?"

"You found a burnt spot, you say…?" the woman studied his picture. "Hmm… Anything else of note you found there?"

The redhead felt another chill. "It's not evidence, per se, but…" he nervously frowned and scanned the street again.

"What's wrong? Does something feel off again?"

"Yeah, but—" A flash of light caught his attention and he snapped his head towards it. Takumi winced though as something bright blinded him. "Ow!" He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times.

"A flash of sunlight reflected off a window and blinded you? Hmm…" Kyoko brought her hand up to her mouth as she considered something.

"What is it, Kyoko-san?" Takumi asked. He was surprised when Matayoshi took her place on the screen.

"Heh, looks like you froze Kyo-chan for the time being," he told the boy. "Oh, wait, there she goes," the man blinked as Takumi heard some shuffling in the background. "She's moving again. Guess she's looking something up," the detective shrugged.

"Is she alright?" Takumi asked.

The old man laughed at the concerned boy. "Once she's like this, she's lost in her own world. No point in trying to talk with her. Looks like she'll be at it for a while."

"Okay then," the redhead nodded. "But what should I do now?"

"I hate ordering you around since you don't work for me, but would you mind looking around for more clues for us?" he asked. "We've had a lot of reports about this phenomenon come into the police department, so there could definitely still be something left to find."

"Understood," Takumi stated before hanging up. He went further down the street but paused again as he noticed a part of the ground was scorched so knelt down. "There's another one of those burn marks on the sidewalk here…" he muttered to himself. He stood back up and pondered notifying Matayoshi but his entire body began to tingle. "I feel it… that murderous intent again!" He quickly stepped back as a flash of light narrowly missed him. Another beam came towards him but his body automatically dodged to the side. Takumi smirked as he was getting a vague idea of what was happening. "Heh, is that the best you've got!? You're too slow! The jig's up now that I know your trick!" His taunting didn't seem to affect whoever was targeting him though as he ducked another beam of light.

"Hey, it's me," Kyoko called him again. "I've figured out what's going on. The culprit, whoever they are, is using reflections to their advantage. Have you ever heard of the Walkie-Talkie building?" she asked her assistant as he dodged another attack.

"No," Takumi shook his head as he scanned for another strange beam of light. "What about it?"

"It's a super tall skyscraper in London that was at the center of a really bizarre incident," she explained. "Basically, there were cars parked nearby it that mysteriously had parts of them melted and warped." She watched as Takumi dodge to the side. "The cause of it was the building's windows. The panes were installed in such a way they reflected a sunbeam potent enough to damage the cars."

"Okay, but for that to be possible, the panes would have needed to amplify the light as it was reflected," Takumi frowned. "Are you saying I'm dealing with something similar here?" he asked as he sidestepped to his left.

Kyoko shook her head. "In this instance, we're not dealing with sun rays. Judging from the flash of light and those burn marks you've found, we're probably dealing with lasers here."

"Lasers?" the redhead's eyes widened as he realized why his body was able to react accordingly to the flashes aimed at him.

"But this isn't your ordinary laser pointer we're talking about," Kyoko continued. "Only weapons-grade lasers could leave such burns. The question is how someone managed to set them up all around Shinjuku and fire them off without people spotting them… There hasn't been any big power surge in the area… Could there be batteries…? No, wait… The Digital Wave readings are fluctuating weirdly."

"Yeah, I'm faintly detecting a Digimon somewhere," Takumi nodded as he ducked his head. "But the Digital Waves are different here… I can't explain it…!" he gasped as a laser beam nearly tagged his left arm.

"Don't tell me they're using the Digital Waves as a substitute for microwaves in an impromptu 'maser'…? If that's the case, then…" Kyoko seriously looked Takumi in the eye. "Hey, you think you can trust my deductions and your good luck to pull us through?" she asked him.

Takumi frowned as he stepped to his left before jumping back to his right. "Of course!" he nodded. "Like I'd ever doubt your judgment! Let's just hurry and do something!" The boy quickly pulled his arms closer to his body and dodged to his right.

"I like that attitude," Kyoko smirked as the boy suddenly cut his visual display. "Then here's the deal. The culprit is aiming that laser at you using every reflective surface in the area. We're going to use that to our advantage. The fact that a laser is bouncing around towards you means we can trace it back to its origin point."

