#(TAKERU ' Patamon maybe we should listen to It ' PATAMON ' ... ')

[beginningobserver]

[RE:CONNECT - blog v.] Link 9- Red alert?! I hate gossiping…!!

[AO3 version]

[CW: Murder mention; body horror mention]

“I don’t like gossip, sorry” Rui was talking to someone on the phone, pretty much upset with that call the next day.

“But you have to listen to me…! Takeru was around when he saw your childhood friends talking about something…”

“I’ve been spending most of my life hearing rumors and gossip about me, please don’t… Don’t tell me anything. I prefer to not know.”

“It’s important… We weren’t gossiping, it’s… It’s about--”

“Daisuke-kun, I know you want to help me, but eavesdropping on Nakajima-san and Koyama-kun is bad…!”

“Sigh…”

“Let me try to talk to him,” Rui heard Takeru’s voice in the background. “He said he doesn’t want to know about it…” “I have to explain to him what actually happened. You’re just bad at explaining things, so it’s okay.” “Dude?! Then why didn’t you call Rui in the first place?!”

“... I’m sorry I have to go now,”

“Wait, Rui--”

And he hung up.

“What’s wrong?” Ukkomon blinked, and floated around Rui’s face, “You seem tense.”

“Takaishi-kun heard something from Nakajima-san and Koyama-kun and told Daisuke-kun, who called me urgently to tell me what it was.”

“And…?”

“I hate gossiping. I hate it because it usually was about me, and that stupid big digimon eye I had for almost nine years…!”

Ukkomon had a sad frown on his face after hearing that. Rui noticed it and gasped silently.

“Ukkomon, I… I’m sorry I didn’t--” his facial expression softened, and he was regretful for what he had just said.

“No, it’s okay. I knew you hated that eye… I should’ve thought better before giving you my eye back in time…”

“... It was my fault too, I kept relying on you for everything. I couldn’t do anything by myself…”

“But you were just a kid, Rui. You can’t blame yourself for not… becoming an adult that early.”

“... I know,” he sighed, depressed.

“Maybe Takeru and Daisuke wanted to help you out, not… To gossip about Ayame and Hiroomi.”

“... I prefer to not know.”

“But it can be… important.”

“I… I don’t want to know,” he sat on the floor, hugging his own legs.

“...” Ukkomon just watched it silently and still with that sad and concerned gaze at his human partner.

"He hung up..." Daisuke sighed deeply.

"I think we should have come straight to the point." Patamon commented with a shrug.

“This is because Daisuke sometimes doesn't like to give bad news” and V-mon shook his head in disapproval.

"H-hey! I can't just tell Rui that Takeru caught his friends doubting what he's been saying!"

"But what did he tell them?" Takeru asked, "To make them doubt the veracity of the facts?"

“... Sigh,” Daisuke sat on the couch from his living room, “Rui tried to tell them about what happened on his 20th birthday, and then he lied about how he got the digimon eye.”

“Why would he lie about that…?”

“Takeru, would you be honest with me if I wasn’t a Chosen Child like you and just an ordinary friend and then tell me that the reason you got your eye injured was because you tried to destroy the digivice after knowing that Patamon had been playing house with you for 7 years?”

“Uh… I…”

“That Patamon was the one who killed your family?”

“I did not kill anyone!!” Patamon protested.

“Relax, Patamon. I’m just putting us in Rui’s shoes, not claiming either you or V-mon would… kill a human being by accident...”

“You’re right…” Takeru looked down, “I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone that my digimon was the cause of my parents’ demise.”

“That’s why he lied: to protect Ukkomon,” Daisuke said, with a serious tone.

“But… wouldn’t they understand it was an accident…?” Patamon asked next, “Ukkomon had no intent of killing them…!”

“I assume it’s because Rui thinks he can get in real trouble if he confesses that.” Takeru mused, “Ukkomon is a digimon, but there’s no penalty or judgment for digimon cases yet.”

“Wait, can he get arrested for murder?” Daisuke blinked and gulped, “I was thinking about both of them getting hate for an accident…!”

“It’s not that simple, but he was a child when it happened,” Takeru explained, “It is possible that they would have taken his age into account when it happened and not his current age."

“But… He’s hiding it right now, wouldn’t it give him problems?” V-mon asked quickly.

“Hmm…”

Daisuke and the digimon looked at Takeru, impatient with the other's long pause and silence.

“I did not get a degree in law, sorry” Takeru chuckled nervously.

Daisuke, V-mon and Patamon just fell on the floor: Patamon from flying, Daisuke and V-mon from the couch.

“But we know who is training to be a lawyer, remember?”

“OH RIGHT, WE HAVE TO ASK IORI!” Daisuke got up from the floor.

“But Iori is busy gathering the material to solve the imminent copyright infringement caused by our giant singing clione.”

“I can’t believe Ukkomon has caused a ton of troubles despite being the first partner digimon in the world…” Patamon commented with a sigh.

“If you say that next to Rui he will be sad and upset” V-mon pouted.

“... I can’t turn my back on him.”

Takeru, Patamon and V-mon looked at Daisuke.

"Damn it, I don't care what the others say! I can't let him get arrested for this!" Then he lowered his voice, quite melancholically, "But it's my fault for... suggesting that he try to get in touch with people from his past, ya know..."

“Huh…?”

“Sigh, what should we do…?”

“... Let’s wait and see what happens,” Takeru said with a firm tone, “If Rui-kun gets in legal trouble, we can help him out. We’re his friends now right? He’s not alone anymore.”

“Yeah… Still I do notice he doesn’t seem to like to bother the others” Daisuke frowned worriedly, “Like, when Ken was thinking he had to solve everything alone.”

“He keeps those inside, like Hikari-chan used to be too…” Takeru replied quietly.

“But, I’ll ask Iori-kun about this once he gets some free time,” and the blond guy smiled at Daisuke, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Daisuke is really concerned about Rui and Ukkomon, huh?” Patamon commented with V-mon.

“He’s like that because he doesn’t like to leave anyone behind” V-mon then replied, “Besides… We saw how Rui’s mom was…. And his mom…”

“If you don’t get worried about your friends when they’re in trouble, can you really say it’s a real friendship?” Daisuke pouted.

None of the two friend circles Rui was part of were understanding what was going on with him. The only assumption the 02 group had was that Rui is trying to prevent people hating both Ukkomon and him. And on the other end, with Ayame and Hiroomi, they thought Rui was hiding something from them in the fear of making them hate him and Ukkomon.

Meanwhile Ukkomon was still trying to understand the consequences of his own acts, and how to help to compensate for them. Rui was feeling pretty well before he tried to explain about the giant Ukkomon incident…

“Are you… upset?”

“...?”

… But that completely got messed up by Rui’s whole insecurities and fears.

“Do you want to go out and take a walk?” 

Ukkomon asked, trying to get Rui out of that gloomy mood.

“We could go to the karaoke and sing together! Or… Or go out and drink something! Or eat street food--”

“I appreciate it, but… I don’t think I want to do those things. Besides, my shift hasn't ended yet.”

“Oh…”

“...” he was doing nothing at the moment though, had just finished doing anything Yuna had told him to do, so now he was sitting there in the kitchen looking at the messages on his phone, with a sad face.

Too sad to check the private DMs he got from both Daisuke and Ayame, by the way. So he was just watching the recent discussion of Daisuke’s friends about Miyako’s trip to France and Italy.

