U/N: So this is my first chapter in the kid's perspectives. I mean I wrote an Emiko one shot forever ago, but this is my first one here at least. And fittingly, it's Jou's kid. Jou was the first character I wrote for the series as a whole, so there you go. Uh, well I guess this is Renjiro, and he was kind of fun. We worked pretty diligently on giving each of the children a different personality from each other and from the characters we've seen so far. We also were pretty serious about their plot lines, but as I've mentioned before, they were originally going to be in a legitimate trilogy series that we just decided against writing for obvious reasons. Anyway, so here's this, I hope you like it. I'm not a big Christmas person myself, but I guess I like Christmas music which is pretty much enough to get the Christmas mood going. I dunno. Anyway, here you go.

Title: Here Comes Santa Claus

By: UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Chapter 03: How To Catch A Liar

Renjiro Kido:

"Here you are, little brother," Emiko said in such a dramatic voice as she held her arm out rigidly in front of her. In her hand were two shimmering slips of paper that she was offering to me. It seemed suspicious that they were free, and I was expecting something to go wrong. Perhaps when I took them it would enrage Monmon and he would attack me again, or there was glue on my end of the paper and they would stick to my hands. Whatever the ploy was, I was sure she didn't expect me to fall for it.

So, I ignored her, turning away and returning to the computer set on the table in front of me.

"Uh, hello?" Emiko asked, sounding rather annoyed. I didn't buy it; she could change her tone easily to help make any scheme go more smoothly. "Renjiro? I'm talking to you!"

I sighed and let my fingers hover over the keys of the computer. I finally turned to look up to her again and saw genuine annoyance on her face. That was odd. Her facial acting always needed more work. "Right now I am preparing my essays to send away to universities, Emiko. I don't have time for your games. Go prank Dad or something."

"I already did prank Dad," Emiko sighed, her shoulders drooping. "He just didn't notice."

"Mayonnaise in the shampoo bottle," I guessed easily.

She laughed and nodded her head with a faraway look etched into her eyes as if remembering a fond old memory. "Yeah," she heaved a deep sigh and then turned back to me. "Whatever, this isn't a prank you twerp, these are tickets to my show. I want you go come."

"Oh!" I turned to her, finally giving her my full attention. Emiko had only been going on and on about the show for months. She didn't even live with us anymore—though she did still live in the Digital World portion of our house which was now essentially closed off to us because she had taken claim over it all—and I had still grown weary of her babbling. I never complained though. Her dancing was something she loved and she had been in many shows, and even went on tour as some popular singer's backup dancer. I was never allowed to go because it had been too 'risqué' for me at the time, which was just silly, because it had only been three years prior and I was eighteen now. Fifteen was plenty old to see anything. My solid argument for everything—which was 'Dad, you were thrown into a dramatic adventure at the age of twelve, I can do...' and the blank would be filled in with whatever it was I wanted to do—hadn't worked even, so this was one of the first times I would be able to actually see my sister in action. I reached out and took the tickets, realizing now that there were two. "You're not going to make me pick which parent I bring are you?" I asked in horror.

"Oh that would be good," Emiko said with a diabolical smirk, "but no, the other one is for Kana." I felt my face flush and I diverted my eyes. "You don't have to look like a wounded puppy whenever someone says her name," Emiko groaned as she lazily slunk across the kitchen floor to the cupboards. She found a bag of chips and she jumped up to reach it better. When she still could not reach, Monmon moved quickly and leapt from the refrigerator to get it for her. She smiled to him and then turned back to me, opening the bag. "She's your girlfriend, right? So flaunt that. Unless some cute girl has something you want. Then you flirt with her—but never cheat—because then you get what you want and it's amazing. Make sure she's cool with that though."

As usual Emiko showed exactly zero signs that she understood even the tiniest bit of my personality, and so I turned away. I had my tickets and I would support her, there was nothing more to be said, and I really did have to work on the essays.