Takumi ducked into a crouching position. "Alright, so you want me to find said origin point," he nodded. "But how do I do that?"

"To do that, you need to get in the line of fire," she told him. "But you have to time it well or else you'll get a hole burnt right through your skull. Do you get what I'm asking here?"

"A Connect Jump? Straight into the beam itself!?" Takumi's eyes widened.

"As soon as that laser's got you, I want you to Connect Jump into it and dive inside," Kyoko stated.

"Will that really work!?" Takumi jumped to his left and stood straight up.

"If my thinking is correct, that laser is actually a type of Digital Wave."

"That makes sense if my body can sense it," Takumi frowned as he stepped to his right.

"If it is, the instant that beam of light hits something, it forms a connection with the origin point and establishes a faux network of sorts. That's what should make it possible for you to Connect Jump into it."

"Right…" Takumi rotated his body slightly as another laser nearly skimmed past his chest. "I think I'm starting to get it…"

"I know it sounds crazy, but you're easily the luckiest person I've ever known," Kyoko told him. "You can do it! Trust yourself and tackle this head on!" she encouraged her trusty assistant. "Just concentrate. If anyone can do this, it's you!"

"Alright, Kyoko-san," Takumi braced himself for the next beam and stared at it straight on. "Just leave it to me!" he cried out as he extended his right arm towards the laser.

Takumi blinked as he noticed a strange Digimon at the end of the Digital Network. His Digivice quickly ran a scan and identified it as a Tankmon, but the redhead noticed there was something unique about the Digimon's signature. "H-huh…?"

The Tankmon spotted the boy coming towards him and tensed up. "Who are you!?" he suspiciously asked. "How did you find me here!? Are you some army goon trying to take me back!?"

"Army?" Takumi shook his head. "What army?"

"You're not with the army?" the Digimon blinked at the boy. "Well, I'm an optical weapon Digimon that broke out of a certain country's military. I was developed and trained to be a weapon capable of attacking the real world directly from cyberspace. But I hated it," Tankmon frowned. "I hated being worthless to them for any other purpose aside from that. And I hate anybody in the army who just tries to treat me like a weapon, so I ran away."

Takumi frowned at the Digimon as he could see where he was coming from. "So you escaped from the military, but why are you firing lasers in a civilian area?"

"You're wondering why I was attacking the city?" Tankmon shook his head in surprise. "But I was just practicing my techniques over the network to find something else I could do, that's all." He frowned as he realized what had been happening. "Oh, so my lasers were shooting out into the real world without me even realizing it? Sorry about that." The Digimon wryly laughed at his pitiful existence. "Try all I might, no matter how much I run away, I really am just a mean old weapon in the end…"

Takumi smiled and shook his head at the Digimon. "No. You're more than a simple weapon," he reassured the Tankmon.

"I'm wrong?" Tankmon stared at Takumi in genuine surprise. "Because if I was a real weapon, there would have been casualties?"

"That's right," the boy brightly smiled at the Digimon. "Come with me," he offered. "I'm sure I can find a place where you can belong without having to be a weapon."

The Digimon gratefully smiled at the irregular hacker. "You're really someth—"

Takumi blinked as he suddenly received a call from Matayoshi. "Hey, are you okay!?" the man asked him. "You look all right. I'm so relieved to see you again. If something had happened to you, it would have made me look really terrible as a detective. So I'm glad to see you're okay."

"Detective!?" Tankmon glared at Takumi. "I knew it! You lied to me! You really are just a government dog!"

"N-no, wait," Takumi tried to calm the Digimon.

"I'll make you pay for this, you two-faced scumbag!" the Digimon roared. "If you're so desperate to make me a weapon again, then I'll give you what you want and then some! Take this!"

"Tankmon, wait!" Takumi dodged out of the way of a laser. The Cyber Sleuth's eyes widened as his Digimon came out on their own. They didn't even bother waiting for his orders as they quickly rushed to defend their hacker.

"Atomic Blaster!" MegaloGrowmon roared.

"Giga Destroyer!" MetalGreymon (Virus) bared his fangs at Tankmon before shooting his missiles at the weaponized Digimon.

