Author's Notes: So I ended up altering the title a bit from "No Stopping the Gale Girls"... First off, 'typhoon' was written in the original Japanese chapter title and I don't know why it's plural in English since I'm pretty sure it was only referring to Nokia. I mean, the chapter is split between Nokia and Arata, but I doubt Arata would want to be known as a "Gale Girl"... Typhoon suits Nokia since she starting now is when she learns how to whip up a storm of change within the world of hacking! Go for it, Nokia! But first... we begin with Kishibe Rie...
"And so…" Kishibe smiled as she began, "It has come to my attention that the acquisition of the Nile Corporation by Kamishiro Enterprise was illegal. Some rotten underlings did it on their own, with no permission. And although this was years ago…" she continued, "It was categorically the wrong decision and as such, I ceerrrtainly will not let it slide! With. That. Said…" she rested her pointer finger on her bottom lip as her smile grew wider, "Everyone who was even slightly involved, from the vice presidents on down to the delivery boys… I fired them all, each and every one!" she cheerily declared. "Moving. On… From here on out, I shall run the company personally, as its CEO. In a complete change from the old organization, I shall now control the company directly," she giggled. "Decision-making will be faster and we'll be able to provide a string of new services our customers demand. I'd like to start by taking the first step today. There's a very major project I've had in mind for a while now that I'd like to announce!" Behind her Yuuko frowned at the woman but remained silent as the new CEO of Kamishiro Enterprise continued her public announcement. "And. That. Is… A major update to EDEN, our flagship service and the cornerstone of people's lifestyles everywhere! With this new update, you'll be able to do that! And this! And maybe even those things!" she suggestively smiled. "The details are still. A. Secret! But we'll be hosting an early-access demo event for people to try these new EDEN updates as soon as possible! Please join us and experience for yourself our new sincerity, along with the new possibilities offered by EDEN!" she giggled.
Takumi clenched his teeth together as he had been watching Yuuko stand behind the crazy lady the entire time. The poor girl seemed upset but it was clear that she had been in no position to say anything. Takumi blinked though when Kyoko suddenly shut off the television.
"We got slammed," Matayoshi shook his head.
"Indeed," Kyoko sternly crossed her arms. "Our opponent is not to be underestimated. They really got the upper hand."
"Just what exactly happened?" Takumi asked as he turned around to face the detective sitting across from them.
"We were about to launch a raid on Kamishiro on the basis of the materials you obtained for us…" the old man crossed his arms, "when there was a lead in the form of an internal announcement at Kamishiro regarding the raid."
"So then…!?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together.
"In other words, they admitted their guilt before we could pursue any charges," Kyoko frowned.
"Can they really do that?" the boy asked in surprise.
"My superiors fell for it completely," Matayoshi sighed. "They put an end to the case by seizing the evidence we'd prepared and arresting a scapegoat."
"It's a matter of speculation," Kyoko nodded, "but I suspect that it was Kishibe who ordered that announcement."
"This press conference must be part of her cunning scheme as well," Matayoshi mused.
"But if Kishibe was involved with those dealings, how come she's not taking the fall?" Takumi asked.
"She probably figured that if she got it to the press first, she could avoid the apologies and explanations that would invariably come later," Kyoko brought her hand to her mouth. "But to couple that with announcements of her becoming the new CEO, as well as these new large-scale EDEN updates, all at the same time…"
"Give 'em the ol' razzle-dazzle," Matayoshi placed his hands into his pockets. "It's the Kishibe Show she's running and she knows it."
"On the other hand, we did get evidence proving a connection between Kishibe and the Demon hackers," Kyoko pointed out.
Takumi shook his head. "It's no good. Even Yuugo said so."
Matayoshi nodded at the teen. "All the accounts associated with the Demons have somehow been magically erased. It'll be tough to identify them in the real world."
"I see," Kyoko's frown deepened.
"I'm sorry, Kyo-chan," the detective lowered his gaze. "Just when we finally had Kamishiro by the tail, they got away."
"No need to apologize," the woman shook her head. "Even if we'd rushed into things earlier, it probably would have all turned out the same."
"Given it's Kishibe we're dealing with," Takumi sighed, "that actually seems pretty likely…" He tensed up as his Digivice let out a strange squeaking quack, notifying the teen of a new DigiLine message. "E-eh!?" the boy pulled it up as both adults in the room frowned at him.
From Nokia: URGENT! At K-Café. What's up? COME SEE ME!
"Great," Kyoko sighed at him. "Just when we were having a serious talk," she shook her head. "At least use a ringtone that doesn't suck all the dramatic tension out of the room."
"S-sorry…" Takumi apologized with a sheepish chuckle. "But it looks like Nokia needs me."
"Oh? A call from Shiramine Nokia?" Kyoko hid her smirk behind her hand. "Don't worry about us then. Just go."
"Are you sure?" Takumi asked with a tilt of his head. "What about Kishibe Rie?"
"You know the saying, 'Strike while the iron is hot'?" she asked him with a smile. Her assistant nodded before she continued. "There's nothing we can do for right now. Waiting for her to make the first move is a valid plan on our part."
"Alright," the redhead nodded as he stood up. "I understand. Please call me at once if you need anything, Kyoko-san," Takumi seriously told her before leaving.
After the boy left, Kyoko crossed her arms and closed her eyes to consider their current situation. Matayoshi frowned at her before making a suggestion. "We could put your assistant's skills to use." Kyoko remained silent though so the old detective crossed his arms and smiled. "I swear… that kid might be a godsend from your father, sent from the great hereafter."
The woman finally opened her eyes as she finally said something that had been on her mind for a while now. "Maybe rushing into things might not be the worst idea," she seriously stated. "Just a little bit."
