Okay so here is episode 4. In here, you get to learn more about one of the newer DigiDestined. I could have combined this with another chapter or episode but I feel this way is better as it gets you to know MJ a little more closely. That said, I hope you enjoy and a huge thanks to 'Zero Slash One' for giving it a read and helping me out.

4. Hope Inside

MJ felt she had done rather well on her test, and she was content. That was enough for her. Unlike Kei or Kaito, she felt no need to be too brilliant because all her parents wanted from her was to give it her best shot and that she had. Right now, she was sitting on her couch, reading a fantasy novel about two siblings and it was just getting to the interesting part when there was a tapping against their window.

Noriko looked up from where she was clearing the dishes. "Did you hear that or was it just me?"

"No, I heard it too," MJ admitted, putting her book down half-heartedly and going to the window, pulling aside the curtains. When she did, she screamed out loud, jumping back several steps. "Mom! There's this weird thing at the window!" It was as if one of her storybooks had sprung to life. But she hadn't gone to sleep yet – she knew that much.

"You know Misa, I realise you like your stories but don't make them a reality," Noriko said sounding half-fond and half-exasperated as she came to join her daughter, her eyes widening at the sight. "TK! Honey, you should get over here now!"

MJ was staring at the creature. It looked like a bowling ball with wings, and she had no idea what it was. She was distracted by her father's alarmed shout, seeing his entire body tense.

"DemiDevimon!" TK cried, voice sounding accusing. "What are you doing here?"

DemiDevimon flinched. "Please…I'm not the same one you knew. I'm a different one. I'm not here to hurt you."

TK's eyes narrowed and MJ had rarely seen her father this upset. What was it about this DemiDevimon that put him on so much edge? Noriko had grasped her husband's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, her normally composed features slightly unsettled as she bit down on her lip.

"I don't believe you," TK said simply. "DemiDevimon tried to trick me once but I'm not eight years old anymore. What are you up to this time?"

DemiDevimon looked crestfallen. "They said humans would understand. That humans wouldn't judge me based on what my type was. Mikemon said I would be accepted here but I guess they lied. I'm sorry. I'll go." He made to fly away and that was when MJ noticed one of his wings was torn and bleeding. Biting her lip, she knew it was wrong to go against her father but at the same time, this creature was in pain, and she couldn't simply leave him. It wasn't right. She hurried forward, opening the window, and cradling the creature in her arms.

"Misaki Jun!" Noriko scolded her daughter. "What do you think you're doing?"

"MJ, that creature is dangerous," TK cautioned in a softer voice and MJ stared defiantly at her father, holding the creature close. She couldn't explain it, but it was almost like a pull towards the creature to protect him from everyone, including her parents.

"It's hurt, Dad," MJ said firmly. "I'm not sure what this creature is but I trust him. If he says he's not here to hurt us, I don't think he is." She hated talking to her father like this. She hated talking to either of her parents this way. But she just couldn't leave a creature that was so badly hurt out in the dark alone. She could see her father pale, making to take another step towards her and this did make her firm stance falter slightly but not enough to loosen her protective grip from around the creature.

DemiDevimon looked relieved and the Crest of Hope which was in its claw began to glow. He looked at TK. "This is your Crest. We managed to save this and the Crest of Light from the enemy."

Her father still looked suspicious, and she winced a bit, wondering how she could put him at ease. "Dad, if he wanted to harm us, wouldn't he have done so by now?" Logic usually worked on her father who was usually more reasonable than most and he sighed a bit but before he could speak, the Crest of Hope began shining so much that it left DemiDevimon's claw, going to her father and he took it. TK held it for a few minutes before exhaling and turning to DemiDevimon.

"Alright," TK finally said. "We'll hear you out. But MJ, don't you have questions on who this creature is?"

MJ bit her lip. "Of course, I do but I think given the situation, those questions can wait right?" She moved with the creature to sit on the couch, her father and mother sitting on either side of her, her father clutching the Crest of Hope as if it were his lifeline.

"So, tell us DemiDevimon, what happened?" TK asked. "If you're not the same DemiDevimon, who are you?"