"No! Don't!" Takumi cried out to his team. He gasped as he narrowly dodged another laser. The boy bumped into his WereGarurumon (Black) and the loyal werewolf quickly picked him up and dodged the barrage of missiles, bullets, and lasers Tankmon aimed at them. "Tankmon!" the redhead tried once more to reach the Digimon. "I don't want to fight! I know you don't want to either! Stop it!" He flinched as WereGarurumon (Black) shielded him from the attacks.

"Machine Gun Arm!" Tankmon fired a steady stream of bullets at the team of Perfects. He noticed MegaloGrowmon and MetalGreymon (Virus) rushing towards him.

"Metal Slash!"

"Double Edge!"

Takumi grit his teeth as he noticed Tankmon was still firing his lasers haphazardly around them. Although he really didn't want to, the Cyber Sleuth knew he had to quickly stop the weaponized Digimon before a stray laser really did hurt someone. After taking a deep breath, he looked up to his dark werewolf. "Use Full Moon Kick…" WereGarurumon (Black) growled an affirmative before leaping into the air. With a howl, his attack landed, forcing Tankmon to lower his arms in defeat.

"That's… that's enough." Tankmon frowned as Takumi carefully approached him. "I get it. I'm nothing more than a weapon to be fired off. I know that after fighting you now. But if that's the life I have to lead… Then I wish I'd never been created…"

"No…! That's not true…!" When he was close enough, the redhead reached his gloved hand towards the Digimon as he faded away. The Cyber Sleuth knit his eyebrows together as he stared at the scattering data. After scavenging as much as he could, he clenched his gloved hand into a tight fist before deciding it was time for him to return to the agency.

"So it was a program Digimon made by a foreign military, huh?" Matayoshi frowned at Takumi's report. "I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation, then," he sighed. "Guess I gummed up the works real bad right when you'd won him over."

The redhead glumly nodded as he didn't look up from his gloved right hand. "I… couldn't save him…"

Kyoko brought her hand up to her chin as she studied her assistant. "Hmm…"

"Still, at least it put a stop to things," Matayoshi tried to positively point out, "even though it ended poorly…"

"It really did," Kyoko nodded. "Now it's become a serious situation."

"Hm?" Takumi looked up at her quizzically.

"I mean not only did you find a top secret military weapon, you also, well… destroyed it," she plainly stated. "If we're not careful here, this could turn into an international incident that even threatens our security treaty with that country."

"Just when Japan finally got them to move their bases, too…" Matayoshi sighed as he pulled his cap down over his eyes. "That deal could vanish into thin air because of this."

"Oh, but don't think any of this is your fault," Kyoko told the teen. "Even if it were to lead to World War III taking place, you shouldn't feel guilty."

"B-but I tried to…" Takumi opened his right hand and stared at the yellow circles on the palm of his glove.

Matayoshi began laughing. "Oh, Kyo-chan, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you were actually being serious."

Kyoko chuckled at the older detective. "Oh, but I really am. When am I not?" She paused when she noticed her assistant still frowning into his hand. "Anyway," she seriously told him, "lady luck must really take a shine to you. To tell you the truth, there was actually one other thing that flash of light could have been."

Takumi blinked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"See, if it hadn't been a normal maser, but instead a phonon maser, you, ah, wouldn't be standing here talking to us right now." Kyoko noticed the boy staring at her in shock. "I detected fluctuations in the Digital Waves, which made me immediately determine that they were functioning as a maser substitute. However, there was also the possibility that instead of microwaves being substituted that it could have been ultrasonic waves. Rather than rely on photons, phonon masers, like the name implies, rely on amplified phonons, which makes their properties fundamentally different," she stated as she crossed her arms. "If you'd been facing a phonon maser back there, you probably wouldn't have been able to use it like a normal network line and Connect Jump. Now do you get how lucky you are?" she smirked.

"I… guess…" Takumi frowned as it didn't really make him feel any better about the situation.

"You did some great work out there today, kiddo," Matayoshi told him. "But that's what youth is for in the first place, so keep it up!" the man heartily laughed as he patted the boy's shoulder.

The teen let out a heavy sigh. "Sure…"

Takumi hesitated a bit before handing his completed report to Kyoko. The blonde woman frowned at him as the boy stared at the folder in his hand. Finally, her curiosity got the better of her. "Is there something else about the case you want to look into?"