They really seem… really good friends. Was he… jealous?

Nah, just… wishing he was a little more active there. Those people welcomed him, and here he was… just thinking he didn’t fit there at all.

“...”

“Rui…?”

He possibly hit the rock bottom again.

“... I wish I wasn’t just giving people more and more problems, I’m definitely just being an inconvenience for them all.”

“...”

“I’m an adult now!” he punched the table, “I’m supposed to take care of myself…! N-not to drag others into more trouble!”

Suddenly, the cafe’s door bells rang. Once again, he was alone while Yuna and Makoto were out buying supplies, so they left him the duty to keep taking care of the shop.

“Rui, we got customers…!” Ukkomon turned to the entrance of the kitchen.

“...!”

He got up immediately and went to check who was. A little peek thru the door window and he saw…

“Y-Yagami-san…?”

He just went there, calmly and unlike the time he had just casually met Ayame.

“Rui-kun…!” Hikari greeted him, “I didn’t know you worked here…”

“Hi… Y-yeah.. I do.”

“You didn’t tell them you worked here?” Ukkomon tilted his head.

“... I didn’t want to bug them,” he shrugged, “they all are busy people, and I’m also busy too so--”

“You’re acting all tough now…?” Tailmon found that suspicious.

“Did we come at a bad hour…?” Hikari asked, sensing something was off.

“N-No… I’m f-fine!!”

“It doesn’t seem like you are, though” the cat digimon raised an eyebrow.

“... It’s just that I… I don’t want to…”

“He doesn’t want to bother anyone anymore.”

Rui blushed and looked directly to Ukkomon.

“But… you’re not bothering anyone,” Hikari said, concerned.

“... Ok, I’m just nervous. I can’t express myself very well about it” he felt defeated, avoiding looking into Hikari’s eyes, “Besides… I keep worrying about only causing trouble for you and your friends… And to Nakajima-san and Koyama-kun.”

“Why do you say that?” Tailmon asked with a worried look, “What happened?”

“... Besides fearing to have people hating Ukkomon and me, and the… lawsuit and maybe getting arrested for the crime I don’t want anyone but you guys know about…”

“Rui thinks he’s just relying too much on others and that he cannot handle things by himself.”

Ukkomon got another embarrassing look from Rui.

“Oh…” the girls said together.

“He thinks he does not belong here…”

“Hmm… he’s feeling what Ken felt a long time ago, huh…” Tailmon mused, Hikari just nodded in silence.

“What…?” Rui frowned, “What do you mean…?”

“When we were kids,” Hikari began, with a calm voice, “Ichijouji-kun was our enemy for a while. But once he started to try fixing his mistakes, he would usually say he didn’t want to bother us, to not ruin our team work.”

“He… he felt like this too…?” Ukkomon said, vaguely.

“Daisuke-kun kept being stubborn and tried to keep both of the parties working together. Until he successfully managed to convince all of us to cooperate and we became closer.”

“Basically,” Tailmon continued, “we became friends with Ken because of Daisuke’s persistence. And since then, we’re not only a group of Chosen Children and Digimon, we’re a group of close friends.”

“...”

“What do you mean with this…?” Rui asked, shyly, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get it…”

“We are trying to reach for you,” Tailmon said, “So are your old friends. You’re not alone, and it’s ok to get help from others too.”

“...!!” Ukkomon’s eyes widened, then he looked at Rui.

“You… don’t feel like I’m… inconveniencing you…?”

“We prefer it over abandoning you,” Hikari said, with a serious tone. That didn’t sound harsh though.

“... Thank you,” he smiled back, timidly.

“Rui was a bit troubled because your friend Takeru heard something about Ayame and Hiroomi,” Ukkomon explained, “he had been thinking all of them were gossiping about us.”

“U-Ukkomon, you d-don’t need to--”

“Hmm… Takeru-kun is not the kind to gossip about people” Hikari raised an eyebrow, “If he heard something, it might be important.”

“... What if… If it was something about me? I thought that Nakajima-san and Koyama-kun…”

“There might be a misunderstanding right there,” Tailmon said calmly.

“And I was rude to Daisuke-kun…”

“I’m sure he didn’t take it personally,” Hikari said, “Daisuke-kun knows you’re going through a lot of things at the moment, he might be just worried now.”

“... I have to apologize for that.”

He took his phone from his pocket, and opened the lonely unread DM there. Fearing for the worst, about something he wouldn’t like…

But it was…

Hey, Rui! 

I know you felt upset about that call and thought it was about gossiping or saying something bad about your friends Nakajima and Koyama…

But it wasn’t that. Takeru just heard them chatting about how worried they’re about you.

Won’t give details, since you don’t want to know… 

And I’m sorry for messing things badly before 🙇‍♂️

I think they’re worried because they really like you and are trying so desperately to understand what happened to you since the last time you three were together before ‘that incident’ you told me and the others, y’know?

I feel like you’re scared thinking if you tell them what really happened they might hate you and Ukkomon. But they don’t seem to be the kind to turn their backs on you, ESPECIALLY if they were trying to contact you for years!

Maybe… You should trust them a little more, kiddo…!

“...”

Daisuke’s really got a way to explain what happened, and it was indeed a misunderstanding. He lied to Ayame and Hiroomi, and they probably noticed it. But Daisuke was comprehensive about his actions, again. Those people were trying to help him to make amends and fix mistakes.

But he was too scared about Ukkomon and him getting all the hate for those mishaps.

“Rui?” Ukkomon asked him, and he looked at the digimon.

"... I was trying to avoid getting a backlash or being thrown in jail for murdering my parents that... I was completely blind to reality."

“Being thrown in jail?” Hikari and Tailmon blinked.

“Oh uh…” Ukkomon turned to the girls, “Rui thought telling Ayame and Hiroomi that I accidentally killed his parents would make them mad, and that they would report it to the police and then they would arrest him for murder.”

"I see..." Hikari said, "You think that since you are Ukkomon's partner, you are an accomplice in the murder?"

Rui silently nodded his head, quite embarrassed for that.

“But, you were a kid when it happened” Tailmon said, “You won’t be condemned to jail. All you can get is some penalty for that.”

“P-penalty?!” Ukkomon and Rui gasped.

“Considering that my brother and our digimon seniors are fighting for the digimon’s rights and to protect them from several issues, I’m sure they can help you deal with it too.”

“Will I have to… pay a fine for that, because I can’t--”

“That we’ll have to ask Iori later, I guess” Tailmon tried to calm him down, “Don’t worry.”

“T-this won’t give him another bad fame, will it?” Ukkomon asked immediately, as if he could predict what Rui was thinking.

“I don’t think that community service would make him become infamous,” Hikari replied, still worried about Rui and Ukkomon’s reactions.

“Still I don’t think it’s a good idea to make a public announcement about that…” Rui had a crooked smile, something inside him felt a little… broken.

“Yeah, better not put a target on your backs like that,” Tailmon nodded in agreement.

“I guess you’re feeling less tense now, right Rui?” Ukkomon looked at him.

“Y-Yes… I think” he sighed in relief, “If this means we won’t get people loathing us, I think it’s all fine now.”

“He reminds me of someone…” Tailmon commented with Hikari.

“Oh, you mean…” and she giggled.