"Hm?" Matayoshi gave her a questioning frown.
"There's no guarantee that half-cyber form will be able to sustain itself forever," she continued, thinking back to Takumi's increasing sensitivity to the Digital Waves, "and if Kamishiro finds out whose body it is at the hospital…"
"It won't end well, will it?"
"Or possibly…" Kyoko narrowed her eyes as she brought her hand up to her mouth.
"Huh?"
"It could be that they're leaving Takumi alone on purpose," she conjectured, "that they've known the truth for a while now." She frowned as she worriedly thought back to her soft-hearted assistant. "He's probably already realized it himself… I'm surprised he's taking this so well." Kyoko chuckled since she already knew why Takumi was being so patient. Her eyes went up to the frame hanging above the agency's window as she considered their next steps.
"Like I said!" Nokia glared at Arata. "The day of reckoning has come for hackers who want to use Digimon for evil purposes!"
Takumi finally arrived to the café and noticed Nokia was riled up about something. "Nokia, you called for me?"
"Oh, Takumi!" Nokia frowned at him. "You're late! Why are you always late like this?"
"I was in an important meeting with Kyoko-san," the redhead shrugged as he waved to Arata.
The older boy nodded to him in acknowledgement before turning back towards Nokia. "Back to what we were talking about," Arata shook his head at her. "What do you mean by 'day of reckoning' exactly?"
"Isn't it obvious!?" Nokia glared at him. "We'll take out the hackers and save the Digimon!"
"Hey, uh…" Arata frowned at the girl's ridiculous proposal. "Isn't that a bit high-handed?"
Nokia frowned to herself. "Losing to Fei earlier made it very apparent that I don't have the chops to do this on my own! That's why I'm planning on forming a Tamer group, to face off against those mean ol' hackers!"
"Tamer group?" the raven-haired boy blinked at her.
"You've both heard of a hacker team called 'Jude'?"
Takumi blinked as he noticed Arata slightly tensed up but the older boy quickly relaxed. "Jude?" Arata asked with a shrug. "They were a hacker team that was active a little while ago, right?"
"That's right, Arata! I should've figured you'd know your stuff," Nokia brightly flashed him a smile. "Although the members of Jude were hackers, they never did anything evil that would have bothered ordinary users or Digimon!"
"So what are you getting at?"
"We can form a powerful team by gathering hackers like former Jude members and other like-minded folks!" Nokia suggested. "We'll call ourselves Rebellions! And we'll protect Digimon and EDEN from evil hackers!" Arata stared at the girl, wondering if she was serious, but Nokia didn't seem to notice as she smiled at the boys. "Whaddya think? It's a totally great idea, right? Don't you think the name kicks butt?"
"More than the name itself," Takumi crookedly smiled at her, "are you really sure about this, Nokia? Someone needs to lead a hacker team, you know."
"Arata would be our leader, of course!" Nokia nodded. "There's no one else better for the job!"
"Arata…?" Takumi looked towards the seated teen.
"What?" the raven-haired boy scowled.
"Well, you're such an incredible hacker!" Nokia praised him. "You saved me that time I was attacked in Cron! Oh, and you'll be a part of it too, Takumi!" she turned towards the redhead. "It's okay! Don't worry! I'll make you the Vice Assistant Leader! Okay?"
"But I'm already a Cyber Sleuth…" Takumi nervously stated, not really wanting to commit himself to a hacker team.
"There, then it's decided!" Nokia stated, ignoring both teens' wishes. Arata closed his eyes and frowned to himself as he patiently put up with the hyper girl for a while longer. "Is 'Rebellions' a good name? We could also go with the 'Digimon Helpers' or DigiHelp for short!"
"No thanks," Arata finally spoke up, dashing her hopes before they rose any further.
"Eh?" Nokia paused and frowned at him. "Y-y-you won't do it? Wait, why not? How come?" She knit her eyebrows together before trying to put on a smile. "Oh! Is it because you don't like the word 'leader'? W-well, if that's the case, you can be the boss, or the captain, or whatever you prefer."
"I don't have time for your game of make-believe," the older boy sternly told her.
"G-g-g-game of make-believe!?" the girl asked with a hurt expression on her face.
"Arata…" Takumi frowned at the older boy. "Nokia seems pretty serious about this."
The raven-haired teen frowned at both redheads. "I'm busy searching for the cause of that crazy sickness. You can go do what you want," he told Nokia. "Hey, Takumi," Arata got up from his seat.
"What is it?"
"Is this really the best time for you to be hanging out with someone like her?"
Takumi's frown deepened. "Even if it isn't, it's not like I can just turn my back on her," the Cyber Sleuth replied.
Arata sighed as he expected that to be the soft-hearted boy's answer. "I need to talk to you. Come to Shinjuku later. I'll be waiting."
"Arata…" Takumi stepped out of the way as the older teen left without another word.
Nokia glared at the door as it closed. "What's up with that? This biiiites!" She shook her head as she decided to forget about the difficult boy. "Fine! He doesn't have to join us. We can do it without him! Right, Takumi?"
Takumi knit his eyebrows together as he took Arata's seat. "Nokia, you have to seriously think this through," he told her before deciding to help her sort out a few details she was obviously overlooking. "First, there's recruitment and membership to consider…"
Arata blinked when he noticed a raven-haired girl standing outside the café. "Huh?" The girl didn't seem to notice him staring, but Arata suddenly recognized her from somewhere. "Hey, you," he called out to her. "You're Kamishiro Yuuko, right?" Yuuko let out a surprised gasp as she turned to face him. Arata flashed her a smirk and placed his hands in his pockets as he wondered why she was here. "I heard about you from Takumi. What are you doing in a place like this?"
