Digimon Adventure 04 Chapter 20: Fancy Crime

By Bluestar076

Hello everyone! Bluestar here with a new chapter! Man…to think that we're already at the twentieth episode of this story is really something big for me, since I still need to get to the tenth chapter in my other stories (Even though it's natural since I've worked only on this one for a whole year). It's a shame that I couldn't work much for this story over the past year, since unfortunately, for half of it, I didn't work that much on Fanfictions in general. It was with the advent of Fate/Twin Rose that I've started to become more productive, with unfortunately, the exception of this chapter. So, I hope that with this 2022, I can get to be productive with this story as well, considering that this is still my dearest project for Fanfiction. Even though, I'm starting to get my charge back for everything, so let's stay optimistic! If everything goes fine, I should even be able to complete the first saga and move on the next one! Anyway, this chapter is going to be a lot simpler and lighter than the previous ones when it comes to the content, but it will have a lot of detective mystery and action that I hope you can enjoy! We can start off then!

Note: I do not own Digimon. All rights and characters belong to Bandai and Toei Animation.


Chapter 20: Fancy Crime

Fairy Godmother was the name of a fancy restaurant located in Market Street of San Francisco. It was known for its quality food and stylish look on the inside. It was a restaurant that wanted to inspire elegance and quality, and for that, the managers always did their best to make it look a beautiful place when it came to esthetic. Many people came in to have a romantic dinner or just to eat the good food. But recently…there was a strange mystery that scared the owners of the place and forced them to call someone who could handle it.

A young boy and his Digimon partner were looking at the monitor where all the cameras could be seen. The boy had short and spiky blue hair with even an ahoge and red eyes. He was wearing a yellow sleeveless t-shirt with a pocket, a pair of blue jeans and white sneakers. He even had the tattoo of a spiral on his right hand. The Digimon, on the other hand, looked like a blue dragon that had iron bracelets on his arms and a white fur on his chest with three pentagons drawn on them. He even had two wings that emitted cold energy on his back.

The boy had a concerned and serious look while looking at the cameras. Particularly, he was looking at the recordings of the same day at 13.00 P.M. The clients were all eating, some of them with their Digimon, and everything seemed calm and fine at first…but suddenly, one of them dropped his head on the table and didn't move anymore. By zooming, the boy could see that the man was losing blood from his head, showing that he was dead. Soon, the people of the room fell in panic while more clients started to fall down dead, but the problem was that…there was nothing that could be associated with their sudden cause of dead. Since there wasn't anything suspect in the room. Then…the tape showed that the lights suddenly turned off, and when they came back on, the Digimon in the room were gone.

"Did you understand anything, Taiyo?" The Digimon asked after seeing the recordings were over. "This is surely bizarre. At first, one person got killed and then at least five homicides have occurred at the same time but…the saloon seemed to be empty. And by zooming in, we could see that the air conditioners were closed. I wonder…how is it possible?" The boy, named Taiyo, answered.

"So? Did you find anything?" Someone asked them. When Taiyo and his Digimon partner turned around, they could see a young girl with short purple hair and blue eyes that was wearing a midnight blue short dress and red high heel shoes. She also had purple toenails on her hands. "Well, Miss Elizabeth…I couldn't see more by looking at these recordings. I can only assume that there was someone that caused those murders. Judging by the speed those people got killed…I think they got shot…but no one with a gunshot can be seen…" Taiyo explained.

"Really? Oh, that's just terrible! How can I handle the place now? I don't want my restaurant to be known as a theater of crimes! How can we get out of this?" Elizabeth, who was the owner of the restaurant, asked worried.

"Uhm…please calm down, Miss Elizabeth. I surely don't want you to have a panic attack! Listen…perhaps I can know of a way to get out of this…but I'm afraid that I won't be able to do so alone. Do you know someone I can ask for help in this city? I've just moved in, so I still don't know the streets of this city." Taiyo replied. "I can confirm…he lost some time by reaching this restaurant with the navigator." The Digimon added. "PALEDRAMON!" Taiyo exclaimed embarrassed.

"Well…you can ask to the police or…oh, right! I've heard that there is a detective agency that is made by Chosen Children with Digimon just like you. The city seems to trust them a lot, so you can…try and talk to them?" Elizabeth answered.

"Really? That's actually good to hear! Alright then, I'll try and ask them. I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow, Miss Elizabeth." Taiyo said before leaving with Paledramon. Elizabeth waved her hand and looked at the boy while he was coming out from the restaurant. "Hmmm…now that I think of it…he surely is cute…isn't it? Ooooh…I wonder how he good he is in bed…perhaps…I could invite him sometimes and cuddle a little bit with him, OOOOOOOOH YES!" She said while having a pleased face and drooling from her mouth a little bit.

"M-Miss Elizabeth! You're in front of customers, please contain yourself!" One of the waiters told her alarmed.

Meanwhile, Taiyo and Paledramon were on their way home. "Well…at least we could have a possible help for this case now." The Digimon commented. "Yup. I'll make sure to have the address of that agency by tomorrow morning. Man…I think I'll have to get used to work in a city like this…" Taiyo added.

"You surely don't like transer, do you?" Paledramon asked. "No, it's not like that! It's just that after working for some time in Miami, it feels weird to work on another town. But maybe it's just a matter of time. I mean, it's just a different city, right?" Taiyo replied.

"I don't think you should say something like that…it could bring bad luck." Paledramon commented with a sceptic face. "Oh, come on! Just try to be positive, Paledramon! As detectives, we cannot show these depressed faces, right?" His partner told him. "If you say so…" The Digimon simply commented.

The two of them continued until they've reached their houses and spent the rest of the night in relaxing before going to bed. The next day, they would have met the Chesire Cat Agency and asked them for help in this case, not knowing that the agency was made of particular and bizarre individuals.


The next day…

Kasai Yagami was already on her way to work alongside her Digimon partner, Veedramon. It was early in the morning, and the citizens were starting to show up around the streets of the city. The girl was usually among the first one to show up at the agency, just like today. While walking, she took her phone and decided to make a call. The one who answered was her mother, Mimi Yagami. "Hello?"

"Mom, it's me." Kasai simply spoke. "Oh, Kasai! Good morning! It's so nice to hear you!" Mimi replied. "There's no motivation in particular. I just…wanted to know how you and the old man were doing." Her daughter then asked. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. Me and your father are fine. Taichi seems to have recovered by that battle he had with Saiba Rei, and he's trying his best to help you guys as well. He's still sleeping by the way…he always had been such a sleepyhead, ehehe!" The Chosen Child of Purity answered back.

"That's nice to hear. A few days ago, he seemed in a pretty bad state. I wonder what type of Digimon reduced him in that way…" Kasai wondered. "I've met many evil Digimon years ago, but this time I seriously don't know how to help you…sorry, dear. I'm really happy that you made this call, it clearly shows that despite all, you still care about your family! I'm sure you tend to look after Aisu at work as well, just like you were used to when you were two little girls! Aaaah…good times…" Mimi said, remembering various memory of the past…which made Kasai have a serious expression on her face. "Don't start, mom…just…no." She simply spoke with a cold (and embarassed) tone.

"Eheh, I know, I know; you find it embarrassing. But overall, I'm sure dad will recover fully for this! After all the troubles we've been through in all those years, this is surely nothing! And how are you doing? Have you found something new about Saiba?" Mimi then asked.

"Yeah…kinda. Thanks to Yatsura, a former mercenary of his turned on our side and gave us some information about his purpose involving something called 'Perfect Cube', and we're close to get all of those USB keys that will let us get inside the skyscraper at Somnus. We're starting to get pieces together." Kasai answered. "I'm sure of it! Even if the situation seems critical, there is always some way to turn it on your advantage, just like you're doing right now! I hope you'll be able to stop Saiba one way or another. It still saddens me to know that he's plotting something…I mean…I've known him for so long and he has done many good things, so what made him decide to do all these crimes? It also makes me sad to think that you guys would have eventually had to fight to save the world…and here I thought you could have a peaceful life." Mimi said.

"…There's no need to worry, mom. I'll make sure that Kyoko and everyone else will remain safe. You...can count on it." Kasai said with a resolute tone. "Eheh! That's the voice I wanted to hear from my little angel! And…by the way…did it…recently happen to you again…you know…that thing?" Mimi then asked a strange question, which made Kasai suddenly stop and look down. She perfectly knew what her mom was talking about, since she and her father were the only people to know about it. "…a few times this week…I still have the same symptoms…" She simply said. Veedramon looked at her confused.

"…I see…well, don't think about it now! Maybe something good will happen! Remember that in any case, you can call me again! You know how nice is to hear you!" Mimi concluded. "Well…I leave now, I don't want to make you arrive late at work! I'll make breakfast with Palmon and then head at work as well! Bye Kasai! Love you!"

"Bye, mom…" Kasai then looked around to make sure that no one was looking at her and then said one last thing in a low voice. "I love you too." She then closed the call.

"What was that thing your mother mentioned?" Veedramon then fairly asked. "It's a secret. Don't worry, it's not something impotant." Kasai quickly replied. "What!? Come on! We always told each other anything! I'm your partner, you know?" The blue dragon exclaimed.

"Sorry, but not this one. Seriously, like I said, it's nothing. You wouldn't care that much." Kasai continued, standing firm on not gonna tell him. In the end, Veedramon gave up. He knew that Kasai was a stubborn girl, so for this time, he decided to make her win. "Alright, fine…it's just that you seemed pretty serious when you talked about it, so I thought it would have been something extremely important." He then said.

"No. It's just something I hold dear." Kasai answered. "And before you ask, it's not a boyfriend." She added. "Fine…I won't go deeper in the question." Veedramon concluded. "Man, when she stays firm on a choice, she really does everything in order to change her mind…" He then thought after turning around.

"Anyways…we're close to the agency. Ready for another day?" Kasai then asked to his partner. "You know I am! By the way…I've been wondering about something for a while by now…what do you think of Saiba Rei, Kasai?" Veedramon said.

"…I have complex feelings about him at the moment. You know…ever since I was a kid I've been told that he was a good man that made the harmony between humans and Digimon even possible, but…I still don't like him for all that he is doing. I'm sure the others at the agency think the same way about him. He's an enemy to stop for me. If I were to meet him again, I would probably attack him, especially after what he did to my father." Kasai explained.

"Meh…I can understand your point. Speaking of which…we still don't know who his Digimon partner is! And Agumon is a pretty tough one to take down, so who could that be?" Veedramon wondered.

"If I'm correct, the Homeostasis calls him the HADES entity, and that he can devour the soul of his victims. Things are going well recently, so maybe we'll know something more soon." Kasai replied. "Still…if he's an Ultimate-Level Digimon…he will probably be a tough challenge…it would be useful if more of our Digimon would evolve into the Perfect-Level…" She then thought. When she turned around, she could see a building that was familiar to her at this point. "It seems that we've arrived."

The Chosen Child and her Digimon partner finally reached the building of the Cheshire Cat Agency. When they came closer, they could see that the door was still locked, meaning that Kyoko hadn't arrived yet. "Good grief…the blondie isn't here." Kasai commented, but in that same moment she could see a familiar car park close to the building, and from it, the founding leader of the agency came out. "Why hello there Kasai! You're earlier than usual, I see!" She said with a smile.

"No, you're just some seconds late. Did you see someone else coming?" Kasai then asked. "No. It seems that you're the first one, this time!" Kyoko replied.

"Kudos. Do I get a muffin for that?" Kasai jokingly said. "Maybe next time! Well, since we are here, let's get started." The other girl answered before opening the door to the agency. "Now that I think of it, how do you stay in that car, DORUgamon?" Veedramon then asked to Kyoko's partner.

"Absolutely terrible. I've tried once and I couldn't move from how tight the space was! That's why when Kyoko is inside the car, I usually stay inside the Digivice." The furred dragon answered.

The agency was open once again, and another day of work for the young detectives started. "We're making excellent progress recently. If we keep on with this pace, I'm sure we'll be able to put an end to Saiba's ambitions soon." Kyoko spoke.