“Huh?” the other two looked at them, clueless.

“It’s nothing,” the girls said together with a smile.

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 15 - Many digi-plushies per second?!

[AO3 version]

Now that they had witnessed not only digimon could use those fragments but also human beings… The 02 group and Arsenemon -- respectively -- had to be extra cautious collecting them. Which means they had to collect them BEFORE it got in contact with someone’s strong feelings or desires.

“A stranger in a hood gave that piece to a student from Miyako-san’s school…”

Ken was musing in the morning, while heading to school. He wasn’t that upset that they slipped a little and let Arsenemon catch the Digimental fragment (the one to be mad is Daisuke and Daisuke only though) and he was curious about Daisuke’s report about the talk with Arsenemon previously…

“That’s something you might not believe me, so I will spare you from the details for now…”

What would be… Arsenemon’s goal with those pieces?

“Ah, look look! My keychain is a cute Pokomon plush, isn’t it cute?” “Like those digimon those students have at school?? Aww, I want one!!”

Wormmon was on Ken’s back, as they passed by a few girls from another school, chatting about a cute digimon plush. But something sounded weird to him, and he tried to catch Ken’s attention when… Ken was still stuck inside his musings.

“Ken-chan, that plush was… Was creepy…”

“Hm?” Ken looked at Wormmon, he was really not listening at all (sadly?)

“A girl with a Pokomon keychain… I thought that was scary.”

“Oh… She might have made it herself, some people like their partners enough to craft art based on them to demonstrate their affection.”

“... Y-you wouldn’t make a plush of me, would you?”

“If you don’t like the idea, then I won’t make one” he laughed lightly.

Wormmon looked behind and  to the girls in the distance. He didn’t like that Pokomon plush at all…

After school and at the usual  karaoke booth, Ken met the other five looking at something with the digimon completely disconcerted by what Miyako had in hands.

Ken and Wormmon approached, and then they realized the object everyone was staring at was… A digimon plush.

“It’s pretty cute…” Takeru smiled, “What is this digimon, I never had seen before.”

“It’s a Bowmon keychain!” Miyako replied, with some excitement, “They didn’t have a Poromon so I picked the cutest from the shop.”

“Ah! It’s one of those dolls again!” Wormmon panicked when he saw the Bowmon keychain.

“Huh? What’s wrong with Wormmon?” Miyako blinked.

“Miyako…” Daisuke called her, then gestured to the doll, “I think the digimon didn’t like you buying this thing. It’s like having a doll of your sister or friend.”

“Daisuke-san,” Iori said, deadpan, “I don’t think having a toy replica of ourselves is that strange, however there might exist another reason for the digimon to be acting strangely…”

“Hm?” he looked at the digimon, clueless, “What’s wrong everyone?”

Hikari was also too quiet… She sensed something strange there, so she said in a cryptic voice:

“That doll is not a doll. It’s a real digimon turned into a doll.”

Takeru shivered with that, and took a look at the plush again, “Y-you’re right… I didn’t notice it was… It was that case.”

“Guys?” Ken raised an eyebrow, “Are you…”

“A… A real digimon!?” Miyako panicked, holding it with caution this time, “I… I didn’t know I’m sorry I have no idea what to do to help them I--”

“If that’s a digimon how can we turn it back to normal!?!” Daisuke babbled, “Maybe if we point the digivice at it--”

“GUYS!”

They all looked at Ken, in silence.

“If someone is selling real digimon as stuffed toys… We should calm down and track them down and undo their spell.”

“That’s right!” V-mon nodded, “We can do it and end the reign of the creepy living digimon dolls!”

“But didn’t Piemon turn everyone into dolls once?” Patamon commented, “He turned everyone but Takeru, Hikari and me.”

“You think it’s a Piemon doing those, Patamon?” Tailmon asked, seriously. She decided to not join the trolling but it had such an effect on the others except for her, Hikari and Takeru. 

(Daisuke & Vee: WAIT WHAT!? CAN WE ALL TURN INTO A PLUSHIE THEN!? ARE WE DOOMED?! / Miyako: I don’t want to turn into a doll!! / Hawkmon: I’ll protect you, Miyako-san!! / Armadimon: Whoa we never heard of that part of the story before… / Iori: I would like to not become an inanimate object… / Wormmon: NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! / Ken: … I don’t think panicking will help us at all… But I’d prefer to not turn into a stuffed toy as well…)

“Patamon, I don’t think it’s a Piemon…” Takeru interrupted them, “it can be any other magician digimon. I’m not implying it’s a Wizardmon either…”

“Yeah, Piemon is gone!” Patamon said cheerfully, “Heaven’s Gate absorbed him and now his data might have turned into scrap~”

“Patamon…” Takeru sighed, but he could see Daisuke whispering to the rest of the gang:

“Ya know, let’s make a deal to never fight Takeru and Patamon for real, no matter what happens.”

They all nodded in agreement.

The shop was full of humans and digimon buying toys. The owner was a good old man who loved to bring joy to any customer -- be them little children or elders. But… Something happened once he had hired a new employee…

It was when those digimon ‘plushies’ started to sell like hot cakes.

 In the meantime, the 02 group received a case from the Village of the Beginning’s caretaker Elecmon regarding baby digimon going missing. Takeru took it personally and promised Elecmon that they would retrieve the babies and bring them back.

Someone else was interested in that toy shop though… Hearing some rumors about that toy store.

“It might be here. The mentioned toy store which has this new charismatic employee able to sell those odd-looking plushies.”

“What’s special about this one, Mizuki?” Lunamon asked her human partner.

“I sense bad energies coming inside… Besides… Those plushies…”

“Hm?”

“... They’re too cute to be a good deal! It must be a terrible evil scheme of the owner!”

“H-huh??”

“They’re too perfect to be plushies, Lunamon!” and then she whispered to herself: Too cute, it must be illegal…

“Is that the store you got that Bowmon?” Lune heard Daisuke’s voice, “Wow, there’s a huge line outside…!!”

“Don’t you think we should’ve called Ken for this?” V-mon asked Daisuke. Him, Daisuke, Miyako, Hawkmon, Hikari and Tailmon went to check it out together. The other group went to the Digital World to investigate the Village of the Beginnings in order to search for clues.

“Yeah, two Jogress digimon is better than one…” he sighed, it was Miyako who dragged him and V-mon with them…

“Shush,” Miyako stared at them, “We might need a decoy.”

“W-why am I the decoy!?”

“Daisuke-kun… Wouldn’t you like to buy a little YukimiBotamon plush for me…?” Hikari smiled at him, and he blushed.

“R-right! I will buy you the tiny digimon plush…” He blushed, and then stepped inside the store.

Lune hid behind in the alley next to the building, and watched them getting in.

“Hmmm…” She and Lunamon were thoughtful.

“What should we do, Mizuki…?”

“They already defended those promoting digimon fights, I can’t forgive them. They won’t get in my way this time…”

“Oho, you’re planning something, right, right?”

Lune smirked. She had something in mind.

The trio and their digimon started inspecting the store, looking for anything suspicious there, but all they found so far were toys of the TV series they were into, like the current lineup for tokusatsu series in 2008. Hikari looked at the aisle only to find Daisuke gushing about the transformation items for one of those series.

“I think they’re cool! You can’t fight me about that! The red guy is the strongest guy, always has been like this!”