"Kyoko-san told me what was going on," Yuuko simply replied before looking around the hall. "She said Takumi-san would be here."
"Oh?" Arata's eyes widened in curiosity. "You have business with him?" He pointed at the café behind him. "He's in there," he stated before scowling, "with the loudmouth." He shook his head and tried to forget about Nokia and her ridiculous idea. "You had a very serious look on your face. What were you looking at?"
"Oh, nothing…" Yuuko looked away from the taller boy.
Arata raised an eyebrow at her before glancing at the flyer posted on the wall.
Monthly Special: Hamburger Set Menu! Huge Portions! Thick and Juicy Hamburgers! Extra Rice Free, Year-Round!
The raven-haired boy stared at it with wide eyes. "That looks like something only Takumi would…" he frowned before looking back at Yuuko who was still avoiding his gaze. "Are you hungry?" The girl didn't reply as the two awkwardly stood in silence. "O-okay, then," Arata shrugged it off, deciding it was best to just leave it at that. "I'll see you around."
Yuuko watched the older boy walk away before glancing at the poster once more.
Nokia let out a frustrated yell. "I'm so angry! What is it with that hood-wearing punk? He must be thinking he's all that! Look at me! I'm such a nihilist! I'm so cool! I'm so hot!"
Takumi knit his eyebrows together as he was confused as to how she got back onto the topic of Arata. "N-nokia… calm down…!"
"Hmph!" the girl crossed her arms. "Well, whatevs! This means… It means… There's only one solution…" She gave Takumi a determined glare. "I'll be the leader!"
"EEEHHH!?" Takumi nearly slipped out of his seat.
"What's that look for?" Nokia frowned at him as she crossed her arms. "You don't have to be so shocked! Or dubious! Takumi! You'll help me recruit new members, yeah?"
"U-uh…"
"What!? Why that big, long pause there? You don't wanna? You don't want to? Now I'm reeaaally worried about the future!"
"Well, of course, I'll help," Takumi nodded. "But please tell me you have a realistic goal…"
The girl chuckled and nodded. "No need to worry! I've got a clear goal in all this!"
"And that is…?"
"I think Yuugo from Zaxon will understand what I'm saying a little better!" the excitable girl smiled. "Whatever will be, will be! Where there is a will, there is a way! Let's start out by trying to invite Yuugo."
"I don't think he'll join…" Takumi blinked as he remembered the light-haired boy's personal mission to preserve EDEN, whatever that really meant.
"Oh!" Nokia ignored him. "And we gotta keep Fei completely out of it!"
"Why?" Takumi frowned and tilted his head to the side.
"Well, she's kind of a creeper, isn't she?" Nokia frowned. "She talks funny and her style is a bit, uh…" She shook her head. "She's definitely a pervert! Pervert with a capital P!"
"Pervert," a voice from the entrance spoke up.
"Hm?" Takumi looked over towards the entrance of the café and blinked as he fell out of his seat. "Ah…! Yuuko-san…!"
Nokia looked over to see who it was. "Eh? Is she a friend of yours, Takumi?"
Yuuko watched as the red-haired boy picked himself up from the ground. "It seems you're in the middle of something," she stated. "I'll come back some other time."
"Oh no, we're not in the middle of anything!" Nokia cried as the other girl turned towards the door. "We're certainly not talking about perverts!" Nokia paused when she noticed Takumi was frowning at her.
The Cyber Sleuth shook his head as he tried taking a step towards his regular client. "Yuuko-san, do you have another case for me?"
"Huh?" Nokia blinked as she recognized that name from somewhere. "Whoa, wait up! Aren't you Kamishiro Yuuko-san? From Kamishiro Enterprise?"
Yuuko blinked at her. "Yes…"
"Whoa! She really is your friend, Takumi!" Nokia exclaimed to the boy.
"Well, I wouldn't go that far," Yuuko frowned at Takumi.
"She's a client," Takumi nodded in agreement.
"So hey, does that mean that we're friends, too?" Nokia asked.
"Eh!?" Yuuko looked at the girl in surprise
"I mean, right? The friend of a friend is a friend," Nokia smiled at the raven-haired teen. "That's been the way of things since like forever!"
"Yes… well…" the other girl looked away from them.
"Nokia," Takumi sighed, "We're not really—"
"I'm Shiramine Nokia!" Nokia introduced herself to Yuuko. "Call me Nokia! Or Akkino if you like! That was my nickname back in elementary school!"
"Um, I…" Yuuko's eyes darted towards Takumi.
"Can I call you Yuuko-chi?" the red-haired girl asked. "Oh, or 'Yuuko-rin' would be totally adorbs!"
"Nokia…!" Takumi shook his head before flashing Yuuko an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Yuuko-san… but ah… you have another case—?"
"I… I'll be back later!" Yuuko told him before hastily turning around and leaving the café.
"Yuuko-chi!" Nokia waved. "See you later!"
"Nokia…" Takumi sternly crossed his arms and frowned at his best friend. "Yuuko-san is an important client of mine. You can't just casually speak to people I have professional relationships with like that."
"But the funny thing about you is that you've got some pretty well-developed relationships considering how poorly developed your character is," Nokia smirked at him.
"Eh? Poorly developed?" the boy blinked at her.
"Anyway!" Nokia brightly smiled at him. "Let's go to Cron and find Yuugo!"
"Sorry, but I'd better see Kyoko-san first," Takumi stated, curious over whether Yuuko stopped by the office.
