Author's Note:

Quick announcement: For any of you who don't already know, Crazyeight is continuing the story of the alternate Rika from the previous two chapters, and it's already off to an amazing start. If you enjoyed those chapters, liked Mirrors (my previous Tamers fic), or are just really into multiverse shenanigans, you can find Off the Beaten Path listed in my favorites.

On a related note, I've ended up with an alternate opening/deleted scene for Chapter 15. Wasn't sure on where the most appropriate place for it was, but it's living on my Tumblr for anyone who's curious.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters. Please support the official release.

Childhood Heroes

"Get that thing away from me!"

Guilmon looked down at the tray in his claws, then back up at the woman who had just shouted at him. He thought about it hard for a couple seconds, trying to figure out why she would be angry at the sliced up cinnamon roll he had offered her a piece of. After all, she hadn't even tried it yet, and the whole reason he walked around with free samples like this one was so customers could try the new foods that Takato's parents made.

It was only when he was in the middle of wondering if the woman simply didn't like cinnamon that Guilmon looked a little closer at her eyes, and realized that she wasn't looking at the roll. She was looking at him. She was looking at him and glaring at him with the same mean eyes that the protesters that he and Takato occasionally ran into had, the protesters that hated Digimon and their human partners by extension.

Taking a nervous step backwards, Guilmon wasn't sure what to say. He considered apologizing, just to avoid causing any trouble, but he didn't think he had done anything wrong. Luckily, Mie stepped out from behind the counter and stood herself in between the two of them.

"Is there a problem?" Mie growled through her teeth, looking like she wanted to get mad and yell herself.

"I'll say..." The mean woman looked up at Mie while pointing at Guilmon. "How can you run an establishment with one of those creatures running around?"

Mie crossed her arms and started drumming her fingers. "That's none of your business."

The woman rolled her eyes. "That's until it infects the food with some kind of virus."

"Well, you're free to spend your money elsewhere." Mie raised her voice slightly, gesturing to the from door. "In fact, please do."

"What I should do is call the police or animal control to drag that thing out of here."

"Call him a thing one more time and I'll kick you out of here myself!" Mie pointed an angry finger in the woman's face, causing her to flinch and step backwards.

"M-Mom..." Guilmon muttered, still unable to get the words out. He had the same feeling in his stomach that he got when a wild Digimon appeared that wanted to fight instead of being sent home. His brain was only stopped from racing when a hand grabbed his shoulder.

Guilmon looked upward at Takato's father, Takehiro, who looked calm but smelled like he was a little bit nervous. Takehiro gently nudged Guilmon back towards the register while he took steps towards the argument in the middle of the bakery.

"Maybe we should all just take a deep breath," he suggested, though no one seemed any calmer.

"Aw, nuts..." Takato poked his head into the bakery as Guilmon reached the register, having been upstairs doing homework since he got off school. "Everything okay out here, boy?"

"I, uh, well-" Guilmon's head was a mess of thoughts, which were all interrupted when Mie started yelling again.

"Yeah, well you'd change your tune if you knew what he and my son have done for you over the years!"

Takato sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you step out of the bakery for a minute, Guilmon, and wait for this to die down?"

"Okay..." Guilmon nodded, walking away from his partner and only pausing once everyone else was out of sight.

Guilmon knew that Takato had only meant for him to leave the bakery itself, and at the most go upstairs and wait in their room. Without thinking, however, his legs took him out the side door of bakery and continued to take him away from his home.

To no surprise of his own, Guilmon eventually wandered to his old shed in the park. Even after years of getting used to living in Takato's family home, the shed still felt like a safe space for him. In a weird way, his life was a little simpler back then, not having to worry about anything except staying hidden from people who weren't even looking for him in the first place.

Now that everyone knew about him, on the other hand, it explained a lot about why he had to stay hidden in the first place. The mean woman from earlier may have been the loudest about it, but she wasn't the first person to be mad about the fact that he lived in the bakery. Over the years, many customers would enter and make comments under their breath if they didn't just turn around and leave at the sight of him. Guilmon would have been fine it was just a matter of them not liking him, except that he knew these people not liking him made trouble for Takato and his family.

