The Next Day
Midoriya Household
Musutafu, Japan
Izuku can be seen lying on his bed, sleeping soundly as he hugs both Hackmon and Veemon like they're plushies. Both Digimons are also sleeping soundly, not mind at being hugged by their partner, they seem to prefer such treatment from how they nuzzled Izuku unconsciously.
It was a peaceful day, and Izuku was quite tired after the Sports Festival and the aftermath party, not to mention the injuries he sustained during the fight. Since today is the weekend, Izuku didn't hesitate to sleep as much as possible, not giving any care to the world.
"HOW DARE YOU!!!" Izuku and his partners jump in shock as they hear Inko shouting in a primal rage, causing the three of them to fall from the bed. Izuku was the most unfortunate one as his back slammed to the floor with a loud thud, and his partners fell right on his chest. Izuku gasps in pain, and his Digimons immediately get off of him.
"Oh, Yggdrasil! Izu, I'm sorry!" Hackmon exclaims in horror before approaching Izuku and nuzzling his cheek. Izuku chuckles painfully before patting his head weakly, getting up shakily with Veemon assisting Izuku while looking at his partner in concern.
"Good, it's nothing much. Especially compared to Gran's training…" Izuku says as Hackmon looks at him in disappointment. Izuku simply chuckles again before pulling the duo into a hug. The Digimons didn't say a word, simply returning the gesture. They both look at the door as Inko's voice gets louder and louder before looking at each other in confusion and concern.
Hackmon and Veemon immediately hop on Izuku's shoulder as he walks out the door, rubbing his eyes tiredly. Upon opening the door, Inko's voice gets clearer, and Izuku can see her angrily shout at her phone; her face turns red, veins popping on her forehead, and some tears escaping from her eyes. This raises some red flags for Izuku, clenching his hand on the doorknob, causing it to bend and groan.
"NEVER CALL ME BACK, YOU CUMS-FOR-BRAINS!!!!" With that, Inko aggressively hung up her phone before panting. Izuku looks at his mom in concern before approaching her and hugging her, without saying a single word. Inko stiffened a bit before she relaxed and, clutching at Izuku's hand, silently sobbed.
"It's….it's your father, Izuku…" Inko answers his unspoken question, surprising Izuku a lot. He had completely forgotten the fact that he does have a father and he is still alive. It didn't help that Horikoshi even forgot that fact, despite saying he would appear one day in the future chapter.
"He…he wants to…he wants to 'talk'…" Inko says shakily. "Saying…he's 'proud' of you….and wanting to 'congratulate' him…e-even planning to set…a date to meet you..."
"I'm not going anywhere, mom," Izuku mutters, tightening his hug slightly. "I'm not planning to leave you…not for a scumbag like him…"
"…that doesn't mean I'm not scared, Izu…" Inko mutters. "He…he could do anything to take you away…he has the money…and power…"
"Don't worry, he'll find out taking me away from you is an impossible task," Izuku says to reassure his mom. "Besides, even if he has power, we have All Might on speed-dial."
"…I suppose," Inko chuckles lightly before looking at Izuku, holding his cheeks gently. "Thank you…I couldn't ask for a better son…"
"And I couldn't ask for a better mom…" Izuku says before gently holding one of her hands. Inko smiles wider before she lets go of her hold on Izuku's cheek.
"I'm sorry for waking you up," Inko says while scratching her cheek. "I know you said you wish to sleep longer during weekends."
"I don't mind, mom," Izuku says while waving it off, ignoring the stares from his partners. He then let out a yawn before rubbing his eyes again. "Um, maybe a cup of coffee."
"Sure," Inko chuckles before she walks towards the kitchen. Izuku watches his mom with concern, wondering how he could help her with the ex-husband situation. Rubbing the back of his head, he walks towards the bathroom to clean himself up as both Hackmon and Veemon jump off from Izuku's shoulder before walking towards the couch.
After cleaning himself up and changing to a cleaner outfit, Izuku walks out of the bathroom. Out of nowhere, Izuku hears the doorbell. Confused, Izuku uses Observation to detect who it is, slightly concerned that his 'father' is already here. He is relieved that it's simply Ochako behind the door, but this makes him confused. Why is Ochako coming to his house? And who is the second presence with her?
Izuku decided he won't get an answer by doing nothing, so he simply opened the door. Before he could even open his mouth to greet his girlfriend, he was greeted with the face of a pink-feathered chicken. This causes Izuku to be taken aback before rubbing his eyes.
