"Took you long enough to get here!"Davis grinned, a victorious smile plastered on his face. "Looks like I win," Davis said as he shot his fist up in the air and smiled even wider.

"Davis you only got here a couple of seconds ago"Demiveemon, a blue fun loving Digimon,perked up and hungrily looked at his partner, who quickly tried to shush him.

"And hey I won!" Yolei looked at Davis in protest since she had gotten there just a few seconds before Davis did.

"Oh it's true, since you tripped on that inconveniently placed-" Ken tried to say before getting interrupted.

"ANYWAYS, T.K. you were last so you pay for everyone." Davis quickly said, acting as if no one had mentioned his unfortunate circumstances leading up to his painful loss. It was all the more frustrating that T.K. and Kari made it so soon after he did considering they were still in the building last he saw…wait how did they get there so soon.

"Since when-" T.K. attempted to object ,but he stopped himself, he knew it was pointless to argue with Davis, so he decided that he would trick Davis into paying later.

"How about we all start ordering?" Cody turned to everyone who all nodded. He set down his backpack on a nearby table and then went to look at the treats. He wasn't sure what he wanted. He decided he would ask his partner to provide his input, almost as if he had read his mind, Upamon begins to speak.

"Cody! Cody! Look a churro" Cody looked down at the partner in his arms who was gesturing towards the delectable treat. Cody looked at it and then back at his partner and smiled, he wasn't worried about anyone questioning his partner since Yolei and Davis were making a loud ruckus about how ramen flavored ice cream shouldn't be a thing.

"You're not the one eating it! I am! So stay out of it!" Davis points at Yolei.

"Fine ,but don't come crying to me when it ruins it forever for you" Yolei remarks back.

"Have you decided what you want Cody?" T.K. looked at his friend as he held a frozen yogurt in his hand that Patamon was gleefully begging for. He handed it over to Patamon and then ordered another one.

Cody nodded at his friend and gave him a reply. "I'll take a churro"

"Filled with strawberries, right Cody?" Upamon looked up at his partner, hopefully.

"Right." Cody smiled back at his ever so hungry partner.

T.K. grabs the churro from the shopkeeper and hands it over to Cody. He then gestures for them to sit down. Kari who already had her treat as well joins them.

"Alright T.K. you can pay now-" Davis searches the area for his friend who has seemingly disappeared. Davis looks around side to side searching for him, where did he go? He was supposed to pay!

"How has middle school been treating you?" T.K. smiles at his friend as he ignores the calls of his other friend who sounds more and more desperate with each call.

"It's been good" Cody responds, it was honestly nothing new. He felt fairly prepared for it. The subjects were the same as always, it was nothing he couldn't handle.

"Davis, I think T.K. is ignoring you" Ken taps Davis on the shoulder as he points out to Davis the location of their friend. Ken holds onto Davis' treat and his own as he sees Davis' desperation continue to grow more and more each second.

"Yeah, I could see that" Davis begrudgingly pulls out his wallet and purchases the treats. They had caused enough trouble for the clerk and he really didn't want to get banned from the place or even worse, get his food spit in or something.

"It's a shame you just got there and we're leaving this year." Kari looks at Cody sadly while Gatomon makes an effort to lick the ice cream cone in her hands "If there's anything you need just let us know"

"Will do" Cody nods seriously at his friend even though he didn't think there was anything he would need their help in. He had gotten through most of this first year fine, he was halfway through it and nothing particularly interesting had happened.

"Yeah if anyone is causing you trouble let us know and we'll take care of them" T.K. smiles at his friend mischievously and then takes a bite out of his treat. His hat, slightly slipping from his head. Cody shivers at the thought, recalling the encounter the seemingly pleasant boy had with the Digimon Emperor.

"Uhhh…" Cody looks at Kari for help who only has a playful smile beginning to form.

"No one will definitely bother you if we have something to say about it" She says with a grin. For some reason Cody couldn't help ,but feel a bit scared. On their own they were quite nice, but when they were together he couldn't help ,but feel they were kind of menacing. If someone did end up bothering him, he kind of felt bad for them.

"Is that T.K. and Kari? What are they doing here?" a voice appeared to have been observing the group for quite a while. Davis,Ken,and Yolei all find seats next to their friends and sit down.

"The same reason we're at a sweets shop idiot" the other voice replied.

"No fair T.M. you were supposed to pay you were last" Davis pointed at him upset.

"I'm a trademark?" T.K. faked confusion and Davis looked at him bewildered.

"YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN" Davis yelled as all the other customers turned to look at him, but no one from the group batted an eye.