"Now that I think of it…what's the situation with Yuuko Chitose?" Kasai then asked. "Yatsura said that she will talk with her father tomorrow. She seems pretty convinced on doing that! She's…making good progress as well, don't you think?" Kyoko answered.

"Yes. I'm glad to see that some signs of optimism on her are starting to appear, but maybe she still needs to grow." Kasai said. "Like everyone else. Oh well. I'll go to my office! You should go on yours as well!" Kyoko concluded before going on her room. Kasai simply nodded and did the same.

On her office, Kasai was fixing some papers and writing the reports of the last cases she investigated on. Despite being focused on the Saiba case, she and the other detectives of the agency continued their work on solving various cases and capturing crimes, because surely, even the regular crime couldn't stay unnoticed. The life of a detective was challenging, and those Chosen Children knew it well.

Kasai kept on doing her job while listening to some pop song with one headphone. Then, she could hear someone knock the door of her office. "Come in." She simply said, when the door was opened, Kasai could see her sister Aisu Yagami with some bags on her arms. "Morning, sis!" She spoke.

"Hey there, Aisu. Can I help you with something?" Kasai asked. "Not in particular. I just passed by to see you before go to my office. But it seems that you are doing fine." Aisu replied with a smile.

"Don't worry, I'm not exaggerating." Kasai simply replied. In that moment, Aisu took something from her bag and gave it to her sister. "Oh, by the way, take this. I thought that, since you were here sooner than usual, you would have been hungry, so I took a slice of cake for you and the others."

"Oh! Thank you…I actually wanted some food." Kasai said before grabbing the cake. "By the way, I've called mom earlier and she said that the old man is feeling better."

"Thank God…I was starting to think that dad may have exaggerated. Now it's up to us to 'avenge' him, right?" Aisu said with a giggle. "Oh well, I'll see if there is a case for me, now. If you search for me, you know where to find me." She then left the office.

"Sure do. Good luck with your job." Kasai concluded before turning back to her job. She even made a small smile while working. Maybe…she was really feeling at home at this point. Then, her grin turned back to her usual neutral expression once she heard a loud noise and some familiar voices.

"DAMMIT TSUNA! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SLAM THE DOOR LIKE THAT!" It was Chikara, who shouted at his colleague. "WHO CARES? I DON'T WANT TO GET SCOLDED FOR BEING LATE!" Tsuna countered. "Guys…could you please not shout? It's only 9 in the morning…" Kumo asked them.

This made Kasai sigh and fix her hat. "Good grief…this is really the Cheshire Cat Agency…" She commented.

Soon, all thirteen detectives arrived at the agency, and the morning went on rather peacefully. Well…for the most part.

"Hey, Yatsura! Is it true that ExVeemon evolved the other day?" Sasuke asked to her friend. "Oh, yes! He evolved into a Paildramon! Which…actually surprised me." Yatsura replied. "A Paildramon? You mean like Dad and Mister Ken's fused partner? So an ExVeemon could achieve that form even without the help of Stingmon…" Sasuke observed.

"I wonder how your father's Veemon would react to it! And I really wonder what Kabuterimon will become once he evolves!" Rina added. "W-Well, Rina…it's probable that I'll become an Altur Kabuterimon…" Kabuterimon answered.

"Oh, who knows! You weren't supposed to become a Tentomon in the first place, so I wouldn't be surprised if your evolution line is completely fucked up! Maybe…you'll turn out into a Gigantic Numemon?" Rina wondered, shocking his partner. "RINA, PLEASE NO!"

"Well, I'm sure jealous now, ExVeemon! You surely had some fun on getting the Perfect-Level!" Gladimon then said to the blue dragon. "N-Not at all, I was trying to survive back then. But yeah…reaching the Perfect-Level is something I can be proud of! I can protect the master better now!" ExVeemon replied, making his partner have a sceptic face. "Why does he keeps calling me that?" She wondered.

"Yeah, plus…with this, we now have four Digimon that can evolve in their Perfect-Level forms! Which means that now we have more chances to slap Saiba's sorry ass!" Sasuke exclaimed, pumped up. "HELL YEAH! I CAN'T WAIT!" Rina added.

"N-Now you're overreacting…" Yatsura commented with a drop of sweat.

Meanwhile Kumo, Tsuna, Kouta, Toriko and their Digimon partners were updating one of the message boards of the agency, replacing the old cases with new ones. "It seems that our job has increased during these days…look at all these cases we have got." Kouta commented.

"Criminals surely aren't something that can be stopped from one moment to another, after all." Toriko answered. "Is it something that concerns you, Kouta?" BaoHackmon asked. "No, I was just making an observation." His partner answered.

"As long as we do our job properly, there's nothing we should be afraid of." Kumo spoke. "Well, excluding of course a rich man that wants to do something suspicious to the world, Kumo!" Tsuna told him. "Oh, hey, speaking of which, Tsuna, did you try to talk back to Yuuko one of these days? It seemed that there was some sort of connection between you two…I could see it." Toriko then asked with a grin while his partner Starmon facepalmed. "There we go again."

"What are you talking about!? I just talked to her! And I don't think this is the proper time to talk about stuff like that!" Tsuna shouted, frustrated as always. "I'm just asking! Or perhaps you cannot admit those feelings?" Toriko continued.

"Perhaps you should stop it here, Toriko…" Kumo suggested. "You know how it ends if you keep on blathering…especially with someone like Tsuna…" Kouta added.

"What? What should-" Toriko was about to ask, but he ended up with a punch on his face given by Daisuke's older son. "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS DAMMIT!" Tsuna shouted.

"Precisely…" Both Kumo and Kouta spoke. "It's true that where there's smoke there's fire…" Shoutmon added while taking more papers.

In another room, Rikka, Aisu and Aria were checking on a computer, using it in an attempt to reach information about the remaining mercenaries of Saiba Rei. "With Yatsura getting two USB keys, we've now arrived at eight of them, which means that there are five missing. If we could have some sort of connection to the other mercenaries, we could get closer to our goal…" Rikka said. "Speaking of which, if there are five USB keys missing, that could also mean that we took out almost all Saiba Rei's mercenaries, right?" Aisu asked.

"Meh, I wouldn't be so sure about it. There are still many mercenaries that we haven't defeated yet, and we don't know if he has other aces up his sleeve. Saiba is a smart one, so I'm sure he has his own way to recover from the damages we gave him." Aria told her opinion. "Hmmm…if I'm correct, the mercenaries we know are Cassidy Monroe, Koichi Kimura, Jake Ambra, James Belmond, Nui Kishibe, Aleksanteri Virtanen and Sigmund Wagner." Strikedramon remembered.

"Seven of them huh? That's sure is a large number, it seems that we still have a long way to go." Growmon commented. "And let's not forget that he could have more of them. Perhaps it's better for us to start from some of them…"

"In that case, the easiest ones to reach would be Nui Kishibe due to her connection with Yuuko and Kumo's two friends." Rikka said. "That's already something for me! We could try to reach them." Aisu suggested. In that moment, Aria looked at the surveillance cameras and noticed something on the camera put on the entrance of the agency. "Uh? It seems someone is coming." She said, getting the attention of the other two girls. When they looked at the screen, they could clearly see that a boy around their age was going to enter inside the agency.

It was Chikara who saw him first, since he was passing by the entrance in that moment. The boy who entered inside the building was Taiyo, which was observed by the oldest detective with suspect. Chikara didn't say a word and kept on glancing at him.

"…Uhm…do you…work here?" Taiyo asked. "So, what!? If you're another guy that is trying to sell us vacuum cleaners, I'll let you know that we are quite busy here! Get out immediately!" Chikara answered showing his usual frustrated tone.

"W-What! No hold on, I'm not a door-to-door salesman!" Taiyo answered. "Sigh…forgive him. He's like this with everyone…" Another voice told him, making the two guys look at their left. It was Kasai, who just came out of her room. "Are you sure we can trust him, Kasai?" Chikara asked. "Well, you cannot trade everyone for door-to-door salesman either, Chikara." His partner Leomon told him. Chikara stood in silence for some seconds…and then looked at the other boy. "…Forgive me." He simply said.

"There, your partner spoke for me." Kasai told him before turning on Taiyo. "Ahem. This is the Cheshire Cat Agency. How can we help you?" She then asked. In order to answer, Taiyo showed his distinctive and presented himself. "My name is Taiyo Asano. I'm a detective who just moved here in San Francisco from Miami."

That answer surprised the other two Chosen Children. "Uh? Another Detective? That's new!" Veedramon commented. "I can't believe I've mistook him for a salesman…there goes another bad impression…SHIT!" Chikara exclaimed. Taiyo looked at him concerned. "Uhm…is he ok?"

"Good grief…please excuse him…he has a bizarre personality, much like the rest of us here." Kasai answered for him. "So, what brings you here? Are you from another agency?" She then asked.

"Not actually. Like I said, I recently moved in this city, and for now I work as a detective for the police while searching for a steady position in a detective agency. The truth is…that I was recently called for a case I'm having trouble solving. They told me that this is a detective agency that uses the support of Digimon, so I came in hoping to find some help." Taiyo explained.

"I see. And what is this case about? Maybe we could help you with that." Kasai asked. "The truth is…I would like to discuss it with all of you." The young boy answered. "Hm? For what reason?" Leomon asked. "I may need…a big help about this…" Taiyo simply replied.

A few minutes later, everyone inside the agency gathered to hear this new face's request, and of course, once they saw him, the first reactions were not long incoming.

"He's really cute!" Aria commented. "What's with that antenna on his hair?" Toriko said. "Don't you think he's too young?" Kumo asked to the others. "He has your age." Shoutmon told him.

"Guys, we're not making a good impression! You're embarrassing him!" Kyoko told her colleagues. "No there's no need to worry, miss! I'm actually…kinda used to these comments. Even back at Miami they used to tell me all that stuff." Taiyo told her before looking at all of them. "And wow, I didn't know there were actually thirteen of you!" He added.

"And we're all pretty tough boys!" Tsuna said with a smirk. "So, Taiyo, tell us a bit more about that case you've mentioned." Rikka then told him.

"Right…does any one of you know about the…Fairy Godmother Restaurant?" Taiyo then started by asking a question. That simple question was enough to trigger Kyoko. "WHAT!?" She shouted. "Kyoko! Don't yell like that!" DORUgamon complained. "Fairy Godmother? That one Restaurant at Market Street? The one that makes the best seafood spaghetti of the city!? THAT Fairy Godmother?" Kyoko kept asking questions about the restaurant that left Taiyo stranded. To be sure, he looked at the other detectives. "…You can answer to her…" Aisu told him.

"…Yes…that restaurant…" Taiyo simply answered…and then…

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! ONE OF MY FAVORITE RESTAURANTS IS IN DANGER! SONS OF A BITCH!" Kyoko yelled.

"D-Does she always act like this?" Taiyo asked. "Sometime. And she's also our leader…" Kasai answered. "R-Really?" The boy demanded, even more confused.

"TAIYO!" Kyoko exclaimed. "A-Ah! Y-Yes. Ma'am?" The boy asked, staying at attention. "We'll help you, no matter what! I won't let a brilliant restaurant like that to be ruined by some criminal scum!" The leader of the Cheshire Cat Agency continued, talking so fast that she had to take some moments to breathe later.

"Uhm…back to your case…what happened in that restaurant?" Rikka then asked him. "Oh, right…I would like you to see these discs first." The boy took some discs from his pocket. "These are all the recordings made by the surveillance cameras yesterday at 13.00 P.M in the main saloon of the restaurant."

"An event that not even those cameras couldn't capture? Hmmm…strange indeed." Kouta commented. "Do you think it might be the work of a Digimon, Taiyo?" Kumo then asked. "Well…it's possible. Since this incident is also about Digimon." Taiyo replied. This last phrase made every detective and their Digimon wide their eyes for a moment.

A few seconds later, they put the discs on a computer and saw the tapes of what happened the day before in that restaurant. The first death that was followed by some more…and the mysterious disappearance of the Digimon inside the saloon which followed the sudden blackout.