A moment into my writing I felt a presence behind me and knew Emiko had come nearer. And then there was a loud chomping right in my ear and I sighed, folding my hands on the counter in front of my laptop. I looked over my shoulder to Emiko who beamed down at me and held out the bag of chips to me, offering me some.

Figuring she would leave if I played along, I reached my hand into the bag and immediately jumped back, retracting my hand sharply. Inside the bag was some kind of black sludgy substance. I looked to my hand as some of the droopy liquid spilled onto the floor by my feet and then back to Emiko who was laughing.

"How did you do that?" I asked, trying to understand. I had just seen her open the chip bag! I had heard her eating them! And then my eyes fell to Monmon on her shoulder who was holding the recently opened bag and eating chips all the while. I groaned and turned to the sink as Emiko and Monmon headed for the door, likely plotting something against Mom or Bukamon, but likely not Bearmon who wasn't afraid to bite back—literally.

Emiko stopped in the doorway and turned back, pointing to me, "Don't miss my show. It's the seventeenth."

I hesitated as my hand rested under the running warm water, realizing there may be an issue there. "B-but—" I turned and saw that Emiko was already furious. "That's the day of Tenshi's audition."

She cocked her head to the side and her eyebrows flew ten miles high. "Oh, so your friend's audition is more important than your dear sister's very first ballet performance?"

I weighed the options in my head and sighed. "I guess not." I had to admit that she had a point. Besides, no matter how important Tenshi's audition was, I knew it was also not the final callback. He would have to go back one more time if they let him continue. I was excited for him though. He was a year younger than Kana and I but was just as dedicated to getting into post secondary schooling as the two of us were. His cello skills were impeccable now and he was genuinely in the running to be permitted into one of the most prestigious music schools in all the world. Probably in all nine worlds. "I'll be there, I promise," I told Emiko. "I'm sure Tenshi will understand."

Emiko beamed joyously and then gestured to the window above the sink. "Also, your girlfriend's here."

"Wait, what?" I asked, looking out the window and saw that Emiko was right. Kana was marching her way down the driveway politely walking right down the middle. She was wearing her school bag which could only mean that she was here for homework—but there was something unusually chipper in the way she was smiling. I hurriedly finished washing my hands and my heart dropped when Mom walked in the room. I never much enjoyed her being around when Kana was. She was too... mom-like, for lack of a better term and I always felt rather pressured to be polite and respectable, if I wasn't that way already.

I tried to be, but I was pretty clumsy. I guess I took after my dad. Or that's what Mom always said, but I had heard the story of their first date. It seemed pretty likely to me that I inherited the awkwardness from both the Inoue and Kido bloodlines.

Kana grabbed the sliding side door and slid it open without knocking. It was a typical thing for her to do since she had come to our house every day for the past twelve years straight, but because of her mother's teachings she had been so polite and it had taken quite a long time for my mom to convince her that it was okay to just come right in.

Kana's eyes darted to me the moment she entered the room but she turned to my mother and bowed politely before shutting the door behind her. "Hello Mrs Kido, how are you this evening?"

Mom smiled in a way only she could and placed a bowl into the sink before looking over to Kana, "I'm quite alright, how are you doing Miss Hida?"

Kana blushed and turned away, pushing her hair behind her ear, "I'm actually really nervous." Mom looked to me for more information but I didn't know. We both gave Kana our complete attention and watched as she pulled her backpack off and set it on the counter by my computer. She opened it up and pulled out a thick yellowish envelope that was about the size of my textbook. "It's my acceptance letter."

Mom looked like she was ready to explode with excitement, "You seem so sure it's an acceptance!"

"I hope so," Kana nodded, looking back to the envelope, "but that's why I'm nervous."

Mom looked to me in that way she did when she was trying to tell me something. I knew she wanted me to comfort Kana and be there for her—which I would be, I didn't need her to point it out to me. I widened my eyes and gave her the most childish look I could and she threw her hands up in surrender. "Okay, I give up," she began backing away toward the door, "Good luck," she shot to Kana before disappearing.