“No, no! The black ranger is the coolest in this series, you shouldn’t dismiss his smooth sharp shooting abilities just because he’s not the main lead!”

… He was discussing it with Miyako, right now.

“You’re sayin’ it because you have a crush on him, I’m talking about spirit!”

“And you’re talking about how you only like guys who’re exactly like you”

“Not true, I--”

“What are you doing?” Tailmon asked, squinting her eyes at them. They stopped and looked at the cat-like digimon and Hikari.

“...!!” then they just babbled something not understandable and then went back to their investigation.

“Meh, Daisuke you shouldn’t get so fired up about fictional heroes” V-mon frowned, “I mean, you’re a real hero… What if someone is looking up on us?”

“... I don’t know, I don’t think anyone recognize us her--”

“AAA, ISN’T THOSE THE FAMOUS CHOSEN CHILDREN!?”

Daisuke and V-mon looked behind them and saw a group of people gossiping about something, looking at them, then at Miyako and Hawkmon, and at Hikari and Tailmon.

“I didn’t expect them to be here…”“What if they’re looking for a bad guy? Should I be concerned??”“Maybe they’re just passing by…”

“We can’t let them be panicked if we tell the truth about the plushies,” Hikari told Miyako and Daisuke, who replied with a silent nod.

It was when Miyako spotted the charming employee staring at them, she was biting her lips when she heard about the presence of the Chosen Children in the store. She approached them, after she finished attending to another customer. She was a blonde woman with short and blond hair, and blue eyes hidden by glasses with cat-eye frames.

“Welcome to Kunizaki Toys, how can I help you?” she said with a cheerful tone.

“Oh… We’re just looking for a toy for my little sibling” Hikari replied before either Miyako or Daisuke could. 

But they all noticed the name on the pin in the employee’s apron -- Sally le Fay. But something else caught the digimon’s attention -- the pendant she had in her necklace was… a broken piece of the forbidden Digimental. So something is suspicious about this le Fay person… Daisuke blurted out that they came to buy a KiBat-belt item and this is what they had done.

They left the store… staring at Daisuke for spending their money on that toy.

“What? If we didn’t buy something for Hikari-chan’s ‘little sibling’ they would’ve suspected us!!”

“Right, right… We believe you” Miyako shook her head…

※ he bought for himself, everyone knows that. ※ now he owes Miyako and Hikari favors for the purchase, and it's not like this won't be important later...

Espimon detected another piece while snooping as usual but she was seen by the kids on their way to the Ichijouji’s residence (the boys had been back already, and combined to meet them soon) as she just bumped on Daisuke by accident and then making him drop the package on her arms:

“W-WAIT!! THIEF!!”

“T-THIEF!?” Espimon panicked, “A-AH I’M NOT A THIEF I’M AAAAH!!” and she ran away with the package in hands.

“COME BACK HERE!!” Daisuke and V-mon went after her, with Miyako, Hawkmon, Hikari and Tailmon coming next, trying to help him.

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--AAAA-AAAAAAAAH!!”

Espimon turned in an alley in which they all found her…!!

“GOT YA, THIEF!!” Daisuke and V-mon jumped to catch Espimon but she flew to the side and they fell on… Noel!?

“ACK! M-MOTOMIYA-SAN…!!”

“GAH, I’M SO SORRY DUDE!!” Daisuke got up, V-mon reverted into Chibimon due to the impact and rolled to the side, then Daisuke helped the other boy to get up, “We were after that flying thief-- Huh?”

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m SO SO SO SO SO SORRY!!” Espimon hid behind Noel, and then dropped the toy on the floor (Hawkmon caught it for Daisuke next), “SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRY I DIDN’T WANT TOOOOOOOO!!”

Hikari tilted her head, “Huh, Noel-kun what were you doing here…?”

“... I lost my wallet here…” He said, nonchalantly. He then looked at Espimon, “What were you doing, Miss Espimon…?”

“Do you know that ‘mon?” V-mon asked innocently, “Weren’t you trying to steal us…?”

“No no no no!!” Espimon babbled, “A-also I’m Noel’s…!”

“... Partner. She’s my digimon partner,” he replied, still calm. Espimon blinked.

“I thought you had no digimon partn--” Daisuke began, but then remembered that every single day a new human gets partnered with a digimon. So now he was smiling, “Oh man! You got partnered with a digimon! I knew it would happen sooner!!”

However, Tailmon was not convinced about that, but can she argue with Daisuke though??

The trio and their digimon then said ‘see you later’ to Noel and left, going to Ken’s house. Espimon sighed relieved and she glanced at the boy:

“Why did you say that? You don’t own a digivice…!!”

“Don’t worry about the details, I will take care of that,” Noel smiled at her, however his entire personality seemed to have gone on a 180º flip, “Besides you were in a hurry… What is it?”

“A… A fragment!” she spoke quickly, “I’ve detected a fragment.”

“Hmm… Where?”

“Kunizaki Toys, the same place the Chosen Children were.”

“I see… thank you, mademoiselle Espimon,” He smiled again, “Now… shall we do it? Ah I need to do something first…”

“Ah, you mean… Right! I’ll search for them!!”

Ken served some tea and cookies for the group. His mother and father were at work so the apartment was quiet. Once the group gathered there, the silence was broken, filled by the chattering of six kids and six digimon.

“So… What did y’all get?” Daisuke asked the other three boys, even before talking about what he, Miyako and Hikari had discovered.

“We didn’t find anything suspicious in the village,” Iori reported their investigation, “Did you discover something at the toy store?”

“Hmm… Not much,” Hikari frowned, “We talked with the new employee from the rumors… But we didn’t see anything wrong with her…”

“I did, however, notice something in her,” Tailmon spoke, with a serious tone, “She had one of the pieces of the Digimental of Desire in her necklace.”

“Did you!?” Miyako blinked, “A-ah that’s right she had something like that…”

“Her name is Sally le Fay” V-mon commented, “I never heard of a name like that before…”

“You said ‘le Fay’…?” Takeru repeated, “That name was in a book I was reading once…”

“A book?” Armadimon asked.

“You must be thinking about ‘Morgan le Fay’ “ Ken explained, “one of the most known witches from the Arthurian legend. That surely is an interesting name for an employee…”

“So we’re dealing with a real witch?” Daisuke babbled, “You gotta be kiddin’ me!”

“We have to check it ou--”

Suddenly, a black card with a golden balloon appeared inside the apartment. The balloon popped and the black card, with a golden cat paw in its back, fell in the center of the table where they were gathered.

“A calling card!” They all exclaimed.

“What did it say!?” Patamon asked, energetically.

Ken took the card from the center of the table and read it aloud, “Dear Chosen Detectives, I’ll be taking the Digimental fragment from the Kunizaki Toys employee Sally le Fay tonight.”

“Ok, so we will handle this!” Daisuke clenched his fists, “I’m pretty sure if we ask her to give us the fragment she will understand!”

“Wait a minute…” Takeru interrupted them, while checking his D-Terminal, “Elecmon spotted someone in the village… He wants us to go after that suspect.”

“Like, right now?” Daisuke asked.

“We will handle this ourselves,” Patamon replied and then looked at Takeru, “Right, Takeru?”

Takeru nodded his head.