Stepping up to the shed's gate, Guilmon sniffed the air around him, making sure there was no one else inside. Nobody was around, but some new scents still lingered around it. Repairs to the damage caused by Tyranomon had started and were moving slowly, but some progress was being made. The cracks in the walls and ceiling were being filled, a new gate to replace the broken one leaned against the side of the shed, and a few stray hand-tools were scattered around the inside. The hole in the floor that led to the portal still remained, but Takato had assured him that the people fixing the shed were being watched to make sure there were no accidents.

Guilmon stared at the hole in the ground for a moment, catching himself wondering what would happen if decided to use the portal and return to the Digital World right then and there. He wouldn't, knowing that even if he wanted to he would just make everyone worry and they would probably chase after him to bring him home. Still, he couldn't help but imagine that things at the bakery would quiet down without him around to cause trouble.

"Hello?" a voice that Guilmon didn't recognize called out, pulling Guilmon's attention back towards the path.

Sneaking the best he could so that he wouldn't be seen, Guilmon followed the voice, finding a small boy taking careful steps forward. The boy, with dark hair and looked like he was about the same size and age Suzie had been when they all first met, had a nervous look on his face.

Guilmon stayed off to the side for a moment, not sure if the boy would even want his help to begin with. That didn't sit right in his stomach, however, and after taking a deep breath, he took some careful steps forward of his own.

"Are you okay?" Guilmon asked softly as he stepped onto the path.

The boy made a small hop backwards, probably having been startled a bit. Thankfully, once he turned and actually saw Guilmon, he didn't seem any more scared than he had been a moment ago.

"I don't know..." The boy nervously fidgeted with his fingers. "I was at the playground and wanted to do some exploring and now I'm not sure where I am."

Guilmon couldn't help but smile at the explanation. Between Calumon and Terriermon, he knew a little bit about going on accidental adventures. He refocused on the boy, approaching him carefully and giving him a strong sniff to isolate his scent.

Turning his nose outward, Guilmon began to sort through the park around them. Between the boy himself and places that smelled a bit like him and people who smelled like they had been in contact with him, Guilmon felt confident that he could figure out the right direction.

"Hm..." Guilmon took one last second to consider before pointing back down the path. "Smells like you have to go that way."

The boy glanced down the path and then back at Guilmon. "Can you show me the way?"

Guilmon hesitated for half a second, still nervous about the possibility of running into another human who didn't want him around. After that half a second was up, however, he knew there was only one decision to make.

"Okay, hop on!" Guilmon chirped as he leaned downward so the boy could climb on his back.

The boy stood still for a few seconds, using that time to look Guilmon over. Once done, he seemed to relax, eventually climbing aboard as instructed. With his passenger secure, Guilmon stood up slowly and began his march.

Still, it didn't take long for Guilmon to recognize that something was out of place. The boy was fidgety and nervous, less so than he had been a moment ago, but Guilmon could still smell and feel that he was on edge. Guilmon wasn't sure what to say, but not liking how this feeling reminded him of how he had felt when the customer at the bakery was yelling at him, he decided to just say the first thing he thought of.

"So what's your name?" Guilmon asked, smiling as he spoke in the hopes that the boy would do the same.

"Satoru..." his passenger answered, still sounding a bit sad.

"Nice to meet you, Satoru," Guilmon continued, deciding that any kind of answer was a sign he should push on. "I'm Guilmon."

"Nice to meet you too..." Satoru replied, the tone of his voice not changing.

"You know, it's okay to be scared sometimes," Guilmon said softly, trying his best to think of something smart and reassuring to say, like Renamon would.

"I'm not scared!" Satoru snapped, reminding Guilmon of Impmon just a little bit. A pause followed, though, and the boy seemed to calm down. "I was just a little worried about not being able to find my way back."

"Okay..." Guilmon nodded, hoping he hadn't said the wrong thing by accident.

"It's just..." Satoru paused again, smelling a little confused in that moment. "My mom's probably worried. She told me to stay put while she went to the bathroom, but I wandered off anyway."

Guilmon had to pause himself after hearing the story, something about it sounding familiar. He couldn't figure out why, though, so he decided to put the thought away and think about it later.