"H-huh!?" The blue-eyed boy looked up at her in surprise before relaxing a bit. "N-no, but…" He frowned to himself. "I was just wondering… if I could use your desktop… I want to reconstitute the data I collected from the Tankmon I defeated."

The detective stared at him oddly. "Oh? Are you still worried about the weapon program?"

"I'm worried about the Digimon," Takumi's frown deepened.

"That does sound like something you'd say," she stated with a smirk. "Knowing you'd eventually request something like this, I already asked Mirei to analyze the data you salvaged."

"H-huh…?" Takumi stared at the detective with his mouth open. "Y-you did?"

"She told me she'll notify you of the Digimon's recovery once it is complete," Kyoko nodded and kindly smiled at the boy.

"That's… that's a relief," the boy happily sighed as he finally turned in his report. "Hm?" he blinked when he still noticed the detective studying him. "What is it, Kyoko-san?"

"The thing that makes you a very intriguing irregular is your soft-heartedness combined with your knack for pulling at the strings of fate. Besides your ability to Connect Jump into cyberspace, it looks like you can Connect Jump your way into others' fates… Or perhaps, that's a separate ability you have altogether?" She brought her hand up to her mouth. "The ability to connect to the Digital World," she chuckled, "As well as the ability to connect your fate to others, human or Digimon… Truly, you have a unique power. I wonder… if that is what led me to you in the first place."

The detective's assistant stared into her curious gaze and crookedly smiled at her. "What do you mean by that?"

Kyoko shook her head at him but her smirk never wavered. "I'm certain you already know, my dear Watson. After all, nobody else is better suited to be my assistant than you."

"Yeah… I know," Takumi chuckled. "Even without this body of mine, I know," he nodded. "That's why I can never doubt you."

"And why I have absolute faith in your abilities," Kyoko nodded back. She fondly smiled at the bright-eyed boy before accepting his completed case file. "On that note, I agree with what Detective Matayoshi said before, so it's back to work for you, kiddo! Your next task awaits you."

The redhead straightened up and saluted her. "Understood!"

~BROADWAY~FOOD~TOUR~

Kyoko frowned as she set her coffee down. Her newest concoction was missing something but she couldn't tell what. "Ketchup? Mayonnaise? Wasabi?" She shook her head as none of those came close to what it was the coffee was lacking.

Sensing she was getting closer to another round of experimenting again, Takumi quickly saved his report and glanced at the wall clock. "Well, it's just about time for my lunch break, so I'll be going now, Kyoko-san," he quickly stated.

"Lunch?" the woman blinked at him before it finally came to her. "Chinese…" A smile appeared on her face as she gazed at her tense assistant. "That's it. That's the flavor my coffee needs. There's a Chinese restaurant here in Nakano. A good assistant would go check it out."

"E-eh!?" Takumi frowned at her. He paused for a moment as it didn't sound so bad. "So you're saying… I get to write a report on the food for you?" He brightened up at that. "Well, if you insist…"

Takumi shook in anticipation as he stared at the Chinese restaurant. Despite the fact that he had been working in Broadway for months now, the boy had not once set foot inside any restaurant in the mall other than K-Café. Usually, Takumi was running around all over the rest of Tokyo to be able to enjoy a lunch break in Nakano. And if he did get a chance to properly utilize his break, Kyoko would immediately call him back with a new case, forcing the boy to skip out on eating altogether.

"It's not like I really need to eat with this body," the redhead muttered. "But… all the food I'm missing out on…" He chuckled at this rare chance to finally eat to his heart's content. "Even if it is for Kyoko-san's new outlandish coffee recipe, I'd say this is worth it!" He was just about to head inside when he noticed a woman standing outside the restaurant, longingly staring at the entrance.

"Ooh, this place looks nice!" she drooled. She continued staring at the Chinese restaurant for a while before noticing Takumi's gaze. "Ah! Who the hell are you!?"

"If you're hungry, just go inside," Takumi blinked at her as he placed his hands at his hips.

"Huh? If you want to eat, just go inside, did you say?" the woman crossed her arms. "You don't understand!" she shook her head. "A lady such as myself can't simply go into a place such as this unaccompanied!"