“So… same group roster?” Wormmon asked, “Ken-chan, Takeru-san and Iori-san go after the suspect… And Daisuke-san, Miyako-san and Hikari-san will go after Arsenemon?”

“Sounds good for me,” Tailmon nodded.

“Then… Chosen Children let’s ROLL!!” Miyako said with excitement.

The group splitted in two groups and went back into action. Ken went with Takeru and Iori because he was sure something was connecting the toy shop to the disappearance of the baby digimon. Something…

Something…

“Where did you see the suspect, Elecmon?” Takeru asked the guardian of the town.

“Hmm, it went there…”  Elecmon pointed to the south of the village, “And then another batch of babies vanished…!”

“Huh, was it a human or a digimon?” Armadimon asked.

“A digimon…! It had the scent of a digimon… But it had a human-like form.”

“Human-like form…” Iori mused, “We know a few digimon who fall under this description, but I don’t think it could be someone we know, could it be??”

“Like, Arukenimon and Mummymon?” Patamon asked.

“Their digieggs were never found though…” Takeru frowned, that thought made the entire party sorrowful, but Iori seemed a little… uneasy?

“Hmm… I think I saw a shiny pendant on that digimon, but I couldn't see it well from this distance.”

“Interesting…” Ken mused, then he used his earpiece to talk with the other party, “Did you find Sally le Fay?”

“We went to the address Arsenemon left in the calling card but…” Hikari replied.

“We were sent right back to the store” Miyako completed the line.

“Huh??” Takeru blinked, “Did you say the address sent you back to the toy shop?”

“Yeah, we’re right there and… oddly, the door is unlocked” Daisuke reported, “We will get inside. Did you find somethin’ else there in the village?”

“Elecmon saw a human-like digimon with a shiny pendant in the south of the village,” Iori explained to the other group via the earpiece, “The babies from that area have disappeared.”

“... That’s strang-- Ah, what’s this!?” Daisuke exclaimed.“Be quiet!!” Miyako spoke.

“What’s wrong?” Takeru asked, but there was no answer in return.

“Do you think something happened to them?” Patamon asked Takeru.

“Not sure… Huh, where’s Ichijouji-kun?”

“I found something,” they heard Ken’s voice. Then, the kids and the digimon went in the direction of Ken’s voice.

They stood in front of something peculiar …

“Is that…!!” they all exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Daisuke, Miyako and Hikari were not replying because they just saw Sally le Fay inside the store’s employee area. They didn’t want to call her attention yet but something else happened -- a crash in the window.

The trio and the mons looked at the broken window and found a shadow with long hair tied in a low ponytail, resembling a cat’s tail. There he was, Arsenemon.

“I never expected you to be doing this, mademoiselle… ”

“Oh if it is not the showoff kitten,” Sally smirked, “I thought you didn’t care about me.”

“Don’t worry, I do care. I do care about what you are doing right now. Non mais, quelle honte!! ”

“I always hated you adopting a human accent!” Sally snapped, “Then… You’re after this, right?” the pendant in her necklace was shiny strangely, “I will make all the money and profit with this scheme, I will be rich! And kick mr. Kunizaki out of his business.”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!!” Daisuke cried, and he and the others appeared in the room, “So you’re the one kidnapping the digimon and turning them into dolls!!”

“Tsk, the Chosen Children.”

“And we’re going to retrieve the pieces you stole, Arsenemon!!”

“My, my…” Arsenemon sighed, “I think we have a bigger problem to deal with here, mon ami… ”  

“Enough, I will not let either of you stop me!” Sally grabbed the Digimental fragment and it glowed. She evolved into Ex-Tyrannomon .

“You had to make her mad!?” Miyako snapped at Daisuke.

“S-sorry…” he frowned.

Ex-Tyrannomon roared and threw eerie black orbs against everyone, they had to dodge them. Arsenemon used his own magic spells to protect himself, meanwhile the kids… Well, they were at a disadvantage. Their digimon couldn’t evolve inside the store either!!

“Miyako, WATCH OUT!!” Daisuke screamed the moment he saw one of the orbs coming into her direction. He shoved her to the ground, but he had no time to dodge it himself. He got hit and then something fell on the floor.

“DAISUKE(-KUN)” the girls screamed, and then V-mon grabbed what looked like a plush doll Daisuke from the spot his partner was.

“You will pay for this!” V-mon stared at Sally.

“Oh? Let’s see if you ca-- ARGH!!” Suddenly Stingmon appeared from nowhere and shoved Sally outside the store by the window.

“Stingmon??” Hawkmon exclaimed, and then he and the others saw Ken, Takeru and Iori coming out of a gate near them.

“So as I presumed…” Ken spoke seriously, “This was a digital gate…”

“Ichijouji-kun!” Hikari smiled, but they had no time to ask questions…

“Huh, where’s Daisuke-kun?” Takeru noticed only the girls and the three digimon were in front of them. V-mon then showed the boys the doll in his hands, “Yikes…!”

“You should be careful with that digimon” Arsenemon looked at them, “Ex-Tyrannomon is the one turning everything into those plushies.”

“Without Daisuke we can’t use Jogress evolution…” V-mon frowned, “Please, everyone beat her to undo the spell…!!”

“Understood,” Iori nodded, he then glanced at Takeru and Patamon, “Takeru-san.”

“Alright.”

“We will go too,” Hikari said with a serious glare, “Miyako-san, please.”

“Okay! Let’s get that piece from her and turn her back to human again!”

“About that, I…” Ken was about to say something, but the four and their digimon went outside.

“Hm, what is it?” V-mon looked at Ken, innocently.

“Nevermind… I’ll tell them that later…”

With Silphymon and Shakkoumon on the battlefield, things seemed disadvantageous for Sally le Fay. Arsenemon was helping them sorta, using his own magic tricks to protect Silphymon and Shakkoumon.

“Can you do that move again?” V-mon shouted at Arsenemon, “The one you used against Hipprogriffomon?”

“Hmm…?” Arsenemon looked at V-mon from a distance. But he seemed to be looking at the Daisuke plushie in the digimon’s arms. He then muttered something.

In the middle of the battle, Stingmon is hit by those orbs for a moment and is turned into a plush toy just like Daisuke and the baby digimon victims. Ken clenched his fist, he still didn’t get one weak point from Ex-Tyrannomon so far… Was he really unable to help in this situation?

I was the Digimon Kaiser a long time ago… And yet!! -- he cursed his intellect being inferior from his past self. He didn’t want to become a tyrant again, but if he had the same knowledge he had when he was the Kaiser…!! He looked again around, inside and outside of the store. He had to find something to help them out…!!

Arsenemon’s right hand was involved with the same black blue aura and then he dashed like a bullet in the enemy’s direction.

“Malchanceux!!” He shouted and then hit Ex-Tyrannomon with said hand. 

Ken blinked, and asked from that distance, “What do you plan to do with that??”

“Use it on her!” V-mon ordered, and then Ken looked to V-mon next to him. Was he…??

Ex-Tyrannomon growled,”I won’t let you use THAT on me!!” then she tried using the same technique against Arsenemon, BUT!! Nothing happened, “W-WHAT!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

“Ah, mademoiselle Sally, I’ve stolen your technique. Now I could turn you into a plush and end this here, or…”

“G-gh!! You wouldn’t…!!”

“You’re using a broken Digimental to evolve” he said with a serious voice, “Undo it right now before you run amok.”