"Did…did you see this?" BaoHackmon asked to the others. "It all happened so suddenly! We couldn't see anything!" Growomon exclaimed. "…Rikka, rewind the footage, please." Kyoko demanded. Rikka did so and they saw again the same things that Taiyo saw at first. "As you can see, some of the people who were sitting in the saloon got suddenly murdered in a quick way without no apparent reason." Taiyo told him.

"Judging by this footage…it seems that those poor costumers got shot." Yatsura said. "But from who? It's not clear from this video." Chikara wondered.

"This is what concerns me. I do fear that this event might repeat today. But I fear that this case may be too much even for me. That's why I came here. I…ask you to help me on this case." Taiyo then asked.

"…In the footage…after the lights turned back…the Digimon disappeared, right?" Kasai asked. "…Yes. What about it?" Taiyo demanded. This made the detectives stand up and look at each other with a serious stare. "…We may know the reason all of this started." Kyoko told him.

"Ah! Really!?" The boy exclaimed. "Yes. And it has something to do with a case we have been working for some time by now." Aisu answered. "Plus, we do not like those who decide to kill other people for their own gain. That is why…we are going to help you…and solve this case." Aria added.

"No matter what." All the detectives said together. "You can count on us, Taiyo Asano." Kasai told him with a smirk. "Eheh…I really don't know what to say. Thank you!" Taiyo said, surprised.

"Naaah, quit being so formal! You can be as friendly as you want with us!" Rina told him. "You could clearly see it from some of us!"

"I'll…keep it in mind…this agency is…really strange." Taiyo commented. "I would say…bizarre…is the appropriate term." Kasai told him. "By the way, do you have any business at the moment, Taiyo?" Kyoko then asked.

"No…not that I think about it, except for warning the owner of the restaurant of your assistance." Taiyo replied. "In that case, why won't you stop here for some time? We would really like to know better a new companion that just arrived!" Kyoko then proposed with a smile. "And your next line will be 'really? That's unexpected, thanks!'"

"Really? That's unexpected, thanks! W-Wait, WHAT!?" Taiyo exclaimed, not expecting Kyoko's trick. "Get used to it…she does it really often…" DORUgamon told him.

And so, some time passed, with the Cheshire Cat Agency starting to know better the new detective while trying to understand something more from the videos of the restaurant.

"You're not that bad, Taiyo, you know that? Perhaps we could have a friendly outgoing one of these days if you want!" Sasuke answered. "Now that I think of it…that's a…weird jacket you have there…" Taiyo then noticed.

Silence.

"…Oh shit…" Gladimon commented. "He…just said it." Kouta added. "What…?" Taiyo asked in confusion before turning around.

"Bastard…WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY CLOTHES!?" Sasuke shouted before throwing himself against Taiyo. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! NONONONO, I'M SORRY-" The boy tried to apologize…but it was too late.

SBAM!

Taiyo ended up with one purple eye while Sasuke was getting hold back by Rina and Yatsura. "E-Ehm…forgive him, he cares a lot about his style…" Yatsura apologized with a drop of sweat coming down from her head. "Kasai was surely right when you said you were all bizarre…" Taiyo commented. The girl listened to him and fixed her hair. "Now you have a complete image of us." She added.

In the meantime, Rikka was looking carefully at the tapes she got from Taiyo until she arrived at a single second before the lights turned off. In that moment…she could swear to have seen something in passing. "Hm?" She turned the video back in a few seconds and when the image appeared again, she stopped it. "There…let's see what we got here…maybe it's something important." She said before zooming into the video. And when she did that…she could see a faded form. Unfortunately, due to the quality of the camera, the image was unrecognizable…but Rikka could see that it had a circular shape... "Did you see something?" Kouta asked. "Look here. There's a circular form that appears for a millisecond before the lights turn out." The other detective explained.

"Hmmm…you think it's related to our target?" Kouta asked. "Mostly probable. It could be his Digimon doing the job." Rikka replied.

"Then…all that is left is to find out what it is! It's almost 13.00 P.M, after all!" Kyoko then said to everyone. "So, it's already time to go?" Kumo asked. "I guess so…" Toriko answered while loading his gun. "Time to do some of our old damages, don't you agree Starmon?" He then asked to his partner, who nodded.

"Then here we go!" Rina exclaimed, all hyped up. "I hope everything will be ok…I don't intend to make a bad figure with you guys." Taiyo said. "We can't say that for sure. You're the one that has to show us what can you do. Just know that you'll have to be ready for everything, just like everyone here." Kasai told him. "So…are we ready to go?" She then asked while turning on him.

He didn't know why, but Taiyo felt somehow better after Kasai told him that. It was enough to make him have a light smile and nod. "Sure. Let's take this." He answered.

With that, the Cheshire Cat Agency (And Taiyo) left the agency to head over the Fairy Godmother restaurant, where a particular case was waiting them. Not that it was the first time they had to deal with a mission like this, considering the type of criminals they faced up until now. But they were ready this time as well, since the argument probably touched them as well.


After some minutes of walking, the detectives arrived at Market Street, where the restaurant was located.

"Woah! This place looks really good! I wonder why I didn't hear about it until now…" Aria commented. "I hope the food's quality is good as well…I wouldn't want to waste my money for something mediocre!" Toriko added.

"Guys! Remember that we are here to do our job! Though a plate of those seafood spaghetti wouldn't be that bad…" Kyoko told them. "Now you're getting distracted too…" DORUgamon told him with a sceptic face. "It's better if we go inside." Aisu told the others, who did so.

The inside of the restaurant could be considered a perfect definition of 'fancy'. On the entrance, the first thing they could see was the reception, a large desk made of wooden with all that needed to make payments or reservations. On the reception's right, they could see the rest of the structure, where all the tables were standing. The floor was made of tile that had drawings of peacock's feathers, while the walls had drawings of what they seemed to be drops of water, as if they were to resemble the rain and had a midnight blue color. The tables were circular and were covered by a white blanket. Cutlery, glasses, candles and breadsticks were all put on them, in a perfect and symmetrical way. On the ceiling, there were two large and golden chandeliers were illuminating the building. On the far left, there was a door that led to the bathroom and on the ceiling, there were some speakers that reproduced some atmosphere music (jazz music to be more precise).

"My my…this place surely is pretty nice both on the outside and on the inside." Kumo commented. "It reminds me of the place my family uses to have dinner. I'm sure my parents would like it…" Aria added.

"So, where do we start investigating?" Tsuna asked. "My my…what gorgeous teenagers we have here…" A voice suddenly said, making the group turning around. It was the owner of the restaurant, who was coming closer to them. "Greetings. My name is Elizabeth Suki, the owner of this Restaurant. I suppose that you are the detectives Taiyo asked assistance to." She spoke.

"That's us. We're the Cheshire Cat Agency. I'm Kyoko Ishida, the leader and founder, and these are my fellow detectives." Kyoko presented herself. At first, Elizabeth didn't say anything, she just stood there with her arms crossed, staring at the group with a malicious smile on her face. "My my…what nice bodies you have…" She commented before licking her lips.

"E-Excuse me?" Chikara asked. "Bodyguards!" Elizabeth instantly exclaimed. "What…nice…bodyguards…you have here…Taiyo!" It seemed that she regretted saying that and tried to make the others understand something else.

"They're not my bodyguards…" Taiyo answered.

"I don't know you guys, but this chick already seems a weirdo to me." Veedramon commented. "M-Maybe is a tic of hers…" Aisu answered.

"I suppose you are already informed of what is going on here." The owner of the restaurant then said. "Yes. A few homicides happened in this restaurant, right?" Strikedramon asked. "Absolutely! Some criminals had started to target my restaurant for some reason and started to make a ruthless genocide! The Fairy Godmother had been in activity since 1960! It's a restaurant that had the sole purpose to make the clients have a good time with some nice food, and now it has become the theater of a brutal crime! No one would want to see innocent people die while they're having a good time!" Elizabeth explained showing some panic and a little bit of despair in her words. "I…I've became the owner of this restaurant three years ago…and see a place that I consider my second house getting reduced to this state…it just saddens me! I've heard of your agency that had been able to resolve strange case since you've founded it, so I thought that Taiyo could have the biggest help from you. And…I need to ask you as well…please help us."

"Don't need to panic. It's our job to solve cases, after all." Kasai added. "She's right. Consider the work done before you know it. Am I right, BaoHackmon?" Kouta added, with his partner nodding.

"Thank you…" Elizabeth simply said with a smile. "Usually, the horrible event starts around this hour. It usually happens for a few minutes, with someone dying and the Digimon disappearing once the lights turn off." She then explained.

"It's almost sure that somehow, the guy we are dealing with is capable to manufact the light system, therefore…we need to ask you if we can get access to all of the rooms of this restaurant." Kyoko answered. "Since their quirk, the criminal might be anywhere, so it's better if we check out any place we can explore." Sasuke added.

"Don't worry, you are free to move as you please, as long as you help us. You can even have a seat on the table if that can help you!" Elizabeth said. Somehow, this made Tsuna have a big smile on his face. "Does that mean that we can have a free meal?" He asked, even too hopeful.

"Eeer…no, if you want to eat, you'll have to pay…" The owner of the restaurant answered. After saying that, several sighs of disappointment followed from the various members of the agency. "Hey, what did you expect!? I'm working here, you know!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

After that, the detectives got informed by the owner and their staff of all the rooms the restaurant had, and just as expected, there weren't many of them since most of the space of the structure was occupied by the large table room. In the end the rooms to check were the table one, the kitchen, the bathroom, and the power room.

"That's all, huh? In that case, there's not that much to check!" Growmon commented. "But it's better if we don't underestimate our enemy, they could hide anywhere." Starmon told him.

"That is exactly why I think we should check something else." Kyoko pointed out. "And what would that be?" Yatsura asked. The leader of the agency made a little smile and pointed at something put on the ceiling.

"The air conditioner? What are you planning?" Her partner, DORUgamon asked. "Do you remember when we first visited Saiba Rei? The man that tried to murder him was trying to reach him from the air conditioner. Back then, I shot at one of the screws to make him come out, but I now understand that it might be dangerous to do that again. Still, the possibility that the criminal is hiding in there remains! So, I think we should perlustrate the air conditioner as well! I'm offering to go in there. Chikara, would you like to come with me?" Kyoko explained before making the offer to Chikara, who was, of course, shocked.

"WHAT!? What if something happens to my uniform!?" Jou's son protested as always. "Don't worry, I'll pay the damages if that's what makes you feel better." Kyoko answered. The other detective grunted. "Fine, but remember to do so, alright? I care a lot about this uniform! I have it since I've done that training in Germany!"

"I-I don't think it's time to talk about it, Chikara…" Leomon told him.

"As for the others…Kasai, Aisu, Kumo, Kouta, Toriko, Tsuna and Taiyo will stay here at the table room. Remember to give a close look to everyone! Sasuke, Rina and Yatsura, you three will go to the kitchen. Rikka, since you're the most skilled one with electronic items, you'll check the power room. And finally…You Aria will go to the bathroom!" Kyoko then gave clear directions to the others.

"Eugh…it's not the most appealing place for me…but it's the job after all…" Aria commented. "I'm sure they keep the toilet clean, Aria." Rikka told her. "Meh…I hope so. I still remember the traumas I've had back when I had to go to the bathroom during school! They were DISGUSTING!" The blonde girl said.

"I think every school has a disgusting toilet. But with that said…I guess we are ready?" Taiyo then asked to the Kyoko. "Absolutely! Remember that we're counting on you as well! Technically this is your case after all!" The leader of the agency told him.

"Sure do! Me and my Digimon will make sure to fix this mess." The boy answered back, surprising the others. "Uh? You have a Digimon as well?" Sasuke asked. "Can we see them?" Gladimon added.

"Oh, right…I should have shown you guys earlier…better than ever I guess…" Taiyo answered before taking his Digivice. His body got surrounded by a clear blue aura, and from it, Paledramon appeared. "Sup!" The Digimon said.

"Is that an ice dragon? That's freaking cool!" Veedramon commented. "So, you're also a detective that uses his Digimon. Maybe there's something interesting to know about you." Kasai added, looking at the boy.