"I'm just a normal digimon like everyone else," DemiDevimon said looking down. "It's not my fault what others of my species did, is it? I mean, it's like you humans with your children, right? You wouldn't want them blamed for your mistakes, right? If you did something wrong, you wouldn't want people assuming that your children are the same as you right?"

MJ raised an eyebrow while TK frowned at the legitimately fair question and exchanged a look with Noriko. Her parents didn't seem to know what to say, and she found herself agreeing with DemiDevimon here. The word 'digimon' did have her curiosity peaked though – did that mean her father's novels were based on a true story? She had copies of all her father's books and read them constantly when she was younger. Pushing down her questions – as she said, they could always be asked later at a more opportune moment when the silence wasn't so thick that one could practically hear a pin drop.

Finally, Noriko cut through it.

"You're right DemiDevimon," Her mother's voice was gentle as opposed to what her father's voice had been earlier. "If we made a mistake, we wouldn't want Misa or Shiro to be punished for it. We should give you a fair chance and we will. Won't we honey?" The smile was sweet, but MJ could tell her parents were having a hidden conversation with their eyes; one only they understood. Love certainly was strange.

TK smiled now and it was a lot more genuine than it had been moments ago. "You're right. Both of you. I'm sorry…just everything that happened back then…"

Noriko squeezed TK's hand once more. "I understand honey. But you've given others the benefit of the doubt before. It's going to be okay."

TK nodded in agreement. "Yeah. MJ, you probably want an explanation, right?"

MJ bit her lip. "Yeah…I'm a little lost. Digimon were the creatures you wrote about in your novel, right? Was that novel a true story?"

"Yes," TK answered softly. "Digimon are real as were the DigiDestined. I changed our names so we wouldn't be questioned about the existence of digimon. Our partners were good creatures but the digimon that harmed this world, and the digital world weren't. If other humans found a way into the digital world, they could cause harm to it so the data of the digital world was changed so humans couldn't access that world and cause harm to the digimon. Tai works as a diplomat between different countries and hopefully, one day, when the world is ready, between the human world and the digital world."

So digimon and the digital world were real. If that became public knowledge, it would probably cause some issues even if Uncle Tai managed things somehow. But that still didn't explain… "I understand why you kept digimon a secret from the world," MJ admitted. "But why did you keep that secret from me? I wouldn't have caused harm to anyone. And Dai, Yuki, none of them know about this either do they?" She knew Dai wouldn't have been able to keep his mouth shut on that one if he had known.

TK sighed a small bit. "We weren't planning to keep it a secret. We planned to tell you all about the digimon, even introduce you to our partners when you became old enough to understand but then…" He trailed off and Noriko picked up from where he had left off.

"But then Sam disappeared one night," Noriko said softly. "When the police couldn't find him and months passed with us unable to even get to the digital world, it became too much of a sore topic that none of us really wanted to talk about the digimon and digital world anymore. We thought it was over. Even Izzy couldn't open the gates to the digital world so there was really no point in telling you anything. It hurt Ken and Yolei to talk much and out of respect, we kept silent too and TK just turned into his story."

MJ bit her lower lip. She could understand why they didn't talk about it in front of Ken and Yolei but the rest of them could have told their children considering Sam wasn't around anyway. She was sure the rest of them could have convinced loudmouths like Hana, Dai, and Tay to keep their mouth shut right? Then again, given how those three were in terms of blunt honesty, maybe it was better to stay cautious. Her eyes drifted to DemiDevimon, and she saw him watching her curiously before exhaling. She wasn't much for words, they complicated things, but she turned to her parents.

"I understand why you did this," MJ finally said quietly. "But I still don't like it. You guys had partners, you guys saved the whole world and none of us even knew what you went through. I mean, I've read all of Dad's novels and even I didn't know…"

"Your parents were trying to protect you after what happened to Sam," DemiDevimon told her gently and TK glanced at him.

"You know maybe you aren't so bad," TK remarked dryly. "Certainly, more reasonable than the other DemiDevimon we dealt with."

"I did try and tell you that," DemiDevimon pointed out, sighing. "I'm nothing like others of my species. I just want to help save my world and make it a better place for all of us to live in. But no one ever really believes me and just tosses me aside like yesterday's garbage."