"What? You're going to report in at the agency?" Nokia nodded as she understood. "Roger that! Let's meet in Cron, then! Same place as before! Hurry up!"
"Well, that was fast!" Kyoko smiled at her assistant as he returned. "Are you done with your business with your friend?"
Takumi looked around the office but frowned when he noticed Yuuko wasn't there. "Sort of…? Nokia went on about starting a Rebellions group. She ended up upsetting Arata with that before freaking Yuuko-san out about a friend of a friend being a friend… And now Nokia and Arata both need my help with something."
"Rebellions?" the woman blinked at him. "The friend of a friend is a friend?" She crossed her arms and shook her head. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but you seem the type to be easily embroiled in trouble," she smirked at his soft-heartedness.
Her assistant crookedly smiled at that. "I guess…" He shook his head and stared at the empty sofa. "Is no one else here?"
"Hmm? What happened to Detective Matayoshi? He just went home a few minutes ago. We're going to wait for Kamishiro to make their next move. For now, you have some free time."
"So Yuuko-san didn't…?" Takumi frowned to himself. "Well… I guess she'll come back later anyways…"
Kyoko nodded and smirked at him. "Helping your friends might be a good use of your time right now. You never know how the wheels of fate will turn. After all, as they say, 'One good turn deserves another'."
"I'm pretty sure that's not how that saying goes," Takumi told her.
"Huh? 'One good turn deserves another'," she repeated herself. "You're saying I'm using that proverb wrong?"
"Maybe," the redhead shrugged. "You're not wrong, but I don't think the way you're using it is completely accurate either."
Kyoko chuckled at his boldness. "If that's what you think, go look up the correct meaning." She returned her attention to her computer as she got back to work. "But haven't Nokia-kun and Arata-kun called for you? It's fine to take a break from this, so go see what your friends need."
"Alright," Takumi shrugged. "It's rare for you to give me time off for this sort of thing anyways. I'm going now."
"Have a safe trip," the detective smiled as the boy Connect Jumped into the TV.
"Darn it, Takumi!" Nokia cried out as the Cyber Sleuth ran towards her. "You're late again! I knew you'd be late! What would you have done if some creeper had come on to me like before!?" she asked.
The redhead smiled at her and placed his hands on his hips. "No one's coming on to you," he chuckled.
"What? Hang on… What?" the girl frowned at him. "And just what do you mean by that?"
"Hey, Nokia," Gabumon tugged on her jacket. "What's a come on?"
"Oh, right… Um, that's when…" the girl took a moment to come up with an explanation for the Digimon. "It's this kind of, um, courtship ritual that some idiotic males do when they're after a sexy cute bod like mine."
"That's… completely wrong," Takumi crookedly smiled, "in more ways than one…"
"I'm not sure I quite get that," Gabumon frowned, "but it sounds pretty scary."
"Yes, it is scary," Nokia seriously frowned. "But if the guy is hot, I might be okay with it…"
"What are you talking about?" Yuugo asked as he happened to be passing through the area.
Takumi and Nokia whirled around to face him. "Whoa!" the girl cried in surprise. "Yuugo!" She brightened as she saw the legendary hacker. "What, ah, what a coincidence, running into you like this! What terrific luck I have!" Yuugo narrowed his eyes on her as he came closer. "It's like this chance encounter was destined to happen! I was just thinking I wanted to talk to you about something, too!" Nokia stated. The light-haired hacker knit his eyebrows together and frowned at the girl as she explained her motives to him.
When she was done, Yuugo looked away from the novice hacker. "I understand what you were saying."
"Good!" Nokia nodded.
"Zaxon solidarity has been more tepid lately," he stated.
"Good, good!" Nokia closed her eyes and grinned, happy the light-haired boy understood.
"A number of us are acting so brashly as to draw interest from other hacker teams," he continued.
"Good, good, good!" Nokia's smile grew wide.
"But don't you think pitting power against power will only result in unneeded chaos?" Yuugo asked her.
"Eh?" the girl's smile fell.
"As I thought…" Takumi seriously stared at Yuugo's calm expression.
Yuugo coolly looked towards Takumi and placed his right hand on his hip. "Someone needs to reunite the hackers of Cron," the Zaxon leader told them, "and restore EDEN to its former state of order. But that someone is not you, Nokia," he dismissed the girl. "It's me." He prepared to leave but Nokia called out to him.
"WHAAAAT!? H-hang on! Wait a sec!"
Yuugo didn't pause to give her a chance to speak as he walked away without looking back. Takumi crossed his arms as this was turning out exactly as he predicted. "Yeah… That's Yuugo of Zaxon for you…"
"What the what!?" Nokia shook her head. "I'm completely lost! But I CAN do it! Can't I, Takumi!?" she turned to her friend.
Suddenly put on the spot, Takumi averted his gaze and scratched his cheek. "W-well…"
She quickly screamed at his response. "Now I'm totally desperate! This is the pits! I'll just go around Cron soliciting any and all hackers I happen to come across! Then I'll have, like, a buttload of hackers with me and we'll beat the others at their own game!"
"But that's exactly what Yuugo was—"
Nokia raised her fist into the air and let out a battle cry. "Follow in Akkino's footsteps, folks! Follow me!" She ran off with Agumon and Gabumon in tow before Takumi could stop her.
The boy took in a deep breath before sighing. "I'd better come along in case something does happen… Which it will… I'm certain of it."
"Awwriiiight!" Nokia declared. "I'm off to get me some Tamers! Step one: raiding the Zaxon and Demon hideouts! The Demons broke up, so they don't have anything better to do. And I bet there're some freelance Tamers in the Zaxon forum, too! Time to roll out!"