"I-It's not that much actually…" Taiyo answered, with his cheeks lightly red.

"Ok, everyone! To your places! It's time for another case!" Kyoko then concluded. And with that, everyone went to their designated places, ready to put some light in the mystery that rotated around the restaurant and ready for another fight.

The bathroom was pretty much like the regular type one could find inside any other restaurant, with the only difference that it seems a little bit larger, since there was more space between the faucet and the door that led to the toilette. "Hmmm…nothing that particular…for a toilet at least. I hope what Rikka said was right…" Aria said while looking around. "The room itself is pretty small…so it shouldn't take that long to explore it all…and I also hope no one has to go in here to pee…"

"Actually…about that…" Growmon suddenly said to her partner with a worried face. "There…might be a problem…" He added, feeling more ashamed of himself. "Growmon! Don't tell me you have to go right now! We're in the middle of an investigation!" Aria exclaimed.

"I'M SORRY! I got to go! It's coming out!" The large dinosaur exclaimed, feeling more ashamed of the situation. "Dammit, I told you to do it before going to work!" His human partner rebuked him. "I promise to make it quick!" With those words, the large Digimon quickly ran to the bathroom and locked the door. "Sigh…great…now I have to look in here by myself…" The girl said, resigned. With that said, she started to look around in that small room to be sure that everything was right. At first, there weren't particular details that made the young Chosen Child extra careful. The floor, the ceiling, the walls and the faucet seemed normal, without a crack or nothing broken. "Hmmm…Everything is in place for now…then…why I continue to have a bad feeling? It's like…I know that there's something not right, yet…I don't see it." Aria wondered while looking around. But in the end…she shrugged. "Hmmm…it might be my imagination." She commented. Since there weren't dangers approaching, she turned around and decided to give a look at the mirror, just to check her face and see if she had to fix her makeup. But then…just as she started to look at the reflection…she saw something in it.

Something white was starting to appear behind her and starting to come closer…something with an unusual form. "Huh?!" The girl exclaimed as she turned around. But…there was nothing. "Did…did I just imagined it…? Maybe I'm overthinking…" She spoke before looking at the mirror again. But…it happened again. The figure started to appear behind Aria, as if they were trying to assault her. "Ah!" She turned around again…but nothing.

"What the heck is going on?! Is someone pranking me!?" She exclaimed. "No…calm down…there has to be an explanation behind this. Think about it…something that you see in the reflection but not when you turn around…" She then thought, trying to reason about what was happening in order to not lose control. Then…she remembered about something. "Ah! Wait a second…"

"Look here. There's a circular form that appears for a millisecond before the lights turn out."

"That's right! Rikka said to have seen something circular appearing for a millisecond in the footage! This can mean only one thing…it must be the enemy! Right…just like when I fought against that mafia criminal at Traverse Town some time ago…it must have an ability that makes him invisible…then all I need to do is to wait for the perfect chance to attack him…" She thought. Now that she had a strategy where to start, she turned to the mirror a third time and waited for the attacker to appear…and when she saw it coming closer…she acted.

"THERE!" She quickly turned around and gave a punch apparently in the air. But she could see that her fist hit indeed something that could not see. "ACK!" Someone close to her exclaimed, while the detective could feel that she touched something. Due to the punch, the enemy's effect disappeared for a moment, revealing his true form. The attacker was a Digimon. It had the form of a ghost wearing a cloack with large pale eyes and a large mouth that was floating in the air.

"So, it was you!" Aria exclaimed. "Hell's Hand!" The enemy Digimon quickly pulled out a decaying hand from his Cloak and attacked the human's arm, making her bleed and recoil. "GAH!" She was forced to put her back to the faucet and hold her wounded arm, since it was bleeding badly. "Dammit…that attack was terrible…"

"GRAAAH!" The enemy Digimon was going to charge against Aria, with the attempt to crunch her face with his large mouth, but the girl quickly broke the faucet with her elbow in order to blind him with the water that came out from the broken tube. "Aaaah! I can't see!"

In that moment, even Growmon came out of the bathroom and saw the scene. "What's happening!?" He exclaimed before noticing the other Digimon. "Growmon! Attack him!" Aria exclaimed. The red lizard didn't lose anytime and attacked the ghost Digimon with his claws. "GROW CLAW!"

"ACK!" The enemy crashed against the wall before he stood up and started to fly around Aria's Digimon. Growmon tried to attack him repeatedly, but the ghost seemed to be quite fast. "Stay still dammit!"

"Death Charm!" In that moment, the Digimon used a dark spell that slowly to drain Growmon's energies, making him weaker. "Ngh! What is this!? I feel my energies going away!"

"Soon you won't be able to lay a finger on me! That's what you detectives get for trying to take me on!" The enemy Digimon exclaimed. But this only made Growmon more made, as he gritted his teeth. "THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK! FIRE BLASTER!" He then released a breath of fire that completely surrounded the Digimon, making large damages and knocking him out. "AAAAH! IT BURNS!"

Soon, Growmon could feel his energies coming back to him and Aria could get closer. "Phew…luckily it lasted only a few minutes…" She spoke. "So, this is the one who made all the trouble? Man…he may have not been that strong, but he was surely troublesome." Growmon added. The human detective then took her Digivice and scanned him to know more.

"So…this is 'Bakemon'. It's a wicked ghost Digimon born from the darkness. It goes around with a white cloak while no one knows his true form. Its main technique is Hell's Hand, the one he used against me. I've heard of this Digimon before…it's among the most common ones."

"Either way, it's better for us if we catch him and then proceed to heal you and search for his partner. I'm sure he's still in this restaurant." Growmon suggested. "Yeah, I agree." Aria simply replied. But right when she was about to get closer, a flash of light appeared, blinding both her and her partner. "AH! WHAT IS THIS!?"

When the light disappeared, they could see that Bakemon was standing again, and he seemed fully healed. "Bakemon!?" Aria and Growmon both exclaimed.

The ghost Digimon didn't lose anytime and flew away, passing through the door. "Ah! Hey, stop right there!" Aria started to chase him along with her partner, and when she opened the door, she could see that the Digimon was already gone. "Crap! I can't see him anywhere!" She exclaimed while looking around. She could see many people and Digimon, but not the one she was looking for. "At least we now know the one we should be looking for! But at this point it will be harder to find him!" Growmon said.

"That's right…as a ghost, he can enter inside every type of items and even inside walls…we need to advise the others immediately!" With that in mind, the girl and his Digimon immediately ran towards the power room. They've remembered that the enemy used to cut the power before doing their crimes, so it was possible that the enemy headed for that room. That was why Aria and Growmon decided to go in there first and warn Rikka and Leppamon of the danger.

Koushiro's daughter and her partner were standing in the power room, making sure that the light in the whole building didn't turn off, and so far, everything seemed calm. "It's been some minute since we're here. I wonder how the others research is going…" The girl spoke before seeing the door opening.

"Rikka! I need to tell you something!" It was Aria, who entered in a hurry. "Aria, Growmon! What happened? Did you perhaps find anything?" Rekka asked.

"Not only anything! We've found the enemy Digimon!" Growmon answered. "The enemy Digimon!?" Leppamon exclaimed.

The French Chosen Child gave a quick explanation to what happened at the bathroom to her friend, who now had the ideas much clearer. "Hmm…you said it was a Bakemon, right? That actually explains a lot." Rikka said. "His presence is probably the reason why no one could see who had been doing these crimes inside the restaurant up until now. As the most common type of ghost, Bakemon can do all the things you would expect from a spirit, like possessing objects or going inside walls. It's pretty much like those horror movies like Paranormal Activity." She added.

"This made the job a lot easier for both him and his partner for all these days…I've come to advise you since I thought it would have been useful for someone like you. I mean…maybe the reason why the light used to turn off was because of this." Aria told her.

"And you did the right thing! Now I know that we need to be extra careful in case something happens to the-"Rikka was going to say something, but in that moment…everything went dark, and they couldn't see anything. "…Speaking of the devil. The lights turned out." Leppamon commented.

Both Rikka and Aria used the torch of their smartphone to have some light and move more carefully inside the room. "Much better…Aria, could you please bring back the light while I look around in case that Bakemon is still in here?" Rekka then asked.

"Leave it to me!" Aria didn't think twice and used the torch to reach the lever, which was close to her, while the other Chosen Child and the two Digimon stood still and remained on guard. "At least we are dealing with a weaker enemy than the ones we've faced in the past. Still…it could give us a lot of trouble…and we need to find a way to take him down definitely." Rekka said to herself while watching over the entire room with the torch. But then…when she turned around, she got a literally jumpscare, as Bakemon appeared in front of her and made a yell that forced the girl to step backwards. "AAAAAAAAAAH, HOLY FUCK!"

"Uh!?" Aria exclaimed as she turned around. "It's that ghost!"

"Rikka! Shinkū Kamaitachi!" In order to protect her partner, Leppamon quickly threw a blade of wind from his tail, that slammed Bakemon to the wall. "Gah!"

"Quick! Restore the power!" Rekka exclaimed at her friend, who turned around and found the lever. "There it is!" She quickly pulled it up and soon, the light turned on the building. "Phew…it worked." Aria added.

The power was on again, but Bakemon was still in there. Leppamon quickly ran towards him while he was stuck in the blade in order to finish him off. "Stay still! Kurukuru- "The furred Digimon was about to send the finishing blow with his tail, but Bakemon eventually disappeared, and the blade fell to the ground, implying that he was able to get free from the weapon. "He has not gone far, I'm sure of it! Keep your eyes open!" He said to the others while looking around.

The lights turned off a second time and everything once again pitch black. "Dammit! That jerk pulled the lever down again!" Growmon exclaimed. Once this happened, Aria ran towards the lever in order to pull it up again. "Oh no you don't! I won't let you escape this time!" She exclaimed before pulling it up again and restoring the power in the building. She then could feel something putting force in the lever, with the intent to pulling it down again, but the girl used all her strength to make sure that the lever didn't go down a third time. "NGHHHHHH! STUPID GHOST! STOP IT!" She shouted.

"Aria! Are you ok!?" Rikka exclaimed, worried. "I'm fine! Attack the enemy while I keep him distracted! If we take him down, we'll be able to be hallway done!" The other girl answered. Rikka could see that Aria was doing everything possible to make sure that the power didn't turn it off, and this made her smile. "You've got some guts! I like it! You've heard her, Leppamon! Go!" She then ordered her partner to attack.

"Don't need to hear it twice! Kurukuru Rekkūzan!" Once again, Leppamon attacked the invisible Bakemon repeatedly, thanks to Aria that was making him stand still, thus distracting him. This time, the Digimon got hit, making Rekka and Leppamon release their battle cry. "KYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYAKYA!"

"GAAAAH!" Bakemon flew away from the power lever, and due to the injuries, he became visible. This let Growmon release one final strike to defeat him, by releasing a burst of flames from his mouth. "Exhaust Flame!"

Bakemon couldn't resist to that and fell down.

"We did it!" Rikka exclaimed, all happy before noticing that her friend was having a different reaction. She seemed to be skeptical about what she was seeing. "Huh? What's the matter?" Her friend asked.

"I…I don't know if I can trust him…last time it didn't end well…I don't think we defeated him." Aria answered. "What are you talking about? He couldn't be standing after all those attacks!" Leppamon told him, unaware of what happened with them at the bathroom. "Yeah, there shouldn't be any problems. We can easily seize him." Rikka added before coming closer.

In that moment Aria widened her eyes and tried to advise her friend, but it was already too late. "Wait Rikka-!"

Once the young detective came closer to the fainted Digimon, a large light started to shine, blinding everyone inside. "AGH!"

Like before, it lasted only for a few seconds, and once everyone could see again, they noticed that Bakemon was standing there healthy. "What!?" Both Rikka and Leppamon exclaimed. The ghost Digimon didn't hesitate and ran away, passing through a wall.

"Dammit! He escaped! But how-!?" Rikka asked, confused. "That's what I was trying to say! When I knocked him out at the bathroom, the same event happened! A light surrounded everything, and he was just fine!" Aria answered for her.