“What?!” the kids (minus Ken) and their partners exclaimed in shock, same is said about Sally’s facial expression.

“Makes sense” Ken mused, “the digimon and people are attracted by the pieces, and then they evolve… And if they stay merged with the piece for a long time…”

“Now, Silphymon, Shakkoumon!!” V-mon yelled.

Silphymon gathered energy into one sphere in their hands and then shot it against Ex-Tyrannomon, “TOP GUN!!”

“Nigimitama” Shakkoumon then released exploding clay disks against the enemy at the same time.

The two attack techniques combined into one and hit Ex-Tyrannomon, who couldn’t dodge them all that fast. With this, Silphymon flew at supersonic speed and removed the pendant from Sally’s necklace, undoing the evolution and thus the spell on everyone else.

V-mon placed the Daisuke doll on the floor, which then reverted into Daisuke himself. V-mon jumped on Daisuke’s arms, who was yet confused about what happened to himself. Stingmon also turned back into a living being, though he devolved back into Wormmon. Ken gently took him with his arms and gave him a tight hug. Wormmon also was not well aware what happened while he was turned into a toy though…

“You helped us again,” Silphymon (Tailmon side) glanced at Arsenemon, “But why?”

“You won’t believe me,” the burglar answered with a serious tone, “But I’m not your ennemi , Chosen Detectives.”

“We won’t let you have this piece, dagya” Shakkoumon (Ankylomon side) stood in front of Silphymon. “You will have to fight us first!” And then they (the Angemon side) threatened him.

“My my…” Arsenemon chuckled, “I don’t need this piece for now. I just wanted to help an old friend from breaking through some nasty greed rampage.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Hikari tilted her head.

Sally woke up and then looked at all of those people, “The Chosen Children and… Arsenemon? What are you doing here…?”

“Oh! Maybe Sally is Arsenemon’s partner!”

“About that,” Ken cleaned his throat, “I have to report.”

“Oh, I don’t need to hide myself from the saviors of the Digital World” Sally said, a little ashamed of her actions, she snapped her fingers and turned back into her original form -- Witchmon .

“A DIGIMON!?” they exclaimed, except for Ken, Iori and Takeru.

“Makes sense when you realize Sally le Fay is a name combined from ‘Sally the Witch’ and ‘Morgan le Fay’,” Takeru explained.

“And we realized it was a digimon in disguise when Elecmon said it had a human shape, but the scent of a digimon,” Iori added.

“Then I found this digital gate opened to the toy shop, which confirmed our suspicion” Ken finished their report.

“Oh…”

“But… How did you get this piece?” Miyako asked, “Don’t tell me you got it from a strange hooded person too…”

Witchmon nodded, but this didn’t surprise anyone. If Koubara Takuya got a Digimental fragment this same way…

“Who’s this person-or-digimon though!?” Daisuke growled.

The other day, the news reported some fraud at Kunizaki Toys and that the store was closed. Of course this was Lune’s fault -- She and Soleil took advantage of that, and went right after the store’s owner. The poor man was so intimidated by those creepy digimon that he decided to confess his crimes. Despite that there was… No crime committed by himself, only by Sally/Witchmon under the control of the fragment.

The 02 Group was confused about it. But they couldn’t do anything to help the man…

… But Lune was feeling so happy, making the group suspicious of her behavior.

Why is Lune and Soleil involved in those cases…??Are either of them…?!

[noctisfishing]

Milk Buns and Happiness

Summary: On the day before White Day, Hikari questions her heart and her choices after a failed relationship. Eventually, she goes to Takeru to cheer up, not realizing that the answers to happiness were laid out in front of her all along.

Pairing: Takari

Notes: Written for @blondeandconfused. Happy Birthday!! <3

I hope you enjoy this Takari fluff :D

~*~*~*~*~

One afternoon, Hikari took a seat on a bench near the front of the high school. She caught within her earshot a group of students chatting about the next day being White Day, and about their plans of giving return gifts to the admirers who had spoiled them on Valentine's Day. They were all smiles, but Hikari could only feel the opposite.

"Are you alright, Hikari?"

A rustling of leaves from above her followed by a gentle drop at her side told Hikari that Tailmon appeared next to her. She noticed the look of concern on Tailmon's face.

"I'll be okay, Tailmon," Hikari said. "I just feel bad that I had to break up with Hideki."

It had been a week since Hikari delivered the news to her now ex-boyfriend Hideki, and although she tried to stay cheerful, the breakup left her feeling glum since then.

"You were just following your heart, weren't you?" Tailmon asked.

"Yeah."

But her heart always seemed to let her down in the end. Hideki was a nice, friendly guy in her class. She liked to hang out with him, and he treated her well to make the rest of the class jealous.

Being with him just didn't feel right. But Hikari still felt guilty.

Tailmon tilted her head, frowning. Then, she crawled onto Hikari's lap and nuzzled herself against her chest.

Hikari patted Tailmon's head gently. Digimon were unfamiliar with the topic of romance and breakups, so Hikari knew that Tailmon was at a loss of what to say. Still, Tailmon wanted to comfort her in that moment, and it got her to crack a smile.

"Maybe you should talk to Takeru?" Tailmon asked. "You're always happy when you're around him, and he knows how to cheer you up."

"Well, he's busy right now," Hikari replied. "Knowing him, he left his White Day gifts for his admirers at the last minute."

Somehow, that made Hikari even sadder.

"He always makes time for the friends that he cares about."

Knowing that Tailmon would persist, Hikari stood up, carrying her in her arms. "Alright, Tailmon. I'll give him a call later. But I'd like to go home first. Maybe a quiet stroll back with you can give me time to think."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh, you're here, Hikari," Taichi said as he entered the apartment.

Hikari sat on the couch with Tailmon on her lap and Agumon leaning against her side, all of them watching TV together.

"I haven't been going out much, lately," she replied, and she was certain that Taichi had understood why. Before last week, much of her time outside of her classes was spent with Hideki.

As Taichi took off his shoes and set his school bag down, Hikari thought about how he handled romance and heartache. He was always comfortable with her in talking about a girl he spent time with, and he would answer her questions whenever she asked them.

When he sat down on the other side of Agumon, Hikari couldn't help but ask:

"How do you know when you love someone?"

Taichi turned to her, startled at the question.

"Uh, well…" He seemed to hesitate more as both Agumon and Tailmon seemed to stare just as intently while they waited for an answer. "I guess you just feel it. If it's in your heart that you want to be with that someone, you kind of just go for it."

"And what if my heart was wrong?"

Taichi sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "There's no easy way to say it, really. None of us are perfect. We'll go on what we feel is right, and what we think will make us happy. It won't always work out the way you wanted it to in the end, but, hey, at least you went for it."

After a few moments, Hikari turned to look at him. "Are you still thinking about the cookies?"

"I'm always thinking about the cookies."

Taichi stared at Hikari as though he waited for her reaction, and she stared back, trying hard to hold back her laughter. She couldn't.

"I think about cookies, too!" said Agumon

"I wouldn't mind some right now," added Tailmon.

Hikari knew that Taichi was smiling at her as she giggled for the next few moments.

"Thanks, Onii-chan."

"Sure."

Then Hikari looked down at Tailmon and shared a smile, and sat back to return her attention to the TV. She heard the crinkle of wrapping paper from Taichi and from the corner of her eye she saw that he was holding some pastries.