A stray hacker in the Zaxon forum frowned at the two redheads that came up to him. "Trying to recruit hackers, huh?" he asked. "Sounds like what the Demons were doing," he shrugged.
"No way!" Nokia frowned. "Don't lump me in with those jerks. This is completely different! I mean, for starters, that went like that because of that! And then what else could you do but this, geez! Get it!?"
"Not one bit," the boy shook his head. He looked over towards Takumi who was sighing at the girl's nonsensical explanation. "Hey, you explain."
"Our aims are different," Takumi told him. "We're trying unit hackers to become Tamers for the Digimon."
"Huh… That's actually kind of cool," the hacker smirked at that. "In that case," he nodded to Nokia, "maybe I should be asking you if you'll take me as an ally… Leader."
"No prob!" Nokia grinned. "See, since I gave you such a good explanation, it's pretty easy to understand!"
"Let's make this a great team," the newly recruited hacker nodded.
Takumi chuckled as they started for the Demons' hideout next. Seeing a few hackers here and there, he quickly approached a capped boy and asked him about joining Rebellions. "A Tamer group?" the hacker blinked at him. "Sounds like a pretty weird team. I don't have any strong feelings either way about joining, but… I wonder what my buddy would think."
"Well," Nokia smiled, "I think you and your friend should both join! Where are they?"
"Uhh," the boy looked around, "probably somewhere around here…"
"Got it!" the girl nodded. "I'm gonna go ask them, then! C'mon, Takumi!" She giggled as they started off towards another hacker milling about. "If this all goes well, I get two members in one fell swoop! Yeah, I rock at this!
"Okay, but aren't I the one doing most of the work?" Takumi jokingly asked, only to have her ignore him as she approached another stray hacker.
"Okay, buddy," Nokia smirked at the boy. "I like the cut of your jib. What say you join us? We're gathering people to form a hacker group!"
"Making a hacker group, eh? That's a big accomplishment," the boy nodded. "But rather than assume you're just as accomplished, I'll see for myself just how strong you are."
"Nokia!" Takumi quickly pulled her aside as the hacker suddenly summoned his Digimon on her. The Cyber Sleuth activated his Digivice too before sending his team forward. "Perfect Virus Nanomon and Adult Vaccine Kabuterimon… Rapidmon, Andromon, and Lilimon! Go!"
Agumon and Gabumon frowned as they quickly jumped into the battle too. "Baby Flame!" Agumon cried as he tried attacking the Nanomon.
"Petit Fire!" Gabumon roared at the Kabuterimon.
"Plug Bomb!" the small robot Perfect cried as he fired bombs from his fingers.
Andromon quickly countered the attack with his Spiral Sword as Rapidmon circled the small Digimon. The cyborg poodle finally pointed his arm cannon at Nanomon before firing. "Rapid Fire!"
Gabumon jumped towards the Kabuterimon, ramming his horn into the giant bug. "Little Horn!"
Lilimon giggled as she followed up with her own attack. "Flower Cannon!"
Takumi let out a relieved sigh as the battle quickly came to an end. "Good job, everyone."
"Hm," the hacker nodded at the two in approval. "So you're more than just talk. Okay, I'll tag along. Nice to meet you, Leader," he shook Nokia's hand.
"Same to you!" the girl grinned. "Let's get even stronger together!"
"You're pretty strong as it is," the hacker smirked.
Nokia nodded to him before spotting a boy in the back of the hideout. "Hellooooo! You!" she called out to him. "Yes, you, what're you doing?" she asked as she approached him. "I'm starting a new hacker team! I just know you're interested, right?"
"A new hacker team?" the boy frowned at her. "Why?
"To become closer to Digimon!" the girl nodded as she answered. "And to stop evil hackers! That's why I'm forming—Rebellions!"
"Huh… Sounds interesting," the boy nodded. "Fine, I'll help you."
"Really?" Nokia's eyes widened at how easy that was. "Yesss! Ally count—ding!—plus one! This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"
"Some of the guys I hang out with might be interested, too," the boy shrugged. "You should ask around."
"You mean that guy by the entrance?" Takumi asked, turning around. "Alright then." He returned to the first hacker and nodded to him. "Your friend ended up saying yes."
"Oh, so my buddy joined your team?" the hacker smiled. "Then sure, I'll join, too."
Nokia nodded in satisfaction before turning towards Takumi. "I think that's enough members for now. I mean, look at us. We look like a proper team! Hell yeah, Operation: Get Members—great success!"
Nokia gathered her new team at Galacta Park before letting out a triumphant yell. "I did it! This ought to be enough! Today marks the formation of Akkino's Rebellions! Okaaaay! Now we can protect Digimon from mean ol' hackers!" She raised her fist into the air as Agumon began jumping up and down to cheer her on. "Everybody, follow me! Rebellions, fight on!"
Takumi watched as the four boys ran after her into Cron. "Hm…"
"Where…" a voice asked from behind him, "is she going, I wonder?"
"No idea," the redhead shook his head. He jumped in surprise when he realized he was speaking to the legendary leader of Zaxon. "Y-yuugo…!?"
"What's the matter?" the light-haired boy asked. "You look awfully surprised. Did you think I was a ghost again?" he smiled.
"No, that wasn't it," Takumi shook his head. "It's just… I didn't expect you to stick around after Nokia spoke with you."
"If…" Yuugo worriedly brought hand up to his mouth to hide his concerned frown. "If she happens to face off against truly evil hackers, I want you to step in and protect her."
"You're awfully worried about her," Takumi noted, tilting his head to the side.
"I can't bring myself to let her put herself in any real danger in her zeal to protect Digimon," Yuugo explained. "Moreover… I don't want to see EDEN claim any more victims," he nodded to Takumi.