"That's crazy…if he'll act like this all the time, we will never be able to stop him…" Rikka continued as she thought of various possibilities that could have explained it. "Hmmm…he was exhausted…but after that light…he stood up again…"

"What do you suggest?" Aria asked. "It's better if you go advise the others. I'll stay here to the power room in case he tries to come back." The other Chosen Child answered. "I'll also try to find out what is his deal."

"Understood. I'll leave this to you then." Aria said before heading to the exit with his partner. "Let's go, Growmon!"

Back at the saloon, everyone who was sitting at the table looked around confused after seeing that the light continued to turn on and turn off. Some of them were sceptic enough after remembering what happened the other nights, while the detectives put in charge of that room might knew what happened.

"Ok, either there was a fight in the power room, or this building really has problems with the light! Do they check their light bill?" Toriko said. "This is not the time to joke." Kouta told him.

"I just hope Rikka is ok…" Aisu said, worried. "You know her. She's probably fine." Her partner, Strikedramon, reassured her.

"You think that this is the criminal's work?" Taiyo asked. "It probably is." Kasai replied. "With this they probably know that we're here." Veedramon added.

Kumo looked at the rest of the clients. "They seem to be worried. Let's be extra careful, from now on." He told the others. Tsuna, in the meantime, was giving a look at the menu of the restaurant. "Look at this! I didn't know there could be so many dishes in a place like this! Though I would lower the prices. 15.00 bucks for some penne scampi?" He said while his partner, Coredramon, was facepalming. It didn't take too long before Kumo took off the menu from his hand.

"H-HEY!" Tsuna immediately shouted. "Don't forget we're at work! Once we're done, you're free to eat whatever you like." The other boy told him. Though he did give a quick look at the menu.

"What you guys suggest to do?" BaoHackmon asked. "Hmmm…there's too much calm. This gives them too many opportunities to make a stealth attack." Starmon added.

"Yeah…I wouldn't even be surprised if the criminal was actually in one of these tables…" Taiyo said, not knowing what to think. That sentence made Kasai turn on him with a convinced stare. "You know…that could…actually be an idea. By acting as a normal client, they could pass unobserved." She answered.

"She's right…you had a nice thought, Taiyo, enough to give us an idea." Kouta added, making the other detective blush. "Wait…you think so?" He asked.

"Of course, compliments are given when deserved. Therefore…I think that look around and inspect any client could be somewhere to start with." Aisu suggested. "Uh…guys…I don't want to stop you but…even though we're detective, wouldn't we become annoying for the other clients if we just snuck in every table?" Toriko fairly asked.

"Well, back when we faced that Drake guy, me and Yatsura didn't have any problem on wandering through that cruise." Kasai pointed out. "But I think you have a point."

"In that case…I think I might have an idea." Aisu answered. "What is it?" Paledramon asked.

The girl proceeded to take off a necklace she was wearing, which was made of pearls. By pulling it, she was able to break it and make the pearls fall down and scatter anywhere in the room. "Oh, no! What have I done?" Aisu said while acting, making the clients believe it was an accident.

The other detectives understood what she was going to do and stick with her plan. "Oh, dammit, Aisu! You should be more careful!" Strikedramon told her. "How much did you pay for it?" Tsuna added.

"Uhm, ladies and gentlemen…would you mind if me and my friends go take my pearls back? I promise it won't happen again, eheh!" Aisu asked while scratching her head. The other clients simply glared at her and then turned back to their activities.

"We take it as a yes." Kouta spoke. "Let's go!" Veedramon added.

With that, the detectives scattered to 'search' the pearls, getting the perfect chance to give a close look to everyone. Maybe what Taiyo said was true. There was a high possibility that the enemy could have the situation under control because he frequently went to the restaurant to eat.

"Sorry, ma'am. I'll leave as soon as I can." Taiyo said while going under the table of an overweight woman that was wearing a pink dress and a pair of sunglasses and her Pomeranian dog. "Oh, dear. I wouldn't want that pearl to end up in my shoes." The woman commented. As the boy and Paledramon took a pearl, they gave a closer look at the woman and saw if there was anything suspicious about her.

"It will only take a moment, sir." Toriko said to a man with the beard that was wearing a brown jacket and a long hat. "Fine. Just be quick. My dish is coming." The man spoke. Him and Starmon did the same and inspected the man from underneath the table.

"Excuse me boys. Let me check here." Kumo said while checking the table of two boys of his same age that were wearing sweatshirts of bizarre colors and hats. "Damm, bro, they have a pearl even under us." One of them said. "Though that chick is really cute! Should we meet her?" The other one added.

"I…wouldn't try if I were in them…" Kumo thought while checking with Shoutmon.

Aisu on the other hand, went to the table of a man with moustaches suit in a suit and tie. "There it is…sorry aga-" Aisu was going to apologize but the man interrupted her. "Ssst. I've reached an important part of the novel. Do what you need but be silent." He spoke.

The girl noticed the book he was reading and was surprised. "Is that 'Prohibited Love on the Louvre'? I have it as well!" Aisu asked.

"Aisu-" Strikedramon called her back. "Oh, right. Sorry…" She said before checking under the table while inspecting the man.

Tsuna and Coredramon checked on a table occupied by a young blonde girl with blue eyes. They took the pearl and inspected the girl quickly…but Tsuna stopped himself when he noticed that the girl's skirt made him look his panties. On instinct, the boy made a large smile while his partner gasped. "T-Tsuna!" He tried to call him back, but it was too late.

The girl lowered her gaze, noticed him and blushed. "STOP LOOKING, YOU PERVERT!" She then pushed him away with a kick.

"OUCH!" This made the other detectives turn on Tsuna, making Kumo and Kouta facepalm. "I'm ok! Don't worry!" Tsuna said.

"Will he ever make it right?" Kouta wondered while checking on another table. And in that moment…when he inspected the person that was sitting on that table…he noticed someone familiar.

"Kouta? Is that you?" It was Haruka Tachibana; the idol Kouta and the others helped a few days earlier. This obviously caught him by surprise. "H-Haruka!? What are you doing here!?" The detective asked.

"…I'm waiting for my dinner, what did you expect?" Haruka answered. "Oh…right…sorry…" Kouta apologized. The girl then noticed the other detectives as well.

"I see that your friends are here as well. Are you perhaps on a break?" She asked. "We're actually on a work. Didn't you hear about what was going on here?" Kouta answered with another question.

"No? This is the first time I come here. I just came from a recording." The idol answered. "Are you suggesting that I should leave?" She then asked.

"N-No! I mean…ah dammit…" Kouta didn't know what to say in order to not offend her. But the idol found him cute and smiled. "Don't worry, I understand. If you need to work, then I'll just go. After all, I don't want to make you worry like the other time." She said as she stood up.

"Forgive me again…" Kouta answered as he saluted the idol who went away. "I sense some sort of energy between you two." BaoHackmon commented with a giggle. "…Not now." Kouta immediately replied.

And in the end, Kasai had the luck to check at an empty table. From there, she could have a complete vision of the room. For now, most of the clients seemed normal. But there was still a part of her that was sure there was someone suspicious.

In that moment, Taiyo came close to her alongside his partner. "So, how did it go?" Taiyo asked to her. "Nothing. There's no one in this table. Did you get better?" Kasai asked back.

"Hmmm. The lady I've inspected seemed clean. For now, it all seems regular. But I've learned in the past to not take everything for granted." The boy told her.

"Well, it seems that we agree on this." Kasai noticed. "Not bad."

"Really? Thanks…hey…were you serious when you said that this could have been an idea?" Taiyo then asked. "I don't see why I should have lied. It's always important to check on everyone. Why the question?" Kasai replied.

"Oh, it's nothing. Just that…I'm not used to hear many compliments, so when I hear one, it makes me feel embarrassed." The boy explained.

"Really? Who would have thought? Even though…I can understand that feeling. I'm kinda in the same situation." Kasai commented. "Now, don't say it like this, Kasai." Veedramon told her.

"Yeah, you underestimate yourselves, guys." Paledramon added.

"If you say so…" Taiyo answered before turning around and looking up…where he spotted something unregular. He could see a sparkle…but it was almost as if it was floating. He didn't know why, but something had told him to push Kasai away, since he sensed something dangerous. "BE CAREFUL!" "Huh!?"

In that moment, a bang could be heard in the room, putting everyone in alert, and Taiyo got shot in the hand. "GAH!"

"Taiyo!" Kasai, Veedramon and Paledramon shouted together. This scene made Kasai grit her teeth, grab her gun and shoot at the point where the blow came from. She didn't even know what happened, but she just felt the need to act before something else happened.

"AGH!" Once she shot, everyone could see some blood coming down from apparently a wall near the exit and they could hear someone fall down from there.

"What just happened!?" Kumo exclaimed. "Beats me! It was all so sudden!" Tsuna added. Toriko, on the other hand, was loading his gun for some reason, gaining the others' curiosity. "Toriko? What are you doing?" His partner Starmon asked.

"Oh, I know what I'm doing! Catching some asshole!" Toriko replied before turning around and shooting at the client that he checked before, the one with the beard and the brown jacket, who got hit in the shoulder and fell from his chair. "NGH!"

"Hey, are you ok?" Kasai asked to Taiyo. "Ngh…yes, don't worry…" The boy told her. "Dude, I don't think you're serious! You have a bullet in your hand!" Paledramon commented. "Here…let me handle it…" Veedramon said before coming closer to him. Somehow, his claws were enough to remove the bullet in the lightest way possible, by using the tips of them like pliers. Kasai then took a tissue and used it as a bandage for his hand. "For now, it should stop the bleeding." She added.

"Toriko, what were you thinking!? You shot a civilian!" Touka scolded his friend, who didn't seem to regret what he had just done. "Don't worry, I've had a good reason to do that! Look carefully near him!" He answered, pointing at the guy.

The other detectives came closer and gave a better look at him. And they could see that something fell from his hand. "Is that a…walkie-talkie?" Aisu asked.

"You got it! I've noticed it when I've looked under his table. He was holding it right in his hand. At first I didn't know what to think. I've only started to have some suspicions over him, but I needed something more to make sure that my thoughts were right. When Taiyo got shot, attacking him was the first thing I thought!" Toriko explained.

"So you're suggesting that he was holding that walkie-talkie…" Kouta started. "To give someone directions?" BaoHackmon concluded.

"If that's so…" Kasai said while turning around. The others did so as well…and they could see that someone was starting to slowly appear on the puddle of blood that was on the carpet near the exit where Taiyo got shot: another man, who was identical to the one who got shot by Toriko.

"What the!?" Aisu exclaimed. "They have the same look…good grief, so our target are two twins?" Kasai added.

"So, it is them! You're the ones who kept on murdering clients and kidnapping their Digimon!?" Taiyo asked, starting to get frustrated.

"Ngh…and here we thought we could trick you as well…but at this point it's no wonder why our client is so concerned about you guys…" One of the two men suddenly spoke.

"Their client? Now that I think of it…Kyoko and the others told that the situation here regarded them as well…" Taiyo thought after hearing those words.

"But! If there's one thing that we know…is that for years, the Komodo Brothers always got out of troubles with their loots…and you surely won't be the ones who will change this fact!" The other man added, revealing their names.

"Did you say the Komodo Brothers?" Aisu asked. "I remember that name…you were quite famous in Las Vegas, right?" Strikedramon added.

"So, we're talking about fugitives, huh? And you've said that we wouldn't have changed this? In case you haven't noticed, you're both messed up!" Tsuna commented, getting ready to fight.

"Oh, don't worry about it! We have plenty of ways to take down all of you! Especially you, purple-haired guy! Don't think you can get away with shooting at me!" One of the two brothers answered, referring to Toriko.

"Everyone! Get out of here! We'll deal with them!" Aisu said to the clients, who started to run away, until the room was empty, leaving only them and the enemies. "Are you ready, Taiyo?" Kasai asked to the boy near her. "Absolutely. Time to put an end to my first case." Taiyo replied.