"Well, I don't have any cookies, Agumon, but I've got some milk buns if you'd like."

"Yes, please!"

"Have some, too, Hikari, Tailmon." Taichi held out two in front of them. Tailmon grabbed one and started munching on it happily, and Hikari reached for hers, recognizing the style of the sesame seeds decorated on top.

"You went to Takeru's favorite bakery," said Hikari.

"Yeah," Taichi said with his mouth full. "I can taste why, too. Give him a 'thank you' from me when you get the chance."

Taichi's reaction about Takeru was different than it usually was. At worst, he would grumble whenever Takeru joined Hikari at teasing him as well as Yamato - which neither younger sibling could help. But Hikari saw how highly Takeru thought of Taichi, and the only way to improve the current moment was seeing the bright smile on Takeru's face from hearing Taichi himself.

"I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

Then, Hikari picked up her phone, with her first instinct to send a message to Takeru. The thought of visiting the bakery with him was bringing some cheer to her mood, and she wanted to do what she told Tailmon she would do, anyway.

Takeru had texted her first.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"Are you free? Let's meet up at the train station," Hikari answered.

Takeru followed up with an immediate response: "Be right there."

"I guess I'll send him your message sooner than I thought," Hikari told Taichi as she and Tailmon got up from the couch and headed toward the door.

"Don't cause too much trouble," he said, slouching into the couch.

"I'll get him to go with me to the bakery so that we can buy more milk buns. He'll probably want some help picking out something special for his White Day gifts tomorrow, too."

"Wait." Taichi sat up straight. "Tomorrow's White Day?!"

Hikari closed the front door without responding to him.

"He just told you not to cause too much trouble, and you're already starting for him," Tailmon pointed out.

"He'll live," Hikari said, continuing down the corridor.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Takeru greeted Hikari with a long, warm hug.

"You're smiling a little more today," he told her.

"Who wouldn't be happy to see you, Takeru?" Patamon piped up, sitting on top of Takeru's hat.

Takeru grinned. "So, Hikari, where to?"

"I thought you'd have some place in mind, you know, with all of the White Day specials going on," she said.

"Hmm. I'm not too worried about that. Besides, you're usually better at knowing the best places to shop. Maybe I'll be inspired wherever you lead me."

"Alright, then…" Hikari eyed him suspiciously. What was he planning for White Day? She took note of the stark difference in reactions between Takeru's calm demeanor and Taichi's sudden panic. Taichi must have had at least one gift on Valentine's Day that he wanted to return a gift for, and knowing Takeru and seeing the handfuls of chocolates he received, he was likely to have similar intentions.

"How about we head over to the cafe first? I'm craving a parfait," Hikari decided.

Both Tailmon and Patamon's eyes widened with excitement.

At the cafe, Hikari ordered a parfait with matcha and strawberry for herself, and let the Digimon partners order a chocolate parfait to share. Takeru ordered a cafe latte.

While waiting for their orders, Takeru told Hikari his story about running into Daisuke, Iori, and Ken earlier that day. He mentioned how Daisuke complained about an exam and Ken arguing with him about complaining too much. Iori stood there, watching them, but he and Takeru could only look at each other and sigh helplessly.

Hikari laughed as she pictured the encounter, and from the way Takeru told her about it. She enjoyed listening to his stories.

"Miyako thinks you're hiding from her," Takeru added. "She's been worried about you."

Hikari thought Miyako might have been just as helpless as the rest of her friends. "I did tell her I needed space."

"I get that, Hikari, really, I do. Even if, for a while, I thought you were hiding from me, too."

Surprised, Hikari looked into Takeru's eyes from across the table. She had seen that same look of concern in the past, back when she fell into darkness and her mind was clouded with thoughts of hopelessness. Perhaps the breakup was taking her back to that same place.

Back then, Takeru had found her and helped her out of that mess. Was it fair to keep him in the dark again?

"I'm sorry, Takeru," Hikari began, feeling guilty.

"No - I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that knowing what was going on. And especially since we see Hideki every day…"

The somber mood at the table seemed to change the moment the parfaits arrived. Both Patamon and Tailmon gasped in delight and gathered around their chocolate parfait, and Hikari took her spoon to scoop up the first bite of hers.

"Delicious…" Hikari said, suddenly in bliss.

"Welcome back," Takeru said jokingly.

She eagerly offered spoonfuls to Patamon and Tailmon, then to Takeru who followed up with a critique as he usually did whenever she shared her food with him. Hikari gathered that he inherited that habit from his older brother, Yamato, whose critiques were a complete opposite of Takeru's. When comparing the two, Hikari was grateful that she got along with the brother whose critiques were in her favor.

Halfway through eating her parfait, Hikari observed her Digimon partner relishing the chocolate parfait along with Patamon. She looked over to Takeru who appeared to be at peace as he held the large coffee cup to his lips and drank it slowly.

When they weren't laughing and joking with each other, Hikari found comfort in the moments of silence with Takeru.

Once the parfait glasses were empty and Takeru took his last sip, he set his large cup down. "Where to next?" Takeru asked her.

"Wanna hit the bookstore?" Hikari asked back. "It's been forever since I've gone to one."

"As you wish."

Once they were all finished, they headed toward the bookstore, but not before Takeru took care of the bill.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hikari was going to all of the stores that she wanted, and Takeru didn't seem to mind at all. After Hikari found a new book that she was excited to find on the shelves, she led Takeru and the Digipals to the accessory shop, where she found a cute pair of earrings. Then, they went into a pet store, where Hikari caught the attention of a Kishu puppy. Squealing with joy, she picked him up and cradled him in his arms.

"Tailmon, look!" she said, the Kishu nuzzling his cheek against her. "Isn't he so cute?"

"Hmph," Tailmon said, turning away unimpressed.

Patamon sat atop Takeru's head, staring at the Kishu in amazement.

"He looks like a new friend!" Patamon exclaimed.

Hikari and Takeru exchanged knowing looks, and Hikari set the Kishu down on the floor. Takeru let Patamon fly down, and the puppy yelped with glee while Patamon a few inches above him, flapping his wings in greeting.

As Patamon attempted to include Tailmon with their playtime, Hikari stood beside Takeru from afar. In that moment, she realized that she was in a much better mood than she had been all week.

"Can I be honest with you?" she asked Takeru, who was cradling a kitten that was dozing off in his arms.

"When aren't you?" he asked.

"I've been wondering why I've been so down about the breakup, when I wasn't happy being with Hideki, after all."

Takeru turned to her to listen.

"He wasn't a fan of animals," she continued. "We liked some of the same music, TV shows, and movies, but he didn't seem interested in talking about them. Especially not about books. And whenever we ate food together, he wanted to stick to whatever was on his plate."

"That sounds like all the things you don't like."

He wasn't that great of a kisser, either," she added, which she instantly regretted once Takeru gave her a look. "Don't get me wrong. He was sweet and really caring. I had fun. But I get it - everyone's different and that's okay. I don't blame him for any of it. I just blame myself for being together with him for so long even though I knew it wasn't right."

"At least you did what was right for yourself, Hikari. It's okay to think it was right at first but be wrong later on. We're human, and we make mistakes."

A soft purr was heard near Takeru's chest. They both looked to see the kitten was stirring from its slumber.