"Yuugo…?" Takumi frowned as he sensed the legendary hacker was referring to EDEN Syndrome. Sadness filled the redhead as he stared down at his own body. He paused when something about the Zaxon leader's avatar resonated with him. "Hm?" Looking up towards Yuugo, Takumi thought he saw a glimpse of his ghostly lookalike. "Yuugo… are you really…?"
"We'll meet again," Yuugo quickly turned away from the Cyber Sleuth.
Despite the Zaxon leader's adamant avoidance of interrogation of any sort, Takumi let him leave as he crossed his arms. "You really are too kind," he smirked to himself. "People like us can't help but try to do what we can, but you shouldn't try to do it alone…" Takumi shook his head as he remembered he had another friend expecting him. "Arata said to meet him in Shinjuku… I hope he hasn't been waiting too long."
"Hey, you're late," Arata smirked at Takumi when the redhead finally arrived. "Well, I knew you'd come. By the way… Is Nokia okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Takumi smiled. "But if you're so concerned about her, you should check up on her yourself, Arata."
"Whatever," the older boy frowned at him as he tucked his hands into his pockets. "You should learn to mind your own business. When all's said and done, people with a half-baked sense of justice and a superficial sense of responsibility are the worst."
Takumi frowned at the raven-haired hacker. "What do you mean?"
Arata shook his head and hid his frown behind the collar of his jacket. "And for her trying to be leader…" he closed his eyes and sighed, "She knows nothing about bearing responsibility."
"I'm sure she'll learn once she sees how difficult it will be," Takumi stated. "I believe in her earnestness and willingness to try."
"But never mind that for now," Arata quickly changed subjects, "I wanted to talk to you about that Suedou guy."
The redhead narrowed his eyes. "Why?"
"You remember him, right?" Arata crossed his arms. "The strange Kamishiro researcher who was studying mysterious phenomena? There was something he said that's been bothering me. Actually, I retraced our steps and saw him again the other day…"
Takumi seriously studied Arata's face. "What happened?" he asked before patiently listening to the older boy's recount of the encounter.
Suedou chuckled to himself. "It really isn't very polite to follow someone, you know," he said before turning around to face the curious boy. "I suppose this is payback for the other day, Sanada Arata-san."
Arata chuckled at the man before smirking. "You caught me."
"Is there something I can do for you?" the man asked.
"Yeah," the boy seriously nodded. "You said something before that bothers me. I wanted to know more about your investigations, too. Think I could take a peek?"
"My, your attitude is so splendidly cynical," Suedou giggled. "And you harbor such an interest in my work, too!"
"I want you to tell me everything you know," Arata nodded, placing his hands into his pockets. "About EDEN Syndrome, the Eaters…"
"I will, of course, share whatever I know. It must have been fate that brought us together here!" the eccentric man stated before sharing his research with the boy.
When he was done, Arata crossed his arms. "If, before logging out from EDEN, your mental data is destroyed by an Eater, you lose the ability to wake back up," he summarized. "I see. So that's the reason behind this bizarre sickness?"
"Indeed," Suedou nodded. "Although that is still just a hypothesis," he smirked. "But to think that logging in to EDEN could have an impact on the physical body in the real world! Don't you find that fascinating?" he chuckled.
"And?" Arata pressed him even further. "How is the syndrome cured?"
"That, unfortunately, I do not know," Suedou shook his head, "Yet. I do have something interesting on Digital Shifts, though."
"Don't keep me hanging here!" Arata narrowed his eyes.
"We've identified a pattern in Digital Wave abnormalities that trigger the Digital Shifts. There's always a certain amount of external interference immediately prior to a Digital Shift. After that, the Digital Wave increases in bandwidth and the Digital Shift happens."
"Interference?"
"Yes!" the scientist nodded. "Which means… Someone or something is controlling these Digital Shifts," the man wore a wide smirk. "That's one conclusion we can reach! Well, that's also nothing more than conjecture, actually."
Arata crossed his arms and frowned. "Someone's intentionally causing Digital Shifts?"
"If you're interested, why not do some more research?" Suedou asked. "A study into what exactly is controlling the Digital Shifts. But I have to ask," the man curiously stared at the teen. "Why are you so interested in the Eaters and EDEN Syndrome?"
The raven-haired boy narrowed his gaze again but didn't answer the man.
"So why are you looking into this, Arata?" Takumi asked. "Are you still worried about what happened to Nishino-san?"
Arata wore a small smile as that was a part of it. "I just really want to know what the cause of this bizarre illness is. I wonder if there are any clues around here. I want to try and search the area." He studied Takumi's serious expression and knew the redhead was also interested in EDEN Syndrome. "And for you, the ship has already set sail, no? Come on. Give me a hand."
"Alright," Takumi nodded and smiled at the older boy.
"Because we gotta!" Arata nodded. "Okay, let's go!"
Both boys ran around Shinjuku, searching for a sign of a Digital Shift before Takumi noticed something strange with the EDEN access point. He paused and stared at the flickering terminal before detecting the faintest trace of a distortion. "H-huh…?"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Arata blinked at the younger boy. "Why the sudden investigation of an EDEN spot?"
"I can feel it connecting to a special network…" Takumi absently said aloud as he considered what to do with this discovery.
"What? You detected a special network?" Arata frowned at the boy's answer. "Apart from the connections to EDEN?" He shook his head as Takumi wasn't making any sense. "Hey, hold up, what are you talking ab—?" Not wanting to lose the connection, Takumi held up his right hand to the terminal and performed a Connect Jump. Arata blinked as the redhead suddenly disappeared into the access point. "Huh!?" He quickly looked around for his friend in confusion. "Gone, without a trace! Whoa, whoa, whoa! What in the hell is going on!? Where in the hell…?" He frowned to himself as this was no time for him to panic.