TK and Noriko both winced at those words and MJ patted the digimon's head sympathetically.

"I didn't think you were evil," MJ said quietly. "I may not know much about digimon, but I know one thing. DemiDevimon, you're a good digimon. You could have attacked us when there was nothing to protect us from it – considering Mom and Dad's partner isn't here. Other than that – even without a logical explanation…I feel like I can trust you. You came to us for help after all." As she spoke those words, the Crest of Hope glowed once more, brighter than before and a strange-looking orange watch appeared around her left wrist, the glow surrounding her and DemiDevimon.

"W-what's going on?" Noriko said frowning as her face paled several inches. "TK, tell me this doesn't mean what I think it means."

"Ok honey calm down," TK said grabbing his wife by the shoulders. "Let's not panic. We don't know what it means…"

"You know as well as I do that that is a digivice," Noriko cut him off. "I don't want our daughter living the life we did. You, more than me. Do you want that for her?"

MJ tried to speak up, but her voice faded in the face of her parents' argument who usually never argued so it was a little nerve-wracking for her. "Mom? Dad?"

"Not now, Misa," TK said before sighing. "Of course I don't want that for her, Noriko but we may not have a choice. I didn't have a choice when I was chosen, and I think neither does she."

Noriko's eyes watered and she wiped them away. "I don't think I can accept that, TK. I'm not letting my daughter go through the things that we both did. We nearly died facing The Hollow. I just want my daughter to be a normal kid."

TK sighed and MJ's heart gave a painful pang, eyes never leaving her mother. Was there anything she could say to make her feel better?

"Honey," TK said gently. "It's her destiny. I'm worried too." He tried to pull Noriko close, but she pulled away, going to their bedroom, and shutting the door behind her. MJ winced when she heard the sound of a slam and turned to her father.

"Dad, what's going on?" MJ asked, biting her lower lip. She couldn't let her dad see she was scared so she forced her voice to remain steady.

TK ran his fingers through his hair and moved over, pulling her into a hug. "Nothing sweetheart. Why don't you take Shiro to your room tonight and you two both sleep there?" Her dad looked stressed, and she would have normally not pushed but one – Shiro might get scared of DemiDevimon and two – she was a little scared herself, to be honest.

"Dad, I have DemiDevimon," MJ reminded him. "What if Shiro's afraid of him? And I want to make sure Mom is okay and maybe ask a little bit more about this device."

"I know," TK said gently. "But I'm sorry sweetheart I can't answer your questions right now other than the fact that you're a DigiDestined and DemiDevimon is your partner." He kissed his daughter's forehead. "Sweetheart, please? Just go. I promise I'll explain everything later."

MJ sighed a little but agreed, taking both DemiDevimon and her sleeping baby brother to her room, sitting down and examining the orange DigiWatch on her wrist. She didn't like pushing for answers but at the same time, she couldn't deny that she wanted to know more. Mom never reacted like that.

"DemiDevimon, can you give me some answers?" MJ asked in a quieter voice. "I know you can't tell me why my mom freaked out but being a DigiDestined…who decides this kind of thing anyway? Is there someone higher up or something?"

DemiDevimon shrugged. "I don't know much but Mikemon said that the DigiDestined had something special to make them chosen to save both the real world and the digital world."

"So, it's not just because my Mom and Dad were DigiDestined?" MJ wondered, pulling the blanket over her baby brother.

DemiDevimon shook his head. "That could be one of the reasons but it's not the only reason. You're not like other people, MJ. That's why you must have been chosen. I mean, you saw good in me, didn't you?" He gestured to his now bandaged wing.

MJ blinked. Well, that was true. She hadn't doubted for even a minute that DemiDevimon was good. "I could sense it somehow that you wouldn't hurt me." She didn't know if that made her special though. Certain qualities? She wasn't brave like Dai or as honest as Tay. She usually just went with the flow. "I'm not sure what qualities I would have."

DemiDevimon smiled at her. "You'll figure it out, MJ. I believe in you."

MJ managed a half-hearted smile. "Well, at least one of us has confidence in me."