"Well, I suppose it is more fun to eat out with friends," Takumi smirked at the restaurant.

"By the way, the other day I saw a girl left alone outside this place," the woman frowned. "She looked so lonely… She was fair-skinned and had black hair… She was looking at the display… Perhaps… Perhaps only I saw the girl…?" the woman mused before shaking her head.

"Hm?" The redhead frowned to himself as a certain friend of his came to mind. "Could it have been…?"

"Aaaaahh!" the woman let out a startled cry. "That girl? Was she a ghost!?"

Takumi knit his eyebrows together at that but sensed an incoming call. He quickly picked up when his Digivice began to ring. "Kyoko-san?"

"So, Takumi," the detective smirked at him, "how's the new body? Have you broken it in yet?"

"It's been nearly half a year," the half-cyber boy shrugged as he stared at his gloved hand. "It'd be a real problem if I wasn't used to it by now. Why do you ask?"

"While you were out having fun, we got another request for the Cyber Sleuth. It's quite a big, complex case," Kyoko chuckled at him. "Once you get back to the office, you can find the case on the white board."

"Eh!? But it's my lunch break…" Takumi sighed as he was going to have to go hungry again today. "Alright… I'm on my way."

Client: Undercover Eater

Place: Broadway

Details: I am an undercover eater for food reviews and I need someone to help me investigate something…

"Eh…?" Takumi began drooling as he stared at the note.

"Takumi," Kyoko looked up at him. "I know it's out of the blue, but… Are you hungry right now?"

"You just pulled me from my lunch break, so yeah," the redhead nodded.

Kyoko crossed her arms and chuckled at his obvious answer. "Kids your age are always hungry! Actually, this case came from the Web. It's quite a strange one. We have a request from someone who ranks gourmet restaurants as a personal hobby. They would like you to go through Nakano and grade the gourmet restaurants here and report back to them." Kyoko smirked as her assistant's blue eyes began to gleam. "The fees and expenses have all been paid up front. I decided it wasn't a risk, so I took it on."

"Awesome!" Takumi bounced up and down. "Thanks, Kyoko-san! When can I start?"

"I have decided to entrust this case to 'you guys'," she nodded to him.

"Huh…?" the boy paused at that. He turned his body as the door behind him opened and his friends came in. "Eh!? Nokia? Arata?"

"Kyoko-san," Nokia brightly smiled, "is that Egg and Rice place really doing all-you-can-eat buffets now!?" she asked.

"Can I really eat for free, Kyoko-san?" Arata asked with a happy smile on his usually sour face.

"You both are joining me!?" Takumi asked them in surprise.

"Yes, it's a present from me to all you hungry little kids," Kyoko chuckled at the trio. "Please, try your best on this one."

"Alright! Food always tastes better with company!" Takumi cheered as he nodded to his boss. "Just leave this to us!"

Arata crossed his arms as the three teens left the agency. "So, the three restaurants we're going to are a Chinese restaurant, a sushi restaurant, and a teahouse."

"Wait…" Nokia frowned at him. "What about the Egg and Rice place?"

The older boy ignored her as he continued addressing Takumi. "It looks like each one of these places is in the Nakano building."

"Aww…" the girl complained. "What about the Egg and Rice place?"

"We can visit the places in any order," Arata nodded. "I'm starving. Let's just go!"

"Come on then," Takumi nodded as he started off for the Chinese restaurant.

Nokia frowned as she chased after the boys. "But… my Egg and Rice…"

Nokia frowned at the dingy restaurant. "Huh? What restaurant is this?" she asked. "This place is kind of run down… Actually," she shook her head in disgust, "it's falling apart. Actually, no," she crossed her arms, "it's a complete dump!"

"You must be blind…" Arata sighed at her as he put his hands into his pockets. "This place looks great! If it's been deteriorating it means it's been here for a long time, which means customers have been coming here for a long time which means it's good!" Nokia paused and considered his words before smiling again. "Great, let's go in!" Arata cried out. "Takumi, what are you having?"

As they took a seat, the redhead smiled as he brought a hand up to his mouth. "Hmm… what should I have? The Chahan looks good, but so does the Mapo Doufu," he thought aloud as he looked at the menu. His eyes widened as he spotted a special option. "Huh? Half a Chahan meal? Hmm… that way I could just have the parts of the Chahan I like the best… Okay, I'll go for that, then."