"Sit down," Yolei said as she sneakily took the seat next to Ken. Davis raises an eyebrow at her, that wasn't fair. He had to comply with her tricks ,but she never did the same for him. He shakes his head and turns his attention back to T.K.

"You better pay back, you got here last after all" Davis says as he takes a seat.

"Hm? If I remember correctly Kari got there at the same time as me" T.K. said trying to hide a smirk. He found it a bit too enjoyable to mess with his friends, especially Davis. The way Davis got upset was just too amusing. Kari looks at him slightly offended and then begins to pull out something from her bag. Davis shakes his head and then sighs, yeah there was no way he'd force her to pay.

"I won't be so forgiving next time." Davis says, hiding a smile with his words. The truth was he was already prepared to pay for everyone, he did invite them after all. Well technically, considering two-thirds of them were just freeloaders at that point.

"Hey, it's not just them. Look, it's Davis and Ken and is that a high schooler?" the other voice responds. It seemed as if the group had appeared very interesting to the bystanders ,but for some reason the strange creatures with them had nothing to do with it.

"Seriously, you don't know who that is? That's Yolei. She was at our school just last year. She was the president of the Computer Club" The voice appeared annoyed at it's friend.

"Who's that little kid they're with?" a voice rang out from behind.

"Beats me probably got stuck babysitting him"another voice responded with a laugh. The other kids were too busy still discussing payments to notice the cruel laughs of the strangers as they looked at Cody.

Cody looked away from them, trying to ignore their words, but for some reason they wouldn't stop laughing and he couldn't stop thinking about them. He had always made sure to be aware of his surroundings in case anything had happened, it seemed to have added to the mature side everyone saw in him, but in that moment he could feel some regret in being that way. Was he just a bother to everyone? They had always treated him nicely, but…he couldn't help ,but feel a bit of doubt.

Cody looks at the table, feeling a sharp pain in his heart. He really wasn't that much younger than everyone else. After all they all went to the same elementary school together, they all went to the Digital World together- maybe that was the reason they were stuck together…

He looked at them feeling uncomfortable and then he stood up from his chair, merely picking up Upamon who was seizing the moment to eat part of the treat and began to get ready to leave.

"I have Kendo." Cody looked away from them, he didn't want to ruin the others' images. He knew they were all somewhat popular, not that they wanted to be, but he didn't want them to have to experience the kind of thing he felt now. What if they got laughed at too just for being with him? For their sake he was willing to leave. After all, they didn't deserve to be made fun of. This was the right thing to do and once he set his mind on the right thing it was his duty to do it.

"Wait, isn't your Kendo only on Tuesdays and Thursdays?" Yolei looked at him puzzled at his sudden action. Now that she got a good look at him, he looked kind of sad. Cody stayed silent, he couldn't come up with a good response. If he responded it would mean coming up with a lie, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Something bothering you?"T.K. looked at his friend with a worried expression. Cody looked fine a few moments ago, but he had a certain lonely expression on his face. One of the worst expressions a person could have.

"No…"Cody sat back down and took a bite into his churro and waited for everyone else to finish their treat. For some reason every second began to feel eternal when previously it felt as if they had all gone so fast. Time normally considered precious felt like a slog.

"Hey guys, all of you free tomorrow?" Davis says as he eats his final scoop of ice cream and sets it down on the table.

"I don't work tomorrow" Yolei says as she finishes her treat and begins to eat the one she got to go. "So yeah probably." Yolei turns her head to the counter. Good they still had more she could get to go.

"I don't really make plans" Ken says honestly, because most of his plans were things Davis dragged him out to do.

"I should be free too" T.K. says as he lets Patamon eat his treat as well. Kari looked at him and raised an eyebrow. That was the third one Patamon had since they got there. That couldn't be good for him.

"Great that's more yeses then no so the rest of you have to come no matter what" Davis chuckles and a giant smile plasters his face. He was already getting excited for this.

"What are we doing?" Ken turns to Davis expectantly.

"Uhh…I didn't think it through that far…" Davis admits and Ken smiles lightly, unsurprised.

"I heard there's a festival tomorrow," Kari says as she looks at the window of the shop that had a flyer advertising the event.

"Really? Where did you hear that from?" Yolei asks excitedly. She hadn't heard of such an event, but from the sound of it, it sounded like a good time.

"Um…heard it from a friend" Kari says as she pretended she hadn't just read it off a flyer in the window.

"You definitely read it from over there" T.K. says as he looks at the window.

"That's a coincidence"

"Uh huh"

"You're just jealous you didn't come up with that great idea. So come on guys let's go tomorrow!" Davis scolds T.K. and then stands up with a smile.