"I must be still half asleep, because I'm seeing a Biyomon of all Digimon in front of my apartment's door," Izuku mutters in disbelief as the pink-feathered chicken, Biyomon, tilts its head.
"Oh, wow. You weren't kidding, saying your boyfriend knows about us." Biyomon chirps as she looks at Ochako. Izuku shakes his head in shock before looking right at Ochako.
"…hey, Ocha." Izuku greets awkwardly.
"Hi, Izu…" Ochako says shyly. "I…am sorry for coming here unannounced. But, you see…I might need help regarding this…"
"I-I don't mind…" Izuku says while rubbing the back of his head. "I am happy to help."
"...wow, your boyfriend is a simp," Biyomon comments off-handedly. This made Izuku's eyes twitch at the comment before looking back at Ochako.
"…It seems that Thanksgiving arrived early," Izuku says darkly, sending shivers to Biyomon. "My mom wouldn't mind making a roasted turkey, especially since now we have a guest."
"KYA!!!!" Biyomon screeched before hiding behind Ochako's head. "O-Ochako, please keep him away from me! Your boyfriend's crazy!"
"First of all, please don't insult my boyfriend," Ochako says flatly before looking at Izuku. "Also, Izuku, please don't make that kind of joke."
"Haha, sorry," Izuku chuckles before opening his door wider. "Come in, let us talk more inside."
"Thanks," Ochako says as they both enter the apartment. Inko notices Ochako entering before smiling at her.
"Oh, good morning, dear," Inko says with a smile while holding a cup of hot coffee.
"Good morning, Inko-san," Ochako says while bowing slightly. Inko then notices Biyomon on Ochako's head before looking at Izuku.
"Izuku, is that also a Digimon on Ochako's head?" Inko asks curiously, making Biyomon look at her in surprise. She starts to wonder how two random humans seem to know their kinds despite there being no information about them in this world's data network.
Her question is answered unexpectedly as she notices Hackmon and Veemon sitting on the couch. Veemon can be seen struggling while playing a game on Izuku's phone, while Hackmon exasperatedly guides Veemon through the game. Biyomon's heart skips a beat as she looks at Veemon, the shining blue scales, his beautiful ruby eyes, and the aura of innocence radiating from him, all make her feel infatuated.
"Aww, I lose." Veemon groans with an adorable voice, making Biyomon's heart skip several beats, and her face darkens.
"I told you several times, don't go that way! It's a death path for all horror film's victims!" Hackmon says in exasperation.
"I thought you were simply exaggerating," Veemon says while pouting.
"You need to get used to this world's media," Hackmon mutters under his breath before they both turn to see Biyomon frozen on the ground, her face redder than any fruits, and staring intently at Veemon. Both Digimon blinked in confusion at Biyomon's attitude before Veemon got off the couch and approached Biyomon.
"Hi there!" Veemon greets with a cheerful voice. "I'm Veemon, nice to meet you!"
"N-Nice to meet you!" Biyomon says in a high tone, slightly flustered at Veemon approaching her.
"Um, are you okay?" Veemon tilts his head innocently, looking at Biyomon in concern. "Your face seems redder than your feather. You're not sick, are you?" Veemon asks before placing his hand on Biyomon's forehead. This action causes Biyomon to feel dizzy before she falls unconscious,
"AHHH!!! A-Are you okay!?!?!" Veemon exclaims in panic, catching Biyomon before she could fall into the ground. Izuku and Ochako watch the interaction from a distance, stifling their laughter. Hackmon watches the entire interaction before facepawing, shaking his head in disbelief.
"And she calls me a simp," Izuku says while rolling his eyes before they both sit on the couch while Inko offers an ocha for Ochako, much to Izuku's amusement.
"So…" Izuku begins. "Where to begin…"
"You could start by explaining in detail about Digimon, all you keep saying to us is that they're Digital Monsters and smiling like it was some sort of an inside joke," Ochako says as she gives Izuku an accusing glare. This made Izuku rub the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry about that," Izuku says while chuckling nervously. "Anyways, Digimon is a creature that comes from an alternate dimension where it was made of data instead of atoms, including themselves. They all have their unique powers, appearance, and even personality, they can be either looking as normal as humans, or they have a power that could be considered a god. Most of them could evolve into a more powerful form, but some couldn't. Some even have multiple evolution paths, either influenced by emotions or the environment they grow up. They each have types like….Pokeyman," Izuku cringed at mentioning the name.