"I get scared too. Sometimes when I have to fight a big, tough Digimon, and sometimes..." Guilmon hesitated, remembering his family getting yelled just a little while ago. "...other times too."

"You're the knight, right?" Satoru perked up, suddenly sounding more interested in what they were talking about.

"That's me! Well, me and Takato..." Guilmon occasionally forgot why everyone knew about him these days. "Did you see us on TV?"

"No…" Satoru shook his head before hesitating. "Well, maybe, but there was another time before that, I think."

"When?" Guilmon glanced over his shoulder to look at the boy.

Satoru crossed his arms and looked upward. "I was really little. I'm not even sure where we were or what we were doing. I just remember giant tentacle monsters coming out of the sky, and you jumping in and saving us at the last minute."

Guilmon instantly knew the day that Satoru was talking about, when an army of Parasimon had opened a portal from the Digital World. They had almost lost that fight, and he and Takato had only been able win by calling on the power that Grani had given them, Gallantmon's Crimson Mode, and destroying all of the Parasimon with one attack. Guilmon did his best to remember the rest of the fight leading up to that moment, trying to figure exactly when they could have saved a little boy and his mom. They had been doing their best to save everyone, and all the fighting and chaos of that battle had blurred together over the years.

"I guess this is the second time you're saving me," Satoru concluded, putting on the most genuine smile he had since they met.

Before Guilmon could figure out what the right way to respond was, they arrived at the playground they had been journeying towards. Guilmon scanned the area, ready to fall back on his nose one more time before his eyes stopped on a couple police officers talking to a lady with the same color hair as Satoru. This lady eventually looked past the officers and spotted them, not waiting another second before jogging in their direction. Guilmon cautiously sniffed the air, the mix of scents telling him that this lady had to be Satoru's mother.

"Jeez, Kiddo," she said as she stopped right in front of them, worry and relief both on her face. "Way to give your old lady a heart attack."

"Sorry…" Satoru's head and shoulders sank.

Their reunion was cut short by the two police officers approaching them. Realizing that their hands were resting just above the guns on their wastes and that they were glaring directly at him, Guilmon felt his whole body go rigid.

"Son, I'm gonna need you to step away from the creature," the older looking officer said slowly.

"Did I do something wrong again?" Guilmon asked, looking to each of the humans around him for an answer.

"Those things can talk?" the younger officer asked nervously.

"Guess so…" the older one answered before looking directly at Guilmon again. "Did you take this boy?"

"What?" Satoru's mother snapped her attention over to the officers and raised an eyebrow.

"N-No…" Guilmon couldn't help but worry that there wasn't a correct answer to the question.

The officer stepped closer. "Then what were you doing with him?"

Satoru hopped off Guilmon's back stood himself in between them. "He was helping me find my mom, you big jerk!"

The officer's eyes darted between the two of them before shaking his head. "Regardless, it's going to have to come with us."

"What for, exactly?" Satoru's mother asked calmly, though her facial expression stayed the same.

"It could be dangerous," the younger police officer piped up, stepping forward a bit faster than his friend.

"He's not dangerous!" Satoru snapped. "Guilmon protects everyone!"

Satoru reeled his foot back, then flung it forward and connected with the younger officer's shin. As the officer yelped and leaned down to massage his leg, Satoru's mother grabbed hold of her son under his arms and pulled him away, finishing the motion by putting herself directly in the middle of all of them.

Everyone stood still, leaving Guilmon confused about what he could do to help. Part of him wanted to run, and he might have been able to able escape, but he knew that was definitely the wrong thing to do. He knew he needed to stay, to make sure he wasn't causing trouble for anyone else.

"Do you have any friends, Guilmon?" Satoru's mother asked suddenly, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, lots…" Guilmon answered, confused as to how his friends could help them when none of them knew where he was.

"And what would they do if they found out you were taken by the police here?"

"Are you threatening us?" the older officer growled.

"I'm just asking questions." Satoru's mom shrugged. "But seriously, Guilmon, would they try to break you out or something like that?"

Guilmon shook his head. "No, but they would probably have to call Mr. Yamaki, and he'd probably get really upset."

"Mr. Yamaki's pretty important, I take it?"