"Cody what do you think?" Ken looks at Cody who had remained silent the entire time. "Does it work for you?" Ken asked him kindly.

"I'm not sure I can…" Cody says. He didn't really feel well and he wasn't sure if he would be up to it. Besides, this would be for their sakes. The right thing to do was to not trouble them any further.

"Why not?" Yolei frowns as she looks at him. For some reason she couldn't help, but felt as if Cody was avoiding them, but he didn't have a reason to do that, at least not one she knew of.

"Well if you're not going we might as well call the whole thing off. It isn't the same without you there." T.K. looks at Cody who then looks down with a hint of guilt.

"I need to check my schedule" Cody says as he pulls out a small notepad from his backpack and he flips to the calendar.

"Lemme see," Davis says as he enthusiastically snatches it from his hands. "It's empty so you can totally come." Davis says with a wide smile. He was glad Cody had as little going on in his life as he did.

"Oh… that's good" Cody says as he grabs it from Davis' hands and puts it away again.

"So do you guys wanna hang out a bit more before then" Davis smiles and the rest of them nod. They leave the place and they all begin to wander, wherever their hearts took them into the night as they created new memories that were woven together by time.

Despite spending the rest of the day together with everyone, Cody didn't feel as if he was there with them. He spoke a few words for the rest of the day, not unusual for him, but even if he did have input to say, he couldn't find it in him to speak. He desperately wanted to go home. It wasn't that he didn't want to be with them, he truly cared about his friends and wanted to spend time with them, but the bitter laughter of the two voices stained his memories with nothing but pain. Pain that tainted an otherwise good day where they could have all had a great time together.

Were they just stuck with him because they were all Digidestined? The bitter thoughts began to flood his mind one after another like if a dam had burst, a dam he didn't even know existed in the back of his mind.

"See you all tomorrow,"Davis waved goodbye as he and Ken left in the same direction. Maybe it had become a habit, since he knew Ken could go home on his own, but he still wanted to make sure he got home safely.

Kari tagged along with the other three who left her at her apartment's door and then they made their way home. To the same apartment complex where they had coincidentally met each other as if it was destiny.

"Man, I'm tired" T.K. says as he puts his hands behind his neck and keeps walking.

"Me too, but I just got a message from my parents saying they need help with inventory" Yolei says, looking tired as she walks. The message had actually said they needed it for tomorrow, but because she didn't want to change plans she decided she'd do it tonight.

"What about you, Cody?" T.K. asks Cody who hadn't heard him and was silently walking, his head only facing forward.

"Cody are you there?" Yolei taps him on the shoulder and he turns around.

"Sorry, were you speaking to me?" Cody looks at his two friends who only look at him worried.

"Cody? Are you sure you're okay" T.K. looked at the boy once more with concern.

Yolei nodded. "You're acting pretty strange, did something happen?" She noticed his behavior had shifted slightly, but maybe it was all in her head.

Cody shook his head and urged them not to worry. He didn't want his friends to know a silly comment had troubled him so much. It wouldn't be mature after all, Right? He had to be the person they knew who he was. No one else. If he couldn't be that, then he really would be just that one kid they were stuck with, because destiny had willed it.

"I'm fine." Cody fakes a smile and nods at his friend. He reaches his apartment door and waves goodbye. He opens the door and walks in, his smile vanishing as soon as he makes it through the door.

"I'm worried about him." Yolei frowns as she observes Cody's strange behavior.

"Yeah,he gets like that when he's troubled." T.K. nods, he then thinks about the way Cody had acted when he had first witnessed his rage against the powers of darkness. He held the same distance from that time now. "Cody's really independent, we'll have to let him be for now."

Yolei nods sadly "I know but maybe… he's too independent."

"I know what you mean, he really deserves to enjoy himself more" T.K. nods at Yolei who only sighs, she had known Cody for years, he felt like a little brother to her. She didn't think he needed to change; she only wished he would let himself be vulnerable.