I hurried to Kana's side and looked to the envelope. It was pretty packed. They wouldn't send so much just to say 'no' right? I saw that the corners of the envelope had been bent back several times like she had contemplated opening it again and again. She looked to me, worried, but I nodded my head and then all at once, with her eyes shut tight, she ripped the top off.

It was rather anticlimactic. I had half expected a dancing monkey toy to pop out and sing a song to congratulate her, but as it was, there was still more to do to build our anticipation. Kana wasn't patient though and she grabbed the contents and tugged them right out of the envelope, thrusting them in my face. "You have to read it!"

I nodded without thinking and took them from her hands, scanning the words. "Kana," I said, reading them over one more time with a tinge of jealousy. She looked up worriedly, so I flashed her my biggest smile, "You got in," I told her.

Her reaction came in three parts. First her shoulders fell in a sense of relief, but then her face lit up with true realization and then all at once her fists pumped into the sky and she let out a loud, triumphant, "YEAH BABY!" She began laughing as she lunged forward and threw her arms around my neck, kissing me. It always surprised me when she did that, but it wasn't unwelcome. She was grinning again as she began dancing around the room in a way that almost looked like she wanted me to join in her one woman conga line. I loved how the two most prominent sides of her were so very different. She was so unpredictable and amazing.

But all at once she stopped. There was a moment of pause and I understood why. We looked to each other and then she held up her acceptance letter once more to look at it. "I-I'm sure yours is on the way, right?"

"R-right," I nodded, trying to smile. I was happy for her. I had never been this happy for her. We had worked toward this moment together for several years and now it had come for her. I could not put a damper on it with my own worry that I may not get to join in that joy soon enough. I decided to change the subject before she began questioning me. "Emiko gave us tickets to her show!" I blurted the words rather foolishly and reached for the tickets on the counter, offering one to Kana.

She looked it over and smiled. "Ooh, The Nutcracker, that sounds dramatic," she grinned up at me. She began reading all of the details, since she was Kana and being 'detail oriented' was the first thing on her resume—both her personal and her professional ones. "Oh it's on Tenshi's audition day. We'd better let him know we can't come. This is a big deal. It's the school of his dreams."

I nodded awkwardly, feeling the conversation coming full circle back to my missing acceptance letter. I had already internally panicked in the three and a half seconds it had taken for Kana to read the ticket and decided that the reason I hadn't received my acceptance yet was because it wasn't coming. I hadn't gotten in and Kana and I were going to have to break up because we wouldn't be going to the same school and she would fall in love with some athletic tanned guy who talked in a cool foreign accent and I'd be at home alone drowning in a puddle of my own tears of failure.

We had been together for so long already. We couldn't break up now!

"Hey Kana," I had said, my voice catching in my throat. I began coughing loudly and Kana looked panicked and startled, clapping my back to help me. She offered me some water from the bottle in her hand but I shook her off. "No—no, I'm fine." She nodded but seemed unsure. "I want to talk to you."

"Sure, of course," she agreed, relaxing now that I had caught my breath.

"You're my best friend," I told her, my nerves getting the best of me. I could feel my legs shaking and I crammed my hands into my pockets to ensure she wouldn't see how much they were sweating.

"I know," she smiled, "You're my best friend too. And you're the best lab partner ever. We're definitely going to win this science fair."

I looked around to the other stations and was glad to see that we were still the only ones here. Kana had insisted we arrive twelve hours early just to ensure that everything ran smoothly. I was not running smoothly. "R-right," I nodded. "I just want you to know that you're my best-best friend and that you're the most important human being to me. I specified human because Bukamon's pretty amazing."

Kana smiled and nodded, "I got that, actually."