"Where am I?" Takumi frowned as he looked around the digital network. "This is no ordinary network," he stated as he managed to get a feel for the road ahead of him. "It's much, much bigger and more expansive. Are these… rapids in the Digital Wave!?" He shook his head as the best way for him to get answers would be to travel the network itself.
When he emerged on the other side of the network, he looked around before establishing he was in Asakusa. He was about to call Kyoko but his Digivice began to ring.
Arata let out a relieved sigh when he saw Takumi show up on his screen. "Aha! I finally got through. What happened just now?" he asked the teen. "What the hell did you do!?"
"It'll take a while to explain, but it looks like I'm in Asakusa," Takumi told him.
"Uh, anyway, I'm headed your way now!" Arata shook his head. "I want to hear everything about what happened!"
Arata crossed his arms when Takumi finished explaining it to him. "I see. So you have EDEN Syndrome, too. You were devoured by an Eater. So Suedou's theory was right. And your Connect Jump ability… You can do that because your current body is…" Arata stopped speaking and looked away. "What I mean is…"
Takumi blinked at the older boy. "What is it?" he asked with a tilt of his head.
"Sorry!" the raven-haired teen apologized. "I should never have left you behind like that!"
Takumi laughed at that. "It's fine, Arata. I was more concerned about you and Nokia making it out and I'm more or less okay."
"Don't worry about it?" Arata frowned at the soft-hearted redhead. "You really are… too kind." He chuckled to himself as he now understood why Takumi was involved with the detective agency and Suedou's research. "Well, I guess that's that. We have yet another reason to investigate EDEN Syndrome. Let's expose the truth of this story. So we can get your body back, too," he nodded.
"Right!" Takumi nodded but he suddenly tensed up as he sensed a massive distortion in the Digital Wave around them. "Ah!"
"Huh? What's wrong?" Arata blinked at the Cyber Sleuth. "Did someth—?" He winced as the area suddenly warped. "This… This is…" Arata frowned at the appearance of the labyrinth. "So the phenomenon we're investigating just so happens to occur right where we've wound up? That's too perfect to be mere coincidence. Jeez!" the older boy straightened up to regain his composure. "This keeps catching me off guard! Hey, you're coming too, right?" he asked Takumi.
"Of course!" the redhead smirked.
Arata chuckled at his obvious response. "Good, 'cause we have a clear target now!" Both boys prepared their Digivices. "Okay, let's go!" They started into the labyrinth together and took a moment to get used to the new scene. Arata smirked as he crossed his arms. "It never ceases to amaze me, the sight of the Digital World, where the real and electronic intersect. This place looks like it always did before, like a dive without an exit. So all we have to do is take out that monster and change everything back to normal."
Takumi and Arata paused when they noticed the faint image of the ghost boy ahead of them. Arata crossed his arms and frowned. "That was… That was the Ghost of the Pale Boy that we saw earlier! So if the previous pattern holds… That monster must be nearby, right?"
Takumi nodded as he could feel the Eater was close. "Yeah…"
"Huh!?" Arata paused when he sensed people behind him. Both teens turned around to see a curious group of adults following them. "Hey! Hey, what are you guys doing?"
"Um…" a man in a suit began. "W-we thought if we followed you we'd find the exit…"
"I already told you! I don't need a whole crew of tagalongs following after me!" Arata scowled at them.
"Whoa," the man blinked at the thing behind them. "What's that!?"
"An Eater!" Takumi prepared for a battle.
"Heh, just as I expected," Arata smirked. "Here it comes." He blinked when the Eater ignored them though. "What?" He gasped as the Eater wandered towards the group of people around them. "Hang on… Seriously? What is that thing doing?"
"Arata! We need to stop it!" Takumi cried. He was about to send his Digimon forward but the Eater continued swiping its tentacle at the random bystanders before it began to glow in a strange light. Soon, the nautilus shell took on a more humanoid shape.
"So it transformed after devouring a person?" Arata frowned. "Takumi! Keep your guard up! There's a theory that it's stronger after transforming!"
"Right!" the Cyber Sleuth nodded as he called out to his Digimon. "Let's go!"
"Rapid Fire!" Rapidmon quickly circled the Eater and fired at it.
The Eater reeled back a bit but Takumi frowned as he noticed this form of the Eater was a lot sturdier than before. It began charging its data before stretching his arm out towards the aerial Digimon. "Look out for its Melt Processor attack!" Takumi quickly cried out as Rapidmon narrowly dodged the Eater's arm.
"Chrysalimon! Go!" Arata called out to his Digimon. "Data Crusher!"
The purple Digimon shot his tentacles at the Eater. The Eater turned towards the Adult Digimon before the two attacked each other from afar. Takumi used this chance to have his three Digimon pelt the Eater with attacks.
"Flower Cannon!"
"Gatling Missile!"
The Eater faltered a bit but charged its data again before attacking. Arata jumped back as Chrysalimon tackled into the Eaters arm, but the hacker noticed something strange about the Eater. "Hey, Takumi! It's guard drops each time he charges up! Let's hurry up and take it out!"
"Right!" Takumi nodded as the Eater charged up again. "Okay, now! Xros Combo!"
"Data Crusher!"
"Gatling Missile!"
"Flower Cannon!"
"Rapid Fire!"