Takumi closed his eyes and took in a deep breath as the Chinese restaurant staff brought out their orders. "Half a Chahan and a Mapo Doufu. Here you are!"

The redhead opened his eyes after taking in the spicy scent of the tofu and smirked at his meal. "Wow, they give good-sized portions here… This was a good choice!" He brought a spoonful of the tofu dish up to his mouth and the fragrant spices tickled his nose. "Huh? That delicious smell… Ah, yes, it's the Sichuan pepper in the Mapo Doufu… mmm…" He closed his eyes and took a bite, savoring the taste. "Oh! The Sichuan pepper is making a beautiful harmony with the even more delicious star anise!" He opened his eyes and scooped up a bit of his fried rice. "I'm gonna try and put the Chahan in my mouth while the aftertaste of the Map Doufu is still there…"

Arata let out a satisfied sigh when they finished. "That was great! Ohh, that was delicious! Just like I thought," he nodded at the restaurant's entrance, "this place is amazing!"

"That was great!" Nokia agreed. "Crab omelet and egg Chahan with stir-fried mushroom and egg!"

Takumi nodded as he took their opinions and added them to his report. "Alright, hang on. Let me just take some more notes before we go."

Arata chuckled at the working sleuth as he decided to wait outside the restaurant. Nokia followed after the older boy but paused when she noticed a raven-haired girl staring at Takumi as he wrote his report. The teal-eyed girl curiously blinked at the shy girl. "Who are you?"

Yuuko tensed up when she noticed Nokia was staring at her. The quiet girl looked towards Takumi once more before quickly walking away.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Arata asked Nokia. "Come on. Let's go!"

"Uh, right," Nokia nodded as Takumi finally came out of the restaurant. They all headed towards the stairs as the girl let out an excited cry. "I'm coming, I'm coming! The sushi restaurant is next! SSSUUUUSSSSHHHHIIII!"

"What's up?" Arata frowned at her. "You seem tense."

"Because!" the girl cried. "It's a sushi restaurant where the food doesn't come 'round on a conveyor belt! I've never seen that before!"

"Awww," the older boy crossed his arms and teased her, "that's so sad!"

"Uh, what… what!?" Nokia glared at him. "Are… are you making fun of me now!? Have you ever been to a fancy sushi place?"

"Moving on…" the raven-haired boy cast his eyes away from her. "What do you want to eat?"

"Hmm…" Nokia wore a smile as she considered her order. "Well, I'm definitely going for the omelet!"

"Huh? The omelet?" Arata stared at her in disbelief. "Ugh… You don't get it at all!" he shook his head.

"Huh?" Nokia blinked at him.

"Is something wrong, Arata?" Takumi curiously asked the older boy.

"You know, egg was a dessert a long time ago," he told them with a frown. "If you eat something sweet like that, you'll ruin your fish! When you eat sushi, you should always start with white fish. The way the experts do it is they eat clean-tasting white fish first, then fattier fish, then sushi rolls."

"Ugh…" Nokia groaned. "That's so boooring!" she complained. "Jeez, no wonder you don't get any girls. You're such a nerd!"

"Uh, what?" Arata was a bit taken aback by her comment. "I… I wasn't going to…"

"Anyway, let's go inside!" Nokia smiled at the quiet boy at her side. "Takumi, what are you going to start with?"

"We'll see," the redhead replied as he headed inside first. He took a seat at the counter and thoughtfully closed his eyes. "Some people think they know everything about sushi and keep going on and on about it, but the best way to eat it is the way you like it." He opened his eyes and stared at all the different cuts of fish available. "Hmm… Still, I can't decide… At times like this, the best thing to do is to look at the chef's recommendations…" He quickly asked the chef behind the counter and smiled at the man's reply. "Oh, today's recommendation is squid? Okay, I'll start with that, then."

"Sure thing!" the chef nodded to the boy. "One squid, comin' right up!"