"And I was wondering if you'd want to be more than just lab partners?" Kana froze at my words and her water bottle slipped from her hand and fell onto the table, smashing into the button that we had prepared for our show. A moment later chemical reactions had set off from every which way and bubbles shot out at every angle all around us and then a moment later they had all been turned to ice from the reaction to the oxygen in the air and they fell apart, turning into small flakes of ice and snow raining down around us.

Kana stared to me through the snow as it fell around us and blinked twice before nodding, her face bright red. I felt relief pour through my body and I sighed, leaning back. Kana stepped toward me and kissed my cheek. Then, "The lasers didn't shoot, the proton accelerator didn't do it's job and the magma stayed put. That's weird. We have a lot of work to do. Good thing we're here early."

I decided that it was time to change the mood of the day entirely. I slammed my computer shut and said finally, "Let's go shopping."

"Perfect!" Kana agreed excitedly, "We have to do that Secret Santa thing for Louisa." I rolled my eyes. It was common knowledge—at least to her closest friends, which I was proud to say included me and Kana and the only other person in her inner circle was Tenshi—that the only reason she had started the Secret Santa at all was so she could either receive a present from Haruki Motomiya, or to give one to him instead. She had tried to trade with me, thinking I might have him, but it was against her rules to let her see who we had, so she was stuck with whatever 'unacceptable' person she had drawn from the hat. It had been obvious to us since she was eleven years old that she had a crush on Haruki and yet it had taken this long for her to act on it, or so it seemed. I could remember the first moment I knew she was in love.

"Louisa," Haruki said, "I'm really sorry for pushing you over."

"You're a jerk, Haruki," Louisa said bitterly, crossing her arms and turning her head away.

Haruki held out a hand to her, "My mom is about to have a baby, and you have to come see. I don't have anyone to wait with and I know how much you love babies."

Louisa looked up to the boy who was still reaching to help her to her feet and she nodded, reaching up. He hoisted her to her feet and began dragging her across the field. Louisa looked over her shoulder to Kana, Tenshi and I and we all smiled as the two of them hurried toward the hospital.

It was like a light had clicked in her mind. He knew a single fact about her and so they were soul mates. That was how simple her logic seemed to be anyway. I wasn't entirely sure how she worked that out in her mind, but I wasn't sure I would ever understand Louisa.

But today Louisa was nowhere to be found. Kana, Bukamon and I were in the mall alone together, and even though there were plenty of things to keep my mind off of the idea that I wouldn't be going to school with the only girl who I had ever wanted to have feelings for—and the only person I had ever called my best friend—I just couldn't stop my mind from wandering in that direction.

Then finally, Kana stopped in front of the brightest flashiest store in the entire mall. Bukamon looked up to the sign from where he sat in my arms. He didn't seem particularly excited to go inside. "I'll probably pick a dumb present anyway..." he had said. Kana gently rubbed the top of his head. Sometimes I had to just sit and wonder why Hideto ever thought the crest of pride made any sense for me. Even Bukamon had no confidence. The two of us together were like the least proactive team ever because neither of us seemed to have any hope that we would accomplish anything at all. But we had to keep trying—because the fate of the worlds rested in our hands, supposedly. I had done extensive research on the idea and had yet to figure out how exactly that was the case. It all came back to the Cycle of the Crests of course.

Kana was already making her way down the aisles, so Bukamon sighed, and nodded up to me, telling me he was ready, and so I followed after her, squeezing through the crowd. I caught up to her at the end of the first aisle and she was looking at some colourful powder that was meant to change the colour of a fire. She hummed thoughtfully for a moment and then put it back on the shelf. "We'll need a present for Emiko, right?" she asked.

Wait. How did she know who I had drawn from the hat? "Why?" I asked suspiciously.