Meanwhile, Ochako can feel smoke coming out of her ears as she processes the whole information. She had a hard time understanding the entire explanation, confused by Izuku's explanations. Beings made of data instead of atoms? They can turn into gods? Evolve like Pokeyman? What even are Digimons!? Inko is also having a hard time processing as she hears Izuku's explanation, subtly glancing at Hackmon and Veemon. Those adorable munchkins can be gods!?
"They are made of three main attributes: Data, Vaccine, and Virus. There are other attributes like Free, Unknown, and Variable, but that's a whole other can of worms, so don't think about it. Then, there are elements like Light, Darkness, Nature, Ice, Fire, Water, Neutral, Wind, Earth, Electricity, and Metal. They each are like rock-paper-scissors as Data is weak against Virus, Virus is weak against Vaccine, and Vaccine is weak against Data. They also split into species, like Nature Spirits, Deep Savers, Metal Empire, Nightmare Soldiers, Wind Guardian, Virus Buster, Dragon's Roar, Jungle Troopers, Unknown, and None. Then, there's Type like-!" Ochako immediately raises her hands to stop Izuku from continuing to explain.
"Izuku….I love you, but please, keep the explanation short…." Ochako says with a shaky smile. Izuku blinks before flustered.
"A-ah, sorry. I didn't mean to nerd out…" Izuku says while chuckling nervously. "A-anyways, in short, they're sentient beings that reside in another universe made of data. Usually, their appearance in the human world would either mean something happens to the universe, or a human has been chosen to be a partner for one of the Digimon."
"…partner?" Ochako tilts her head.
"Have you found a weird device you've never seen in your life before? Or maybe something weird happened to your phone?" Izuku asks as Ochako blinks before her eyes widen slightly in realization.
"Oh, yeah!" Ochako exclaims before pulling out a futuristic-looking flip phone. Izuku blinks owlishly at the appearance, not expecting that at all. One thing that he notices is that there's a Crest of Love carved on the phone, making Izuku question things even more. "A bright light appears before I meet Biyomon, and after processing everything, I notice my phone got a sweet upgrade!"
"That's a Digivice," Izuku says. "It's a device that shows that you're a human with Digimon Partner. It could help evolve your partner into the next stage, usually based on the bonds between the human and Digimon."
"Wait, you mean I could evolve Biyomon into possibly a god?" Ochako exclaims in shock, making Izuku choke at her choice of words.
"Y-yeah…" Izuku says while clearing his throat. Izuku then looks at Hackmon, teasing Veemon by saying he would explain why Biyomon fainted once he gets older. Izuku is slightly surprised by both of his partners' ages; Veemon is 36, while Hackmon is 362, both in Digital World's Year. That's the equivalent of a 1.5 and 14-year-old human, respectively.
Before they could continue even more, Izuku and Ochako received multiple messages from the group chat. Both look at each other before opening the chat, and to their shock, multiple of his friends post a picture of different Digimons.
Tenya posts an image of Gomamon vibing on his house's pool, Kirishima posts an image of Gotsumon looking confused at the appearance of a dumbbell, Tooru posts an image of Jellymon wreaking havoc on her house's kitchen and her parents panicking, Koji posting an image of Agumon playing with his pet bunny, Yaomomo posts an image of Palmon helping Lycaon with maintaining the garden, Miles posting an image of Tentomon reading files through a holographic screen, and Denki posting an image of Pulsemon working out. Both Izuku and Ochako look shocked at what happened before looking at each other.
Things had just gotten more complicated than they expected.
Unknown Location
"Ah!" Ciel yelps as she falls out of the wormhole face first, and her sword falls from her grasp.
"Be careful, Noir," Blanc says in concern before helping Ciel get up.
"Don't scold me like a child," Ciel says with a scowl, but not complaining as Blanc helps her get up.
"Then, don't act like a child," Noir says cheerfully, causing veins to pop out of her forehead. As she grabs the sword from the ground and tries to unsheathe it, a giant gloved hand firmly presses on Ciel's hand, preventing her from unsheathing the sword.
"Let's not fight, we've got more pressing matters to handle," Gankoomon says as Ciel looks at him, both staring at each other. Ciel clicks her tongue and looks away.
"Wow, you're being weird, Gankoomon," Noir exclaims. "You usually ignore Ciel when she's looking for a fight with either of us."
"Like I said earlier, Noir. We got more pressing matters to handle." Gankoomon says as energy forms on his back and takes the shape of a humanoid dragon, its head resembles Hackmon. The being growls before looking in a certain direction. "It's not mistaken, he's here in this world…"
"So…what are we going to do when we meet him?" Blanc asks nervously, getting everyone's attention. "I mean, are we going to apologize to him before convincing him to come back home? Or…."