Takumi curiously watched as the staff worked. "Okay, they're putting the sushi on my plate… You certainly don't get this kind of treatment at a cheap conveyor belt sushi place…" he stated with a nod. "Now then…" he stared at the squid before him. He carefully picked up a piece with his chopsticks and studied it carefully. "Wow… it's plump, springy and thick… It really looks delicious!" He carefully reached for a soy sauce dispenser with his left hand. "I'll just put some soy sauce on it and pop it in my mouth…" he closed his eyes as he began slowly chewing. "Hmm… Oh, that's amazing! The squid is a little bland, but the al dente texture and the unique taste complement each other beautifully! Okay," the boy smiled as he opened his eyes, "now that I've worked up an appetite, the next one is…" he eagerly ordered more until Nokia and Arata had enough.

"That was delicious!" Nokia declared as Takumi quickly finished taking notes for his report. "Uff! I'm stuffed! That was absolutely delicious!"

"Mmmm…" Arata nodded in agreement. "So this is what an expensive sushi place is like…" he mused aloud.

"Huh?" the girl blinked at him. "You… You, you never knew what you were talking about, did you?" she teasingly asked him.

"Huh?" Arata frowned at her. He shook his head and glared at the younger girl. "Well at least I didn't just order fish eggs! Everything you've ordered so far is eggs! You're obsessed! Also, when you left the restaurant, you said 'Oaisou', didn't you?"

"I just wanted to try it out once…" Nokia chuckled. "Is that not right?"

Arata sighed at her. "Well, 'Oaisou' comes from the term 'aisou wo tsukasu'. It's used by the staff to talk to the customers, never the other way around."

Nokia blinked at the older teen before deciding to ignore him. She quickly turned towards Takumi and noticed he was busy writing. "Hey, Takumi, wouldn't it be best if you wrote the report?"

"I'm working on it right now," he nodded with a smile. "Don't worry about it."

"Cool, that's great!" Nokia smirked at him. "That way I can focus on the eating part!"

Takumi laughed at her simplicity. "Isn't this case just the best?"

Arata frowned as the girl continued to ignore him. "Hey… Don't just ignore me!" he scolded the two of them.

"Sorry, Arata," the Cyber Sleuth chuckled. "Let's go back downstairs. The teahouse is there."

The two others followed him to the teahouse across from the Chinese restaurant and Nokia blinked at the variety of dishes being offered. "Wow, this place sure does have a lot of options for a teahouse!"

Arata nodded in agreement as he stared at the pictures posted at the teahouse's entrance. "Curry, pancakes, salty mackerel set meal… Looks like this place serves all kinds of food," he noted. "So what are you having?" he asked the girl standing beside him.

"Hmm…" Nokia scanned the pictures once more before her eyes widened. "Ah! They have an egg set meal! Free second helping! This is the Egg and Rice place that Kyoko-san said had an all-you-can-eat buffet!" she brightened. "Aww, but they have a rice omelet meal as well!" Nokia smirked at the thought of the dish. "Mmmm… rice… omelet…!"

"All right, let's go inside," Arata nodded. "Takumi, what do you want to order?"

Takumi smiled as he brought his hands to his hips. "I'm not sure yet, but let's get seated." He led the way inside and took in the restaurant's atmosphere. "A teahouse? Cool, I like the retro feel of his place," he nodded. "The menu has so much on it… I really can't choose!" he smirked at all the different types of dishes. He paused when he spotted something interesting. "Huh? Neopolitan pasta." The redhead crossed his arms as he continued talking to himself. "Obviously the best pasta is from a pasta restaurant, but I like this place…" After a few seconds of deliberating, he nodded to himself. "Okay, I'll go for it!"

"Your Neapolitan, sir," the waiter set the pasta before him. "Here you go!"

The Cyber Sleuth smiled at the pasta's presentation. "Nice, bright red tomato sauce on thick spaghetti…" he stirred through the dish and nodded in satisfaction at the noodle's consistency. "Wow, this place really does good Neapolitan pasta! And look at the chopped sausage on top…" he poked a piece of it with his fork. "I can't resist!" Takumi carefully took a bite of both the sausage and pasta together. "Wow… After the taste of the tomato sauce is gone, the spice of the chili comes in strong. This is no kids' dish! Mmm…" he nodded in approval as he continued eating. "Not bad at all!" He paused as the waiter had placed small dish of grated parmesan off to the side. Takumi smiled as he decided now was the best time to apply the cheese. "Well, the thing about putting grated cheese on top is, some people put it on before they start, whereas I prefer to add it halfway through."