"Just a reminder that with this you've dug your own graves! BAKEMON!" The two Komodo Brothers got surrounded by a white aura, from which two ghost Digimon appeared and immediately flew towards the detectives.

"HA! Nothing more easy, right Coredramon?" Tsuna asked to his partner. "Absolutely, Tsuna! I'm coming!" Coredramon answered before running towards the enemy, followed by BaoHackmon, Starmon and Shoutmon.

The four Digimon all tried to attack him, but the ghost Digimon became transparent and passed through their bodies. "Are you kidding me, he can do that!?" Shoutmon exclaimed. "Ghost Chop!" The Bakemon proceeded on attacking them with a karate chop that made them ward off, but he didn't predict that Starmon would have answered with a starry uppercut that sent him high. "Star Upper! TAKE THIS!"

"AAAH!" Bakemon fell up but quickly regained balance to answer Starmon's attack with a scratch from a giant decaying hand he made appear. "Hell's hand!" Starmon got attacked and recoiled of a few centimeters away and then answered with a rain of tiny meteors. "Meteor Squall!"

Bakemon flew through the meteors to dodge them, starting to brag. "HA! Is that the best you can-" But he couldn't finish the line that BaoHackmon was already behind him. "Do?" He finished the phrase for him and then threw him even higher with his nail. "Fif Cross!" "EEEEK!"

"Nice surprise attack!" Starmon commented with a thumb up.

Waiting for the ghost was Shoutmon, who sent him back to the floor with a firing fist. "Rock Damashī! MUDA!"

"OUCH!" The ghost ended up on the ground, where Coredramon slammed him repeatedly with his tail. "Strike Bomber!"

"How about that? One is already down!" Tsuna said, all happy to see the enemy down. "Weren't you're going to say that we dug our own graves?" He then asked. But the criminal didn't seem upset by this.

"V-Breath Arrow!" In the meantime, Veedramon and the others were dealing with the other Bakemon. The blue dragon released an air arrow in the shape of a V, which the ghost Digimon avoided by flying high. "Death Charm!" As an answer, the enemy released a spell that absorbed some of Veedramon's energy. Kasai's partner gritted his teeth before turning around and noticing Strikedramon coming closer. "He's too high! Catch him!" He exclaimed before letting the other dragon Digimon jump on his back in order to reach Bakemon.

"Strike Fang!" Strikedramon burnt the metal plates in his body and dashed towards the ghost to slam him on the ground. "Now take this!" He then tried to make a dive attack to finish him off, but Bakemon turned immaterial and passed through his body. "Ngh! Dammit!" The dragon Digimon had his claw stuck on the table and couldn't move properly. This gave Bakemon the opportunity to throw him away with his Hell's Hand attack. "Gah!"

Bakemon was about to proceed and head to attack Veedramon, but Paledramon suddenly charged towards him like a giant block of ice. "Meteor Hail!"

"EEEK!"

"Now, Veedramon!" Paledramon advised the other dragon, who got ready to finish Bakemon with a barrage of punches. "Thank you! Magnum Punch!" With that, Veedramon proceeded to attack and release his battle cry. "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

"NGAH!" Bakemon laid down to the ground exhausted. "Phew…All's well that ends well, huh?" Veedramon said with a smile.

"Yeah…it seems so." Taiyo replied. "You know, your partner isn't bad. That attack was surprising." Kasai then said to Taiyo. "Oh, thanks! Your dragon is…cool too!" The boy answered back, not knowing what to say.

"Oh, it's just a normal attack! Even Taiyo gets surprised every time I use it." Paledramon commented with a small laugh before everyone turned on the two injured brothers. "It seems that you two made some miscalculation in the end." Kumo told them. "You should have quitted when you got injured. Come on, let's arrest them." Kouta added.

Though…despite the situation…the two Komodo brothers had a grin on their faces, implying that they still had some asset on their sleeves.

And in fact…when the detectives came closer to put the handcuffs, on them, a pale light started to shine, blinding everyone. "Ack! What is that!?" Taiyo exclaimed. "I don't know!" Kouta added.

When the light disappeared, they could see something that stunned them: both the Komodo brothers and the two Bakemon seemed to be completely sanitized. "WHAT!?" All the detectives shouted.

"Surprised? Time for the comeback!" One of the two criminals answered. The two Bakemon then, faster than before, dashed through all the Digimon and attacked them quickly with the Hell's Hand.

"NGH!" They fell on their knees before they jumped back. "H-Hey! I'm not the only one who's seeing this, right!?" Tsuna asked to the others to be sure.

"No…they're standing up again! And they're just fine!" Kouta answered. "But how is this possible!? There was no mistake that they were knocked out just a few seconds ago!" BaoHackmon wondered still bewildered.

"Look at your faces! You're not that convinced now to take us down, uh? Sevres you right!" One of the Komodo brothers told them before the two of them took their gun and started to shoot.

"Everyone! Down!" Kumo advised the others, who jumped down and started to crawl behind the tables. Needless to say, that a shooting started, with bullets that went everywhere, and the two criminals that were able to subvert the situation in little time.

"Dammit! Talk about a pain in the ass! How are we supposed to take them down, now!?" Tsuna exclaimed while standing behind a table.

"We need to think about what just happened! There has to be a logical explanation behind it!" Aisu answered. "But which one? After we've took them down, a light suddenly appeared and a moment later they were just fine!" Taiyo said while coming up for a moment to shoot at them before going down again. "This is so bizarre I can't understand at all!"

"Then maybe that light might be the reason of all…what if it is a healing spell that cures all of their wounds?" Kumo tried to guess. "It can't be right! Bakemon don't have that type of magic!" Shoutmon told him while trying to pursuit the two ghost Digimon.

"You know better than us that you can't hide for too long! How about we make things easier?" The second brother said. In that moment, the two Bakemon started to rotate close to each other and release a spell that started to drain all the Digimon's energies. "Death Charm!"

"NGH! We need to find a way to stop this! And now!" Coredramon exclaimed.

"Exhaust Flame!" Suddenly, a large burst of flame attacked the two ghosts, putting them down.

"That attack…Aria!" Aisu exclaimed. "What!? Don't tell me is that brat aga- AGH!" one of the brothers said before he and the other one got suddenly shot by bullets. The detectives raised their heads to see their friend and Growmon coming to the saloon.

"Ah, shoot! I came too late! How long was that hallway, anyway!?" Aria exclaimed before noticing the two criminals laying on the ground. "You won't get away this time!" She tried to catch them as soon as possible, but the light shined again, blinding her. "GH!"

Once again, the two criminals and their Digimon stood up again and were about to pay her back. "You thought you could outsmart us, right?" The two Komodo brothers asked before starting to shoot at her. The girl widened her eyes and jumped quickly while Growmon covered her from the bullets. "Grow Claw!" With an attack from his claws, he threw the two criminals away so that her partner could reach the other detectives.

"Guys! Are you ok?" She asked. "Yeah, for now..." Toriko answered. "I suppose you know their trick as well. We are still trying to figure out what's the deal with him." Kasai added.

"I know it well…it happened with me twice. Even Rikka knows about this." Aria told them. "If it continues at this point, we'll get too tired, and they'll take advantage of this!" Kouta added.

"What can we do?" Taiyo asked. "We need reinforcements for now! Aisu, call Kyoko and tell her to advise the others and reach us now!" Kouta said, turning on her friend, who nodded and took her phone to refer the message.

In the meantime, the Digimon were trying to come closer to the enemy and take them down. "Burn Flame! / Meteor Squall!" BaoHackmon and Starmon tried to overwhelm them with a combination of flames and meteors, but the two ghosts flew around the room to dodge them and then counterattack with a claw attack. "Death Claw!"

"Gh…" Both BaoHackmon and Starmon recoiled, while Shoutmon jumped through them to slam them with his mike. "Soul Crusher!" Once he did this, the light appeared again and the two ghosts, now healthy again, flew away from him.

"V-Breath Arrow!" Veedramon shot an arrow of air to attack them. The ghosts moved away to dodge it and then tried to dive against him, but Veedramon was ready to receive them with a barrage of punches. "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!"

The ghosts were pushed back and tried to absorb their energies again, but they had to separate after getting suddenly attacked by a ball of metal. "What!?" The Komodo Brothers exclaimed.

When everyone looked up, they could see the air conditioner getting opened and Kyoko and Chikara getting out of it with their Digimon partners. "I've heard your message! So our opponent are the famous Komodo Brothers?" Kyoko asked.

"Oh, you must be Kyoko Ishida! The leader herself. Fine…taking you all down will be a lot more interesting!" One of the two mercenaries confirmed.

"I wouldn't be so sure!" Chikara exclaimed before getting his gun and starting to shoot at them, injuring them.

"Wait Chikara!" Kumo tried to advise him, but Chikara was already focused on taking down the enemies. "Jūouken!" Even Leomon attacked the two Bakemon with his aura attack. Again, the enemies seemed down.

"Is that it? You guys had trouble with them?" Kyoko asked the others confused. "Sometimes I'm amazed by you…in a negative way!" Chikara added before trying to come closer, but he got blinded by the white light and noticed how the two brothers were standing again. "Wait, what!?" He shouted before jumping back.

"Oh, now it all makes sense…" Kyoko commented before jumping back as well.

Even Sasuke, Rina and Yatsura from the kitchen and Rikka from the power room arrived with their partners. "Guys! We've heard a mess from the other room! And to think that in the kitchen everything was fine!" Sasuke commented.

"THIS AIN'T THE TIME, SASUKE! TAKE COVER WHILE YOU CAN!" Tsuna shouted at his younger brother. The two Komodo mercenaries turned around and immediately started to shoot at the three of them.

"AH! COME ON! At least give us the chance to make a small discussion!" Rina shouted while running towards the tables. "They're mercenaries! They don't have time for this!" Kabuterimon told her before starting to fly and attack the enemies with balls of electricity. "Mega Blaster!"

"NGH!" Once the enemies were stunned, Gladimon came closer and attacked them repeatedly with a combo of his two swords. "Sword Dancer! DORARARARARARARARARARARARA!"

"Your turn, ExVeemon!" Yatsura ordered his partner, who flew towards them and attacked with a combo of physical attacks. "COMBINATION!" But while he was performing his attack, the white light shined again, and blocked him. "Gah!"

"What is that!?" Yatsura exclaimed. "SERIOUSLY! THIS IS STARTING TO GET ANNOYING!" Tsuna added. And yet again, the two brothers and their Digimon were healthy.

"Each time they get defeated; a white light suddenly turns on and, in an instant, they are fine! It's just like…some sort of magic trick!" Kyoko noticed. "And we're not going anywhere at this pace!" Rikka added while his partner joined the other Digimon.

Taiyo was starting to sweat from his head and his eye were twitching a bit. He could clearly feel a ton of pressure from this. This was his first case in San Francisco, and it turned out to be a real mess. Now, both him and the detectives that helped him were risking a lot. He had to think of a way with the others somehow, as he didn't want to risk his life for something like this.

He then noticed Kasai, who was also sweating. Not only her, but also the others were sweating. "Hey…are you ok, guys?" He asked.

"Not really…these guys turned out to be a lot clever than we thought. But…" Kasai started. "As always, we cannot let them have their way! Not only they're messing with a lot of lives in this restaurant, but they can be considered personal enemies for us! One more reason why we must think!" Aisu added.

"Why the sudden question?" Kumo then asked. "It's just that…I tend to know how my comrades are. And…to be fair…I wanted to make sure that I'm not the only one under pressure…" Taiyo replied. "Typical of yours, Taiyo! But that's the cute aspect of you. Don't need to worry, we're not alone this time. Look at how many people we can count on!" Paledramon told him.

"That's right! You can say that this is all our problem! But we've passed through so many things during these days, I'm sure we'll find out what their trick is about!" Kyoko added, while his partner was shooting several balls of metal at the enemies, who dodged them.

Kyoko's last words…made Taiyo light a light bulb. "…Their…trick…" He thought. He quickly raised his head up and looked carefully at the two Komodo brothers. In one of them…he could notice the element that solved that insisting problem.