The Eater convulsed as it began eating itself from the inside out before vanishing in a spew of dark smoke. Arata crossed his arms as he stared at the point the monster once stood. "It really was as strong as theorized after all," he stated with a nod. "Huh!?" his eyes widened as the labyrinth around them returned to normal.
Takumi and Arata took a look at their surroundings before the Cyber Sleuth let out a relieved sigh. "The labyrinth's gone."
"Whew… So taking out the Eater makes everything go back to normal, same as always," Arata nodded. "That's a relief! But still," he shook his head and looked towards the people collapsed on the street. "We took down that monster, but something is still controlling the strange phenomenon and we don't know what. Same goes with that syndrome. We didn't get any new info."
"Oh-ho!" a voice called out. "Then that means…"
Takumi frowned as he and Arata turned to face the man approaching him. "Suedou," the redhead suspiciously glared at the man.
"You!" Arata blinked at him in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I came when I detected the Digital Shift!" Suedou explained. "Were the two of you caught up in it, perchance?" he asked, while staring at Takumi.
"Yeah," the redhead curtly nodded.
"I see. Well then, why didn't you say anything?" the man asked him. "That's not the sort of thing to keep mum about!" Takumi clenched his fist as there was no way he was going to share any information with this man. Either Suedou didn't notice the boy's hostility or ignored it because he continued questioning both teens. "And? Was there something new this time around?"
"Ah, yeah," Arata nodded. "Well, it was powerful. So much so that the monster could transform after eating someone."
Suedou placed a hand on his forehead and chuckled. "That is very interesting indeed! That information fits into a new theory I am postulating!"
"A new theory?" Arata asked, placing his hands into his pockets and eager to hear more.
"It seems that an Eater changes its form bit by bit to reflect what it incorporates into itself," the man smirked. "By incorporating human data, this Eater was able to attain a form that was close to human. Could it be that the Eaters have come to find more simple digital data unsatisfying? It could be attempting to incorporate data from humans, which are organic life forms."
"Human data?" the raven-haired boy frowned. "What the hell for?"
"I don't know yet. Not for right now, at least," the scientist shrugged. "Thank you very much for the valuable information."
"Hey! Wait!" Arata called out to him before the man could leave.
"Ah, yes," Suedou nodded to the taller teen. "Things have been left unsaid. I know you're a big fan of mine. I find you rather agreeable, myself."
"What?" the older boy frowned at him. "What a creepy thing to say. No, I…"
"Your outlaw spirit, wanting to stay unencumbered," Suedou smirked at the kindred spirit. "Your rebellious streak, you desire to defy things greater than yourself… So many possibilities are open to you, Arata-san. Let us meet again. Very soon, I hope."
"Jeez, I couldn't get a word in edgewise," Arata glared at the man as he walked away. "And then he just up and disappears. There really is something fishy about him," he nodded to Takumi. "Is he really just interested in research?"
"You should be more careful around him, Arata," Takumi warned his friend.
"Okay, I've made up my mind," the older boy smirked as he crossed his arms.
"What is it?"
"I'm going to look into things until I know for sure what Suedou and Kamishiro are really all about," Arata nodded. He took a deep breath.
"Alright," Takumi nodded. "Do you have some sort of plan?"
"Hm? How am I going to look into them?" Arata's smirk grew. "By sneaking into Kamishiro Enterprise, of course."
"Eh!?" Takumi stared at the older teen in surprise.
The veteran hacker laughed. "It should be easy, right? As long as we use your Connect Jump and my hacking expertise!" he nodded. "Besides, we have connections, don't we?"
"Connections?"
"I need to think up a plan," Arata nodded. "I'll be in touch."
Takumi let him walk about as he considered the situation for himself. "Maybe it's best to leave it to Arata then… I'd better report back to the office in the meantime."
"You're awfully late, aren't you?" Kyoko chuckled as her assistant finally returned.
"Did something happen while I was out?" Takumi asked in alarm.
"No, no, it's fine," she reassured him. "It's not like there's been any real movement here."
"Maybe not here," Takumi crossed his arms.
"What? There's been movement?" She noticed the seriousness in the teen's eyes and smirked. "I knew I had it right. 'One good turn deserves another'. Give me the details on what happened." Takumi nodded as he gave her a full report on everything he did and watched as Kyoko suddenly brought her hand up to her chin. "Hmm… You should let Nokia-kun do as she wishes. She's not as thoughtless as she looks, or seems," the woman told him. "Her response clearly comes after a lot of careful thought. We have no right to stand in her way."
"Alright, but I'll still have to keep an eye on her," Takumi nodded. "What about Arata?"
"I think Arata-kun's got the right idea about sneaking into Kamishiro," the detective crossed her arms and smirked. "Let's wait on him to form our strategy." She chuckled as this was one less thing she had to work on herself. "Things have certainly gotten a bit more exciting, haven't they? You can't really help but get a rush from it!"
"If you say so," Takumi shrugged as he wondered where this would all lead.
Final Notes: Suedou really is creepy... He probably means well, but still very creepy. And Arata is still trying to be cool. He's probably just as soft-hearted as Takumi, but it's a bit infuriating since he doesn't really act on it, even though he wants to. But that's just a part of his character, I suppose. One could say he's just being pragmatic, but... I don't think so. I seriously wonder sometimes what Yuuko wanted from Takumi when she visited the cafe, but I guess it wasn't that important. The main thing with Yuuko there is I guess introducing her to Nokia and Arata in the most awkward way for her as possible. Poor Yuuko... But the stage is now set for the main hacking teams of the game! I seriously think Takumi doesn't allow himself to join any hacker team because he's friends with too many people with a lot of different opinions. That and he's already helping each team through his job as a Cyber Sleuth. Can't go upsetting the balance of EDEN now...