"We're not gonna go with the aggressive route," Gankoomon says, reassuring Blanc's worry. "We….have done a lot of damage to him by keeping him from meeting his destined partner and not saving him…we agreed that we're gonna apologize to him, remember?"
"…that's…that's reassuring…" Blanc mutters, holding her trident. "I…I feel so terrible after making little Hackmon devastated…I still can't stop thinking about it…"
"…" Noir and Ciel didn't say a word, but they all felt the same about Hackmon. Neither of them can stop feeling guilty for ruining Hackmon's life as a destined Digimon partner.
Hackmon's failure to be a partner of the future Digidestined caused more damage than anyone expected. The world of Hackmon's partner is in a complete shamble, everything is ruined, and darkness has taken over that world. The heroes and the Digidestined from that world were able to handle the force of darkness, but the cost was too great; half of the heroes died, and more than half of the Digidestined lost their lives. Hackmon ends up getting the blame for everything that happens, affecting the Digimon emotionally and psychologically, which leads to him running away.
"We…don't want to cause more damage…" Gankoomon says somberly. "Hackmon…he didn't deserve any of those…"
"Yeah…" Noir mutters with a sad frown.
"Do you think…he wants to return?" Ciel asks.
"…I doubt it…" Gankoomon replies honestly. The Sistermon didn't say a word, looking at Gankoomon with a sad expression.
Back with Izuku and Friends
Yaoyorozu Estate
Aichi, Japan
"…" Izuku remains silent as he looks at his group of friends holding their respective Digimon partners, pinching the bridge of his nose slightly. He had wondered how things went off the rail so badly. How Digimon get even more involved in this world like this, he had no idea at all.
"So…you all woke up and were greeted by your respective Digimon partners…" Izuku says as they all nod. "Then, you guys are either gaining a new weird-looking device, or your phones changed form…right?"
"Mhm…" They all nod in agreement.
"…." Hanzo blankly looks at every Digimon sitting on their respective partner's lap before looking at Falcomon on his arms.
"…this wasn't supposed to happen, is it?" Takechi whispers at Hanzo as he simply nods numbly.
"…." Izuku places his palm on his face, letting out an exhausted sigh. "This is getting complicated quickly."
"How so?" Denki asks in confusion.
"So…good news," Izuku says before clasping his hands. "You guys are getting very loyal partners who will stay as your friends no matter what."
"That's nice…" Yaomomo mutters, before petting Palmon's head, earning a smile from Palmon.
"Bad news, there's possibly an end-of-the-world scenario," Izuku says in a straight face. Everyone is experiencing a real-life bluescreen of death, completely frozen in shock by the information. Hanzo let out a huge 'bruh' while Takechi widened his eyes in shock, frantically looking at either Izuku or Hanzo for confirmation.
"WHAT!?!?!" They all scream in disbelief, wondering what Izuku means.
"Like I said, there's a chance the end of the world is happening," Izuku says as they all panic.
"WHY ARE YOU SO NONCHALANT ABOUT IT!?!" They all scream in panic.
"I got numb," Izuku says with a cheerful smile, making them look at Izuku in disbelief. What kind of thing did Izuku see that made him numb towards the end of the world!?
"Izuku, please don't scare them," Hackmon says exasperatedly. "Don't worry, there's no danger."
"How can you be so sure, Hackmon?" Miles asks in confusion.
"Because if there is, all of the Digimons with human partners will receive a message directly from the god of our world-!" Hackmon was interrupted by the new Digidestined.
"THERE'S A GOD!??!" They all yell in shock.
"Yes, so let me finish explaining!" Hackmon exclaims as they all shut up. "Anyways, if there's we will get a message directly from our god about our partner and an impending threat that is coming."
"Well, maybe you didn't get it, but they did?" Tooru points out that before all the Digimons in the room shake their heads, all confirming they didn't get such a message. All of them sighed in relief before glaring at Izuku, who held up his hands in surrender.
"Hey, hey, I say it's a possibility, not a confirmation," Izuku says defensively, but neither of them stops glaring at him.
"You expect us not to panic with such bombshells?" Eijirou says with a frown as Izuku rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sorry," Izuku apologizes sheepishly as everyone let out a sigh. "So…just wondering, do either of you have some sort of weird symbols on your new phones or devices?"