One of the two brothers…had a bandaged hand. Suddenly…everything was clear for him. The reason why those two mercenaries always stood up when they got defeated. It could be only that…and nothing more.

A simple trick.

"Now I get it…" Taiyo whispered. "Huh? What about it?" Tsuna asked. "I've understood now! The reason why they keep on standing up!" The boy answered.

"Really?" Kasai asked. "That's just great! Hurry up!" Yatsura added. With that, Taiyo quickly explained…and even the others had a realization now.

"Ah! But…of course!" Sasuke said. "It could only be that!" Rina added. "In that case, we need to make their stupid trick disappear!" Chikara added in turn. "Any ideas?" Leomon asked.

"I may have one, and I'll need your help." Taiyo replied, looking at Kouta and BaoHackmon. "Paledramon will block them with his ice. You think you can make an attack that can make their trick disappear?"

"Yes. That could work. Ok, then. Get ready to get out." Kouta replied. Both him and Taiyo, alongside their partners, stood at the edges of the table. Kouta started to count and when he reached the number three, they jumped out and started to advance towards their enemies.

"What? You're trying a direct assault now?" One of the two brothers asked. "You must be really desperate, then!" The other one added. "Oh no, I think you're the desperate ones! Now that we understood how you work!" Taiyo countered while taking the gun. "Time to get out once and for all!" Kouta added. The two detectives started to shoot back, hurting the two criminals at the arms. The two Bakemon tried to dash against them, but Paledramon and BaoHackmon made a strong counterattack that pushed them back.

"Go, Paledramon!" Taiyo advised to his partner, who released a breath of ice that blocked the criminals' movements. "Ice Age!"

"Ngh! I-I can't move!" One of the two brothers shouted. "Your turn, BaoHackmon!" Paledramon said to the other Digimon partner, who ran towards them.

"I've got this! Fif Cross!" And then…he made a single cut with his sword, attacking both the Komodo brothers and the two Bakemon.

"NGAAAH!"

Suddenly…twelve more of the Komodo brothers and twelve more Bakemon appeared and fell down.

The rest of the detectives widened their eyes and gasped. "H-Hey! Did you see that? More of them appeared!" Coredramon said to the others while Aisu started to count. "There's fourteen of them in total. Fourteen humans and fourteen Digimon."

"So, in the end, Taiyo's reasoning was right…we got lucky that he figured it out." Kasai commented.

"H-How…How!? Our trick has been infallible for years! How the heck did you figure it out!?" One of the brothers exclaimed.

"It was when I looked at the bandage of one of you. Every time you got injured; a light suddenly came out to put you back when you were. Through that bandage, I've discovered that the light was only a distraction to get time!" Taiyo explained.

"And the distraction consisted in blinding us while you made the substitution between the brothers and the Bakemon with more healty ones!" Yatsura added. "By taking advantage of the fact that Bakemon is a ghost and that can turn invisible or immaterial whenever he wants, you would switch with a healthy pair while the rest was recovering while being invisible." Kasai said.

"Therefore, your plan was to make us tired by letting us fight continuously. When we would have gotten enough tired, you would have finished us. Am I correct?" Kumo added. "And so, the reason why no one could understand why those murders were taking place was because the rest of you shot at the costumers while remaining invisible thanks to your Digimon."

Now it was the criminals' turn to feel under pressure. "Grrrr…damm group of fucking teenagers. Our client advised us that you were a nuisance, but we would have never expected for you to get this far! However…don't think you can celebrate yet…" One of the brothers said.

"Your next line will be 'you still have to see the strength of our union!'" As always, Kyoko predicted what he was going to say, and as always, she got it right.

"You still have to see the strength of our union- HUH!?" The mercenary exclaimed.

"Eheh! I can get your point, but as you can see, there's also fourteen of us! Plus, now that we discovered your trick, this job can be defined as concluded." Kyoko answered.

"Hey, are you ready for this?" Kasai asked to Taiyo, who seemed more convinced. "Ready than ever." The boy answered, make Kasai chuckle and fix her hat. "Then, there's nothing more to add."

"Cheshire Cat Agency…" Kyoko started. "LET'S GO!" Everyone else shouted.

The last charge started, and while the detectives were busy shooting against the criminal like some sort of war simulation, the Digimon headed towards the various Bakemon, ready to finish them. And this time, for real.

"NGAAAH! Don't think you can get away with this!" One of them shouted, as he started to attack Shoutmon with his claw. "DEATH CLAW!" Shoutmon blocked him with his mike before throwing a direct firing fist at him. "Rock Damashī! MUDA!"

"GAH!" Bakemon flew away while Shoutmon held his microphone tightly and shouted in it to release powerful sound waves. "HYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAAAAGH! MY EARS! YOUR VOICE IS TERRIBLE!" The Bakemon covered his ears, even though the voice was strong enough to stun him and make him fall to the ground. "You're lucky that you don't hear Shoutmon under the shower, then!" Kumo commented. "Now that's a bit rude, Kumo…" Shoutmon commented.

"Nightmare Wave!" Another Bakemon tried to attack DORUgamon with several waves of darkness, but the dragon swiftly moved around with his wings and then headed towards Bakemon. "Target locked! Fire! Cannonball!" He shot several balls of metal that attacked the ghost together.

"AGH! NONONONOOO!" Bakemon tried to escape, but in vain. "Hey! It actually worked!" DORUgamon commented. "Why shouldn't it work?" Kyoko asked. "Well…you know that I usually fail with that attack…" The ferret dragon Digimon answered.

Leppamon in the meantime was running around another Bakemon, confusing him more and more, until he started to feel dizzy. "How about it? Sucks to be confused? I hope you understand now what it means! Kurukuru Rekkūzan!" He then stroked with his blade, knocking his enemy out. "Not bad at all!" Rekka commented.

Strikedramon tried to attack another Bakemon, who continued to dodge until he tried to counterattack back with his Hell's Hand. In that moment, Strikedramon covered his body in flames to make the enemy burn. "Strike Fang."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH! YOU TRICKED ME!" Bakemon shouted. "Just like you did before! HINJAKU!" Strikedramon retorted before unleashing a heavy punch. "Revenge is a dish that must be served cold, like my name, right?" Aisu said.

"This ghost wants to take us on. But how about we don't even give him the time to answer?" Chikara asked to his partner. "Oh, I know how to do that!" Leomon said before making his arm spin. He then released a hundred of aura lions directly at Bakemon. "Hyakujūken!"

"AAAH! THAT'S NOT FAIR!"

"Death Charm!" Another Bakemon tried to steal energy from BaoHackmon, who did his best to resist and answer. "NGH! Not this time! Teen Blade!" The dragon started to make the blade on his tail spin like a whirlwind to attack Bakemon repeatedly while he and his partner released their battle cry. "ARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARIARI!" When Bakemon was down, they've finished the line together with a smile. "Arrivederci."

"We do it better, right?" Sasuke asked to Rina. "Yes! Cause we make a combined attack!" Rina replied, as both Gladimon and Kabuterimon made three Bakemon fly away with their attacks. "Wheel Rush! / Beet Horn!"

Waiting for them was ExVeemon, who put them back to the ground with a combo of physical attacks. "Combination!"

"Wow, you never cease to amaze me ExVeemon!" Yatsura said all happy. "Same goes for you, master!" The dragon answered back.

"Starmon! Get this!" Toriko announced as he started to shoot several bullets from his gun. Starmon immediately started to run and attack the bullets so that they could attack both the mercenary and his Digimon from several angles. "Pass, pass pass!" He then withdrew his limbs to become a spinning star that attacked both of them. "Star Seeker!"

"Poison Breath!" "Blue Flare Breath!" Bakemon tried to poison Coredramon with his breath, but the dragon answered with his own breath that nullified the poison. He then passed through his own fire to attack the ghost with a barrage of punches. "BABABABABABABABABABABABABAANG!"

"AHAH! Liked these fists? That's Tsunayoshi Motomiya and Coredramon for you!" Tsuna exclaimed. "But you can call him Tsuna!" Coredramon added with a smirk.

Another Bakemon was trembling in front of Growmon. Now that he was alone, there was much less that he could do. "D-Don't think you can underestimate me! I'm still-" He tried to get some courage, but Growmon interrupted him by slamming him repeatedly with his tail. "You're not bragging now that your trick doesn't work anymore, huh?" He asked.

"Aaah, finally a relief from that! I was getting tired of being foiled!" Aria commented.

"Grrr…that's it! We've had enough of this!" The last two Bakemon gathered to use a combined Death Charm and drain all of the enemies' energy, but there was already someone waiting for them.

"V Breath Arrow MAX! / Ice Age!" Veedramon and Paledramon combined their attacks to stop them and put them on the ground. The whole group of the Komodo Brothers was surrounded. "N-No way…" One of them said. "Maybe it was better if we stood in Las Vegas!" Another one added.

"Guess it's time for the finishing blow!" Taiyo said. "Exactly. Since you helped us out, it's only fair that you finish it. But how about to make it with more style?" Kasai asked.

"What do you suggest to do?" Taiyo asked. "How about a Dual Heat Attack?" Kasai proposed. "That's fine for me! Then let's do it!" The boy accepted as both Veedramon and Paledramon grabbed the enemies.

"Follow my steps!" Veedramon said to the other dragon. "You got it! Let me open the road!" Paledramon answered before attacking with several claws attack and then block the mercenaries with an ice breath.

"We're gonna smash you!" Both Kasai and Veedramon exclaimed before delivering a barrage of Magnum Punches and finally end the match with their battle cry. "ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"NGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" While the Bakemon disappeared in data, the Komodo Brothers were knocked out as they crashed against a wall. Some could say that it was a miracle for them to be still alive after all those bullets and attacks.

All the detectives could catch their breath now that it was over. "Phew…this was…exhausting…don't you think?" Kyoko asked to the others, getting a general agreement. Kasai then took advantage of the criminals' faint and rummaged through their pockets, until she found what she was looking for. "Good grief…just as I thought." She commented as she held the ninth USB key.

"They had one as well. Which means that we're at nine now!" Kumo said. "One step closer, guys! We're only missing four!" Toriko added, turning around to the others.

"What's that?" Taiyo asked. "It's a long story that, if you want to listen, we'll tell you later." Rikka replied. "Well…I don't see why." The boy said.

In the meantime, Yatsura and Aria were looking at the saloon in general, reduced to a literal battlefield. "Wow…we surely did a huge mess here…" Aria commented. "It's like being in a Quentin Tarantino movie. I hope we don't have to pay…" Yatsura added.

And then…after all that stuff, Elizabeth Suki, the owner of the restaurant, suddenly came out from the bathroom. Her eyes were wide open as she witnessed the thing her restaurant had become. "M-My local…what did they do to you?" She asked before noticing the fourteen brothers knocked out. "Ah! And what about those guys!?"

"They're the ones who caused all of your troubles. Don't worry, it's all over! Your restaurant is safe now! Well…kinda." Sasuke answered.

"Really?" With that, Elizabeth could take a breath of relief. "Finally…now this place can turn back to the way it used to be…" She then came closer to the detectives. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You really put me out from a terrible situation. I wish I could repay you with a free meal…but the saloon is destroyed…"

"No need to worry! It was a pleasure! Plus, we got satisfied from what we got!" Aisu replied. "Though I would have really loved to get a plate of those seafood spaghetti. Bah…whatever…." Kyoko added.

"Perhaps you want a little help?" Aria asked. "No, don't worry, it's fine! I'll do the work with my staff! You've just had a massacre, so it's only fair that you get a rest after doing your work. Thank you again." Elizabeth replied.

"Are you sure of it?" Chikara asked, with Elizabeth nodding to him. "You just take care of them. I'll make sure to repay you the debt one day with the best meal you could ever ask. Thank you again for everything…" She added with a small bow. "You too, Taiyo!"

"Don't mention it…" Taiyo answered. "Well, you've heard them, guys! Our work here is done! Let's deliver them to the police. They could turn useful to us, if you know what I mean." Kyoko told the others, who naturally agreed.