"I'm sure he's got this, Cody's wisdom and morality always helps him pull through." T.K. smiled, he had full belief in his DNA digivolution partner. After all, that evolution had led him to understand his friend a little better. Yolei smiled, T.K. really did have a contagious smile. It put her kind of at ease, though that wasn't always the case. Sometimes it felt a little deceitful. She shook her head, it must be all in her mind. It was genuine now at least and that's what mattered. Yolei waved goodbye and wished him a goodnight as she opened the door to her home.

~~~

Cody entered his home, looking around the living room, it was tidy as always. He removed his shoes and entered his room. Neatly placing his stuff down on a corner. His mother and grandfather had gone out shopping for the day and it appeared they hadn't returned. He left his room and went to the table and served himself dinner and Upamon a portion that exceeded his one. Once his mother had found out about his partner she had been cooking more than enough for both of them.

"This is the best Cody," Upamon said as he happily dug into his portion. Cody looked at him with a small smile and continued to eat. The others had all eaten out ,but he refused, knowing his mother had cooked something. He didn't want it to go to waste, not that it would with his partner Digimon, but still. He didn't want to deny what she had made for him with her own two hands.

After finishing, he began to prepare himself for bed, getting his nightly routine out of the way. He would not end his night, without a silent prayer as he looked at his father's memorial. He closed his eyes,unable to concentrate, and left. For the first time in a while he couldn't think of what to say during it. He just didn't feel like he could face him at this moment…and even if he tried denying it he knew why.

Soon he went to his room and laid down on his bed with his partner. He closed his eyes and felt the door to his room open. A small light creeped inside as his mother checked in on him. She smiled as she shut the door and left him to rest. Cody opened his eyes, unable to fall asleep. He hated how troubled he felt and even worse how he couldn't do anything about it.

The wall's of Cody's room were lined with nothingness and a certain bleakness. Cody found himself staring at the walls, wondering why he felt wounded that day. The mocking tone of the words hung in his ears as sorrow began to fill him up. The pain in his heart felt like it was strangling him.

"Cody, are you okay?" his small partner stared at him with compassionate eyes. Behind the hungry exterior Upamon was full of love for his partner. It wasn't strange that Upamon could sense Cody's heart, they were connected after all and Cody knew this.

"Am I doing the right thing?" Cody said his eyes remained fixed on his walls. Puzzled,Upamon tilted his head indicating he had a desire to help his partner. After all, that's what he was born into this world for. To be with Cody no matter what.

"Never mind" Cody later laid down on his side, staring at the bleakness of his walls and perhaps even his own life. For the first time in a while, he felt empty. A sort of emptiness that was painful and lonely. A loneliness he hadn't experienced since before he first went to the Digital World.

"Cody, I think you're doing just fine" Upamon stared at his partner and brought out a smile. "You aren't always going to make the right decisions. I ate your churro today, was it delicious? Yes, but I felt bad" Cody paused as he turned his head to face his partner. Puzzled, why did Upamon feel guilty? If Upamon had just asked,he would have happily shared with him. After all they were partners, friends.

"Why did you feel bad?" Cody asked him, unable to hide the confusion it brought him.

"Because I hid something from you, I couldn't be honest with you,I missed out on a memory I could have shared with you. If we assume our friends are going to be upset, we hide things. What's the point of friends then? Friends are there to help each other." Upamon looked at him guilt in his eyes, but most of all, a smile was painted on his face

Cody could feel the walls of his heart tightening, he felt pain. It was strange ,but they had felt the same thing. Pain at hiding stuff from those they care about , but he didn't know how it was that he was supposed to free himself from his burden. For on his small shoulders Cody was allowing himself to carry the weight of the world.

"Thank you, Upamon" Cody embraced his partner who was soundly asleep with a smile. Upamon had fallen asleep because he knew that no matter what, Cody would be okay. After all, this was his partner, his partner who he was always proud of.

~~~

Ken placed Minomon gently on his bed and placed a blanket over him. The small digimon had fallen asleep on the way home. He left the room and then prepared himself to go to bed as well. As he finished up, he felt a searing pain enter his body. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes, feeling that pain and darkness through his body.

"Ken, are you okay?" Minomon lifted his head up, immediately waking up and looking at him in concern. Ken looked at him apologetically, feeling bad at having woken him up.

"I'm okay Minomon. You should go back to sleep" Ken said as he moved Minomon's head back onto the pillow and smiled. He moved the blanket up and wrapped him up and patted him on the head.

"Ken…you can always trust me. If you bottle everything up, you'll only be in pain and I would hate to see that…" Minomon said, his voice sadly cracking as he looked at his partner. His beloved partner who harbored so much pain.

"I just…have a bad feeling. Like something bad is going to happen…" Ken lays down next to Minomon and puts his hand on the back of his neck. He hadn't felt his neck react that strongly since last year, right before they had been taken…he was starting to get scared.

"Even if something bad does happen we'll be okay." Minomon gets closer to him and brings the blanket with him. He closes the gap between them and shares the small blanket with Ken.

"You're right…"Ken said with a small smile, still uncertain, but with the pain in the back of his neck,feeling a lot less heavy than it did before. He was really happy to have his partner with him