When they were finished, Nokia let out a satisfied sigh as she finally got her Egg and Rice plate. "That was delicious! Uff, I'm stuffed!"

"The price and taste are astonishingly good…" Arata stated as he crossed his arms. "The range of foods on the menu is very wide… Just what you'd expect from a Nakano restaurant," he nodded in approval.

"Yeah!" Nokia agreed. "Looks like this place has a lot of regulars!" she pointed out to the customers.

"Wow, you were really hungry today!" the older boy frowned at the tiny girl. "That's the first time I've ever seen one single human stomach take such a beating…"

Takumi laughed. "You're one to talk, Arata," the redhead shook his head. "The three of us went to three restaurants together back to back!" He patted his stomach and chuckled. "Is anyone up for a fourth?"

Arata and Nokia blinked at him in surprise. "You're still hungry!?" the older boy shook his head at him. "Don't you have work to do?"

The blue-eyed teen paused at that and looked down at his report. "I think I'm done with this report. I guess it's time to get it back to the office," he sighed in disappointment now that their eating spree was over.

"Did you write the report, Takumi?" Kyoko asked her assistant as they returned.

"Sure did!" Takumi brightly smiled.

"Yeah," Nokia smiled at the multi-page report Takumi had been working on. "The report is good but it's a pain in the ass to read…"

"While we were eating, this guy just kept talking to himself and never spoke a word to the rest of us…" Arata frowned at the younger boy.

"But the food was so good and I had to get every detail of it down!" Takumi cheerfully chuckled.

"Wow…" Kyoko raised an eyebrow at the essay her assistant managed to write in just a short amount of time. "I never thought you'd have such a talent for writing reports…"

"So, by the way," Nokia curiously crossed her arms, "who is this undercover tester client anyway?"

"They kept their true name hidden," Kyoko answered. "I only know their Web handle, so I don't actually know… And anyway," she sternly looked at the girl, "even if I knew, I have to keep that information confidential, so I couldn't say…"

"Whaaaat!?" Nokia frowned at the woman. "Oh, come on, Kyoko-san! I really want to know! This undercover examiner… Who the hell are they!?"

Takumi brought his hand up to his mouth thoughtfully. "I sure would like to meet them… This person sounds like they love food, but it's a bit sad knowing they didn't try the restaurants out themselves… Next time, I would like them to join me… I hope they send in another request!" the boy exclaimed with a smile.

"Oh, no matter how talented an assistant you are, it's useless investigating something so pointless," Kyoko reminded him. "Another case might come in. But in any case," she smiled at the three stuffed teens, "You must be ready to burst after all those restaurants. How about some coffee?"

Takumi tensed up at that. "N-no, we're fine!"

"Actually," Arata shrugged as he put his hands into his pockets, "coffee sounds good."

"Arata…!" the redhead shook his head at him.

"I'd like some too," Nokia nodded.

"Nokia…!" the Cyber Sleuth looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. "D-don't…!"

"We can try my new blend," Kyoko happily nodded to them. "Yuzukosho and sour cream!"

"What!?" Arata and Nokia cried out as uncertain frowns appeared on their faces. They looked towards Takumi and only saw their friend shaking his head at them for not heeding his warnings.

Final Notes: So Tankmon joins the team, but I don't think I have Takumi using him much. He gets used a lot more later on when I give Takumi his Ultimates to work with. Mainly because I like Darkdramon... But that's not until way later... I mean, he barely uses his Clockmon but that could be because he's never fighting Vaccines... Takumi really is sympathetic to Digimon... It can't be helped since he understands their plight! That and I'm pretty sure his friends are just using him too, not that he minds. As for the food tour, that type of case is my favorite case because it's the most personality the game gives Takumi in one spot. He certainly knows exactly how he enjoys specific foods and his descriptions kinda make me hungry. Also... I'm still uncertain about how his body works. I'm guessing he doesn't need to eat or sleep as much as he used to since it's only half bound by reality. If anything, he can probably just survive on his own recovery supplies, right? I mean... his body is pretty convenient, but then again... it's also inconvenient too...