"Yeah, he's in charge of Hypnos." As Guilmon's brain caught up with his mouth, he got a little scared that he had said something he wasn't supposed to.

"What the hell's a Hypnos?" the younger officer chimed in.

"Pretty important government agency from what I've heard," Satoru's mother explained casually. "You probably want to stay off their bad side."

"And what do you know about it?" the older officer asked, now looking extra grouchy.

"I'm a journalist, actually." Satoru's mother pulled a small white card out of her pocket and handed it to the police officer. "So in the very off chance my info is wrong, I might feel the need to report on the incident that occurred here today and how it was handled."

The older officer held the card tightly, bending it a little bit, and then turned to his partner. "Come on, I don't want to deal with the paperwork today."

He pushed the card back into its original owner's hands and walked away. The younger officer paused for just a second, a confused look on his face, but quickly fell in step behind. Once they had gotten a good ways away from them, Guilmon nervously looked over to the mother and son who had protected him.

"Sorry about all this…" he said softly, looking downward slightly as he spoke.

"Nothing to be sorry for," Satoru's mother replied as she placed the palm of her hand on top of her son's head and gently pushed down. "If anything, I owe you for looking after the park ranger here."

"Mom, stop it!" Satoru tried to wriggle free, but his mother held him in place.

"In fact…" She held out the card the policeman had given back to her. "Why don't you hold onto this, just in case I can pay you back."

Guilmon accepted the card, taking a second to read it over. Above what looked like a telephone number and email address was a name, Sachiko Fujinuma.

"Okie dokie," Guilmon said politely, giving them both a single nod.

"Maybe now we head home?" Sachiko suggested to her son.

"Fine…" Satoru groaned before looking forward again and smiling. "See you later, Guilmon."

"Bye-bye!" Guilmon waved as they walked off, though he didn't waste more than a couple seconds before turning around and rushing away himself. Feeling a lot better than he had earlier, he suddenly realized how much he wanted to head home.

Guilmon had considered sneaking around and entering through the alley, but his legs carried him to the bakery's main entrance. Luckily, the only obstacles for him getting back inside were Mie and Takehiro, who were outside and staring into the front window.

"Are you sure about this?" Takehiro asked calmly.

Mie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Are you not?"

Guilmon glanced through the window, noticing that Takato was struggling to hang up a poster of some kind.

"Watcha doing?" he asked, getting the adults' attention.

"Hey, Guilmon, perfect timing!" Mie smiled and gestured at the poster. "We're taking an extra step to make sure that what happened today doesn't happen again."

"This might not work completely," Takehiro added, sounding a little worried. "Some people are just determined to start trouble."

Mie shrugged. "At least it's clear where we stand." She paused to look over the poster, then sighed. "Takato, it's lopsided!"

Takato's shoulders sank before he pulled the poster down and attempted to pin it up again. It took a couple attempts, but this gave Guilmon a chance to get a good look at it.

The first thing that caught his attention was the drawing at the center of it, showing him, Renamon, and Terriermon wearing aprons and oven mitts, carrying trays of bread. Guilmon couldn't help but think of what was probably his brightest memory from the D-Reaper invasion, when he and his friends had spent the morning in the bakery making Guilmon Bread.

Once the poster was up, however, Guilmon noticed the words written above the picture. The message was short and simple, but it still kept his attention:

This establishment supports the Tamers and their Digimon partners

"We should ask the Katou's if they want Takato to make one for them too," Mie said confidently before walking back into the bakery.

Guilmon hesitated before following, not quite able to take his eyes off the poster. A warm feeling formed in his chest, one that almost made him wonder why he had been so upset earlier. He supposed he could figure it out later, especially since he finally had his appetite back. He finally went inside, curious as how much of his family's leftover bread would be waiting for him.

Author's Note:

I don't know how I feel about Satoru and Sachiko's presence here. Crossovers are one thing, but I'm the first person to cringe when a fic just randomly shoehorns in a character from a completely unrelated property. Granted, they don't have to literally be interpreted as those characters, and Satoru's name was intentionally used as an homage. I think the real problem was that computer issues interrupted me in the middle of writing this chapter, so I may or may not have been grasping at straws to come up with a resolution.