"Oh, I actually did," Yaomomo says before pulling out a folding touch-screen phone (Ochako almost had an aneurysm seeing it) and shows the back of her phone, displaying the Crest of Sincerity on it. Tenya displays his phone with the Crest of Reliability on the back, Koji shows his, and Izuku is surprised that, of all crests he got, the Crest of Courage never comes into his mind, but given his progress, it makes sense. Miles pulls out a heavily-modified iPad (much to everyone's shock) and displays a Crest of Knowledge on its back, something Miles grumbled about having his logo no longer displayed on the back.
'Yaomomo got Sincerity, Tenya got Reliability, Koji got Courage, Miles got Knowledge, and Ocha got Love. This has to be the weirdest choice ever.' Izuku thought. 'So, why are they getting the crest of the original Digidestined? What does this even mean?'
"Izuku-san?" Yaomomo calls, snapping him out of his thought. "Can I ask why you asked about the symbol? Do you know anything about it?"
"…it's only a mere speculation, but those are Crests that symbolize your traits. Ochako has Love." Ochako was surprised as she looked at the symbol. "Tenya got Reliability, you got Sincerity, Miles got Knowledge, and Koji got Courage."
"I...got Courage?" Koji asks in surprise, slightly confused by the name of the Crest he obtains.
"I got Sincerity?" Yaomomo looks slightly confused before looking at Miles, slightly disappointed that the Knowledge chooses him over her, but given his achievements, it makes sense.
"Reliability…" Tenya mutters in surprise.
"…Ochako getting Love makes a lot of sense," Tooru comments, making Ochako look at her friend in surprise. "I mean, given her current relationship with Izuku, it's kinda fitting."
"It's more…than that," Izuku says while facepalming. "Don't forget, Love is more than just between two couples, there's a familial love, affectionate love, selfless love, and so on. And let's be honest, her love towards her parents is the biggest highlight of why she had the Crest of Love."
"That's true,"/"Make sense,"/"Yup," Everyone agrees as Ochako blushes in embarrassment.
"So, Midoriya, what about you?" Tenya asks as Izuku raises his eyebrow.
"I don't get one," Izuku says as everyone furrows their brow in confusion.
"You're kidding, right?" Eijirou asks in disbelief. "This is you we're talking about, the first person having a Digimon partner and the only one with two partners."
"That doesn't guarantee me getting a Crest," Izuku says while shaking his head, dismissing the idea. He didn't see himself as worthy of getting any of the Crests.
"So, what do these Crests even do?" Tenya asks curiously.
"Well, it's one of the components required to help your partner evolve into another stage. Before you ask, the other component is the genuine bond between you and your partner," Izuku says as he pets Hackmon and Veemon, causing them to purr. The others also did it to their partners, and they all purr, causing them all to let out an 'aww'.
All of a sudden, they heard a loud crash in Yaomomo's backyard, causing everyone to yelp in shock. They all look at each other before rushing out of the house and into the backyards with their Digimon partners following them suit. As they walk out, they see a huge cloud of dust covering the entire backyard.
As the cloud clears, they see Lycaon on a full offensive, his eyes glow red, and he's pointing his claw covered in icy mist at an unknown figure. When the cloud clears, they manage to gain a better view of the unknown figure as Izuku's and Hackmon's eyes widen in shock.
The figure has spiky red hair, wearing a black bodysuit with a silver breastplate and white coat hanging on his shoulders like a cape, a pair of visors covering his eyes, a pair of metal gauntlets, and wooden slippers. He raises both of his hands in surrender motion.
Lycaon can't help but snarl at the intruders, unable to lower his guard at all. The figure in front of him is dangerous, so dangerous that his instinct continues to scream that he won't be able to win. He may look like he is surrendering, but Lycaon can tell the man in front of him could beat him in the blink of an eye if he let his guard down. He can't let the figure approach the lady Yaoyorozu and her friends.
"Easy there, WereGarurumon, I'm not here to fight." The figure says, trying to calm Lycaon down.
"I'm not whoever this WereGarurumon is. Tell me, who are you and why are you here?" Lycaon snarls.
"G-Gankoomon!?" Both Izuku and Hackmon exclaim in shock, catching both of their attention. Gankoomon takes a glance at Hackmon before his attention immediately looks at Izuku, which shocks him to the core before he snaps out of it, remembering that he's not in the world of Hackmon's original destined partner, and he could be a doppleganger.
"Hackmon…it's been a while…" Gankoomon says as Hackmon can't help but gulp.
"Hey, master…" Hackmon says quietly, causing everyone to turn their head towards Izuku's first partner.
"MASTER?!!"
To Be Continued