They didn't notice that Elizabeth was actually staring at them with a pervert glare. "My my...to solve this case in such magnificent way...oh...the more i look at them...THE MORE I WANT TO FEEL THEIR BODIES OVER MY SKIN! AAAAH!" She said with a moan.

"M-Miss Elizabeth!" One of the waiters exclaimed after seeing her like this.


And so, another case for the Cheshire Cat Agency was concluded successfully, with other mercenaries of Saiba Rei getting defeated and another USB key obtained, making the decisive moment only closer.

After delivering the fourteen Komodo brothers to the police, the night was still young, and the detective were ready to head back.

"So, Taiyo, what are you going to do now?" Aisu asked. "That's…actually a good question. Well, of course I would have gone home after this was done but…I really don't have an idea on what to do next…" The boy answered.

"What do you mean?" Kumo asked. "As I told you this morning, I've got transferred here in San Francisco only recently, and I still haven't got a fixed position. I've got the case of today through the police, if you ask." Taiyo explained. "Which means that we have to think on where to go during the next days." Paledramon added.

"I see, that must be problematic. I wish I could help you…but I'm afraid that we're already full in our agency…" Yatsura said. "When I've joined, the agency reached thirteen members, and I don't know if Kyoko can handle more upcoming people…at least for now." Aria added, turning on her boss, who was thinking. Even the other members of the agency thought the same, since after this case, they've appreciated that boy a lot, and it was a shame to not help him.

But then…it was Toriko who had the idea. "Wait! I know! Kyoko, don't you think he could be perfect for the Lion Fang Agency?" He proposed. Kyoko seemed to like the idea. "Now that I think about it…it could work…" Chikara added.

"Lion Fang Agency? What is it?" Taiyo fairly asked. "The Lion Fang is a detective agency with whom we often work together that operates in the Digital World. It's only made of three detectives that have our same age, but they're all normal and kind people, I can assure you! They also use their Digimon partners in combat like us and you. We all know them a lot, and I think you could stay fine with them." Kyoko told her. "I can assure it for you. They're far less bizarre than us." DORUgamon added, making her partner blush. "DORUGAMON! Ahem…what do you think? If you want, I could tell them about you and see if they like you." She then asked to Taiyo.

"You…would really do it for me?" Taiyo asked. "Why wouldn't we? You're a fellow detective, too, right? Plus, you've helped us against those criminals!" Rina answered. "And pay favors back is always something we do." Kabuterimon added.

"Guys…you'll make me cry one day..." Taiyo told them, almost moved. "But…thank you for this opportunity."

"Glad to see that you've accepted the offer!" Rikka said with a smile before turning to her leader as well. "Now that I think about it…what are we going to do now, Kyoko? It's 23.00 P.M." She then asked. "23.00 P.M!? We've stood there for over 10 hours!?" Aria exclaimed. "Time flies!" Her partner, Growmon told her.

"Oh, right! It's almost time to close the agency. Well…I guess that we should all head home, but…" Kyoko answered, implying something. "Though I've kinda liked the idea of spending one night at a restaurant with everybody. But the Fairy Godmother is messed up…"

"Sigh...and here i thought i could pay back the meal for Haruka..." Kouta said with a low voice.

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about that. We can do it another time." Aisu told her. "Maybe once we're done with all the stuff we're going through. Then we can have a super-duper party!" Sasuke added. "Make sure to take the nachos!" Tsuna said. "N-Nachos?" Coredramon asked confused.

"Yeah, I think you're right! Plus, I don't think I would have found an open restaurant nearby. In that case you're all free to go home then. I'll head back to the agency and call Shark to tell him about Taiyo here while I'm at it." The leader of the Cheshire Cat Agency said.

"If he gets to answer properly, that is. Last time I called him he was holding his phone upside down." Kouta mentioned, making everyone snort.

"Is he bad with technology?" Taiyo asked. "You have no idea." Everyone replied.

And with that, everyone went on their way, heading back to home after another long night of work. "Good night!" They all said to each other before departing to their respective houses.

Much like the others Kasai started to walk back home. Like in a normal walk, she was having her hands on her pockets, a cigarette on her mouth and a neutral expression on her face, while Veedramon walked behind her. Then, she could hear someone walking close to her, and when she turned on the left, she could actually see Taiyo walk in her same direction with Paledramon behind him.

"Huh? Why are you here?" She asked. "Oh, sorry. I didn't see you…my home is over this way." Taiyo replied. "Guess we'll walk together for a while, I suppose!" He added with a chuckle.

"Hm…I don't mind in that case." Kasai spoke as she continued. The two young Chosen Children continued to walk in silence for a couple of minutes. Just the two of them, their Digimon partners, and the noises of the night.

Then, Taiyo decided to talk to break the ice. "Hey…I've wanted to say thank you again…for helping me, that is. I don't know what would have happened in that restaurant if it wasn't for you guys."

Kasai took out the cigarette from her mouth and released the smoke. "The same could be said for you. You're the one who figured out those mercenaries' trick. I think you deserve some award as well. You're not bad either." She then said.

Taiyo then thought about something else. "Now that I think of it…you said that this case was related to you in some way. How so?" He asked, out of curiosity. "Oh, right…if you're going to join the Lion Fang Agency, then it's natural that you should be informed of what's going on. Don't you think Kasai?" Veedramon asked to her partner. "Yeah. Though it's not something pleasant to hear, considering the person we're talking about." She replied.

With that, Kasai started to describe the whole situation at Taiyo. Everything that regarded Saiba Rei, and his plan that involved hiring mercenaries to get rid of the Cheshire Cat Agency and kidnapping Digimon to steal their energies.

Naturally, Taiyo was speechless after hearing this. He wouldn't have normally believed this, but in these circumstances, it was hard to not believe what Kasai told her. "Absurd…so Saiba Rei is scheming something that involves stuff like that?"

"Yes. Up until now, we discovered that he is planning to create something called 'The Perfect Cube'. But there are still a lot of things to discover, like the reason behind his actions, his goal and even his Digimon partner. He…even heavily wounded my father and my partner and killed a dear friend of Kumo. Hearing that…I don't know…it makes me want to punch him and everyone who's related with him so hard that I don't think I could control myself…" Kasai answered, sharing a little bit of her thoughts.

"I can understand that…I think I would probably feel the same if he did something to my family as well…it's just that…It's strange to hear a truth like this. I've always seen him as a respectful person, so knowing that he's behind several crimes…is overwhelming, to be short. This makes me wonder what he's planning as well, and it also explains why the Komodo Brothers were kidnapping all those Digimon. No wonder someone like him hired people like them or Jake Ambra…" Taiyo told his opinions as well, even if it was the first time he heard about this. "But still…it seems that you have made a lot of progresses since you've started to fight against him!" Paledramon added. "I mean, if those USB key serve to go directly at him, it means that you're almost close to victory. There's only four of them left, right?" He asked.

"Yes…but at the same time…he makes progresses as well…" Kasai answered. "Every time he almost seems to be a step ahead from us, unfortunately. And the worst part is that we don't know how much close he is to his goal, whatever that is! Even though…maybe at this point…we could try to make…some sort of counterattack…" Veedramon added before thinking of a plan.

"You think so, Veedramon? Maybe it's better if we talk it with the others first…" Kasai spoke. "But…he may be right after all…" She then thought.

"Well…however it goes, I hope I can be of some help for you guys. It's the best I can do to pay you back for what you've done to me today. And…I would stay optimistic even so…if you were able to come this far against him, it means that you have something special. I think that one of those brothers said it earlier…that he's afraid of you somehow. So…yeah! Let's keep on this case. Even if we're not the original ones, we're all Chosen Children, right?" Taiyo then said, trying to cheer Kasai up after seeing that she was feeling a little blue. And he actually did it, seeing that Kasai raised her head and made a little smile. "Eheh…thanks. You seemed a lot insecure before, but now you're starting to get suddenly a lot optimistic."

"Maybe you've infected me!" Taiyo jokingly said. "Plus, seeing someone who does my same job feeling moping is not really the best. Especially for a tomboy like you, Kasai."

"Ahah! You're right! She is a tomboy in a certain way!" Veedramon exclaimed, liking what he heard. Kasai didn't care for that nickname.

"…Plus…" Taiyo continued. "I've had the chance to know you better during this case and…to be fair…I really…like that personality of yours. I find it really cool."

With that…Kasai stopped for a moment to walk. She stretched her eyes slightly as she slowly turned on him without saying a word.

"Uhm…Kasai?" Veedramon asked, noticing something strange in her. "Are you ok?" Paledramon added. "Uh? Oh, yes. Don't worry…maybe I was overthinking." The girl said as she lowered her hat.

In that moment, Taiyo noticed something. "Oh! We were so caught up in this conversation that I didn't realize we've arrived! This is my house. Well…I suppose we call it a day. It was actually fun to talk with you! I hope we can see you guys soon."

"Well, if you join the Lion Fang Agency is highly probable that we'll meet again, considering that we cooperate a lot." Veedramon assured him. "Until that moment…good night, I guess." Kasai added.

"Hmhm! Good night! See you around. Come on, Paledramon." Taiyo saluted them before entering inside his apartment. "See you soon!" Paledramon saluted as well before entering as well.

"Well! Glad to know that we made a new friend, eh Kasai?" Veedramon then asked to her partner. "Indeed…" Kasai replied with an unusual happier tone. She then noticed her own apartment not far from them. With that, she had the certainty that they were not distant from each other. So, after saluting her new friend, she threw the cigarette and finally headed home.

When she went to her room, she laid down on her coach while Veedramon got inside the Digivice to sleep. The girl thought of all that happened during her night. Indeed…what they did today was a step forward. And maybe…Veedramon was right. Maybe it was time to answer back and throw a direct attack at Saiba, now that they were so close. She wanted to pay him back for what he had done to Taichi, but…maybe she needed some more confirms at the same time. Though…what Taiyo said to her made her think a lot. In particular, it made her remind of what Rikka told her when she first joined the agency.

"I think you have something special. Even if you are not entirely a good example of person, you manage to be appreciated by others."

What Taiyo said to her wasn't that different from what she heard back then. And now…she could see that they were right. Somehow…she got appreciated by a lot of people and even if she would have never admitted it…

This made her happy.

She then took her phone, searched through the gallery and taped on one specific picture: it was the photo of when her parents and the rest of the Chosen Children left the Digital World after their first grand adventure (Her parents shared a digital version of the picture). She could see all of their stares directed towards the Botamon that just got hatched from the DigiTama. This made her look towards her hat, which belonged to her mother years earlier.

She thought of the dangers they had to go through during those days, and even if she made encouraging speeches to the others before, she wondered herself…were they going to do the same against Saiba Rei?

"…I don't know how their journey was but…after seeing the effects I'm having on the others…I just want to move forward. Therefore, I'll make sure to beat the crap out of Saiba. I mean…the others are nice people…and it would be bad to not to talk to them anymore because Saiba wants to kill them…plus, this is a detective's duty, right?" She thought.

"Hey, Kasai! Feeling ok? I've noticed that you're a lot quieter than the usual, so I've wanted to make sure." Veedramon asked from the Digivice.

Kasai turned on the Digivice and gave her answer with her typical tone. "Yeah, don't worry. You know that I don't talk that much." She assured him.

"Eheh! That's what I wanted to hear! I'm going to bed, then. Good night!" The blue dragon concluded.

"Night, Veedramon." Kasai saluted as well. While her partner started to sleep, she decided to stay awake for a little bit more while looking at the ceiling.

Maybe…Taiyo was right overall. It was better to see things from an optimistic perspective. Even in the deepest despair, everything would have turned out to be ok after all. They just had to do the same work. And for Kasai, even if her secret still made her doubtful…it was hard to abandon this new life she got ever since she joined the Cheshire Cat Agency, as she started to feel…a lot better and become more tender (even though she was always a tender person, but she never admitted it).

In particular…she thought of the new friend she encountered. She didn't know why but…thinking about him…made her have her cheeks slightly red and made her feel…a little bit embarrassed.

"Good grief…why am I feeling this way? Ever since I've talked to him, I can't get him out of my head…wait…could it be that…?" She thought.

"…Well…I've never said I don't like boys…"