Kana's face flushed, "B-because she's your sister! You need a present for her, right?" I nodded, feeling relieved. I didn't think it mattered too much if she knew I had drawn my sister from the hat, but I just didn't feel great about being so obvious about it. I wanted to be able to keep a secret, even if I'd never willingly do so from Kana. "Do you think she'd like this?" Kana asked holding up an ornate box that held seven different whoopee cushions. I shook my head and Kana sighed, looking through the discount bin. I knew neither of us were short on money, but I was also sure Emiko didn't need anything too expensive. I wondered if there was a price limit on the Secret Santa thing. Probably not with how successful all of our parents were. Surely we would be asked expected to buy expensive gifts.

Kana and I made our way down the aisle and I stopped momentarily, when I noticed Bukamon eyeing up a flashy ball that was designed to follow movement. That could be annoying, which meant I knew Emiko would love it. I was checking the price when I noticed Kana toss something into the silver basket that hung from her wrist. I looked closer but she had moved the basket behind her and I saw nothing. Kana was looking weird. She was amazing, but she was a terrible actor.

"What's that?" I asked.

Kana turned to me and pretended to be shocked, but at the blankness of my stare she sighed, and showed me the basket. I looked in and saw an entire set of realistic looking pens that were all made to shock the user. I smirked. It was a perfect gift for Emiko. "Good idea," I agreed, "she'll love that." Kana forced a smile and nodded. Then it hit me. Why was she hiding that from me if it was my gift to Emiko? I tried to think who else might enjoy the present—who else could Kana have in the draw? Perhaps she had developed a rival, or a nemesis without telling me and secretly was plotting revenge. But that seemed unlikely.

I was suspicious.

I was suspicious because it involved my sister.

I reached for the weird, annoying ball. "I'm buying this for the draw," I told her as casually as I could. "The person I have is going to love it." Kana looked suspicious now too and I knew my apprehensive nature had proven useful once again. "Kana, are you Emiko's Secret Santa?"

She sighed loudly and her shoulders drooped dramatically. "Yeah!" she cried out. "Was I that obvious?"

I felt my nose crinkle up as I tried to think of an explanation for it all. It was possible that her name had accidentally been placed in the hat twice, right? Then it became more troubling when I remembered that she had been the one to write the names for the draw.

I whipped my phone out and called Tenshi immediately. He picked up without hesitation. "Hello!" he said, sounding rather pleased to hear someone's voice. He had probably been practicing his cello, and forgotten what it was like to have human interaction again. "To what can I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Tenshi, who did you get in the Secret Santa draw?" I asked sharply. Kana looked confused now but leaned closer to hear into the phone. The store was loud though, and I was sure she wouldn't be able to hear his response.

"Uh," Tenshi hesitated, "I'm sure we're not supposed to say—"

"It's Emiko, isn't it?" I asked sharply.

Tenshi was silent for a moment. Then, in a quiet voice, he muttered, "Yes."

I hung up the phone immediately and reached into Kana's basket, hanging the pens back up. I grabbed her hand and dragged her from the store, dropping the silver basket in the bin on the way out. Kana and Bukamon were confused and wanted to know what was going on, but I didn't explain right away. Instead I made my way to the Drop-Off center and began pressing the right buttons, entering the pass code to Emiko's computer in her house. And then the light enveloped the three of us and we all appeared in Emiko's kitchen where Azura was doing the dishes, looking to us all rather confused. "Where's—"

"Living room," he cut in. I nodded my thanks and followed his directions, entering the living room with my arms crossed. I stood in the doorway, looking down to Emiko who laying in a pile of unfolded laundry, with a lollipop hanging out of her mouth.

She caught sight of me and looked up, eventually spinning herself around so she was sitting. She pulled the candy from her mouth and cocked her head again, confused. "What's up?" I tightened my arms, crossing them more firmly across my chest and let my eyebrows move higher.

Emiko realized what I was here for and she let out a sad kind of laugh. "It was worth a shot, right?" she asked feebly.

Featured Evolution Line: Renjiro: Pichimon—Bukamon—Crabmon—Dolphmon—Divermon—MarineAngemon