"Hideki's been down, just like you," Takeru went on. "But it's hard not to be after a breakup. He'll get better, and I know you will, too. You're recognizing a mistake and learning from it. Maybe one day, I'll get over my mistake, too."

Hikari raised her brow. "What do you mean by that?"

The kitten's meowing grew louder and began to fidget even more. Takeru was left no choice but to turn around to return the kitten to the store. When Hikari returned to Tailmon, she found her stare grumpily ahead while the Kishu licked her cheek while Patamon giggled madly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

As she promised Taichi, Hikari made sure to stop by the bakery - Takeru's favorite one. She bought a dozen milk buns to bring home to Taichi. Everyone also indulged in sample slices of the bakery's chocolate castella cakes, which Hikari thought were delicious but didn't want to bring too many sweets home.

"Is there anything else you want?" Takeru asked. "It'll be my treat."

"Takeru, you've done so much for me already, I can't even begin to thank you for today-"

"Please, Hikari. I want to do this for you."

Maybe it was the way his voice lowered or how firm his tone was, but it somehow caught Hikari off guard.

"W-Well, fine…" she stammered, her face warming up, but she thought of her most favorite pastry. "One chocolate cornet."

"Just one?"

"Okay, two. One for Tailmon."

Takeru stared at her long and hard.

"Three. Three chocolate cornets," was her final answer.

Takeru gave her a playful smirk - a favorite expression of hers on him - but it seemed to fluster her even more at that moment.

"Hikari?" Tailmon asked, her ears perked up and her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I'm fine," Hikari replied in a hush, even as her heart was racing.

When Hikari thought that Takeru and Patamon were going to part ways with her and Tailmon, Takeru decided to walk them home and carry the bag of pastries for her. She went along with it, given that he was her best friend and she was comfortable being around him.

There was also the fact that she wanted to stay with him as long as she possibly could.

"Are you sure you're ready for White Day?" Hikari asked while she walked alongside him.

Takeru laughed. "Why are you so concerned about it?"

"I'm skeptical. You don't seem concerned at all, and I know you want to make sure that a girl knows how special she is."

Only their footsteps were heard after that, and Hikari began to wonder whether she said something that troubled him. But she heard him laughing again.

"Funny you should say that, Hikari. You're right. Maybe I should be concerned."

"Really, now? What changed your mind?"

"The fact that I've been trying to do that all afternoon, yet, you still have no idea."

"...What?"

Hikari stopped in her tracks, and so did Takeru. Patamon and Tailmon stopped as well, staying a few feet behind and looking on in confusion.

"This… might not be the right time, Hikari," he began. "Maybe you still need space, but I just couldn't wait anymore."

"He's shaking…" Patamon said softly, to which Tailmon quickly shushed him.

When Hikari looked down at his hands, including the one that held the bag of pastries, she saw that he was trying to hide it.

"Can I be honest with you?" Takeru asked her.

"Of course," Hikari replied, her voice soft, and she felt uncertain as to what he was about to say next.

"I was never ready for White Day. I never planned on returning gifts to anyone this year. I just planned on sitting this one out."

"Oh…"

Takeru chuckled, and Hikari could sense that he was nervous. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realized there was only one person I wanted to spend it with. I just didn't know how to tell her, given the circumstances…"

"And… what are the circumstances?" Hikari asked.

"That she's got a broken heart, and I want to be the one to mend it."

Hikari's breath caught in her throat. At that point, it was obvious where this conversation was headed, and she believed that Takeru would reach his point in due time.

But she still wanted to help him get there.

"Maybe you should back up a little. How long have you felt this way about her?"

"Since that summer in 1999."

Hikari gasped. "That long?!"

"Isn't that when we all first met?" Patamon chirped from afar.

"But, Takeru…" Hikari stared at him, awestruck. "All these years, you've never said anything."

"Well, I wanted to play it cool, and let her go her own way while I went mine. Yet, the longer we knew each other, the closer we became. It just got harder to figure out how I felt, and harder to understand what my heart really wanted."

"So then, how did you feel whenever she had a new boyfriend?"

"I wanted to feel happy for her. I wanted to believe that if she was happy, then I would be, too. But, I just couldn't be happy."

Hikari realized then, that Takeru had been unhappy, even when she was in her relationship with Hideki. He was doing the same thing that she was - following his own heart thinking that it was right, even when it wasn't.

"It was different whenever I was with her, though. The way she smiled like the sun and her laugh sounded like a melody. Whenever she was happy, I felt it, too. Seeing her sad, I felt it just as much."

For a moment, listening to Takeru speak of a girl with beautiful similes made Hikari feel jealous. Then, she remembered exactly who he was talking about.

Her cheeks flushed as the thought set in. Crossing her arms, Hikari asked her next question.

"So, she's got a broken heart, huh? How were you thinking about mending it?"

"Oh - that's easy. I figured I'd start by taking her out and reminding her of all the things that brought her joy."

The parfait, the books, the earrings, the adorable pets, and the chocolate cornets that sat on top of the box of a dozen milk buns in the bag that Takeru was still carrying for her.

"But you let her choose where to go."

"A broken heart cannot be fixed without the owner's permission. I wanted to let her wander freely. It's the most surefire way to see her smile. And I knew - well, I hoped - that spending time with me was an even better way."

Contrary to his words, Hikari felt her eyes beginning to water.

"I've never given you anything for Valentine's Day, Takeru," she croaked. "I've teased you about the girls you've flirted with, and supported you for the girls you were actually serious about. How could you be serious about me? When you've seen me make mistakes that I'm bound to make again?"

"Hikari, you've given me more than you'll ever know after all these years. I could give you all of the gifts in the world and I still don't feel like it would ever be enough." Takeru gripped the handles of the bag in his hand. "I've made a mistake, too. The mistake of letting your heart break more than once. I love you too much to let that happen again."

"You love me?"

Tears streamed down Hikari's face. Were they of sadness? No, she knew that it couldn't be. Fear? Maybe. The fear of following her heart one more time - she could feel that. But there was something else she felt from those tears, something she hadn't felt with anyone else.

It was hope.

Takeru stepped closer to Hikari, and every step towards her made her heart beat faster. Her mind had gone blank, she couldn't find the words to respond, and she held her breath just as he stopped in front of her, only inches between them.

"Hey, now…" Takeru said with a gentle smile, and Hikari gave way for his hands to brush her tears away. "The girl I'm in love with hasn't told me how she felt. Don't leave me hanging."

Hikari looked into Takeru's bright blue eyes and thought about her time with him up until that moment. Deep down, she knew her feelings had been there all along, but they had never been brought to light until now.

This time, it just felt right.

"I love you, Takeru," Hikari said. "I always have."

"Wait, really?" Takeru asked, now searching her eyes which were now watering again.

"Really."

That was when Takeru leapt forward, throwing his arms around her and closing the gap between them with a kiss.

Hikari was stunned. Her arms fell at her sides as Takeru held her tightly with his lips pressed against hers. He pulled away a moment later, watching her and waiting for a response that she was too stunned to give. The look in his eyes told her that he was starting to doubt himself.

But she never wanted him to, not when she shared the same feelings for him. Reaching for Takeru's shoulders, Hikari pulled him close and lifted herself up to kiss him back.

It was a few moments until she heard a giggle behind her. Patamon and Tailmon had been watching them all along, although they looked at them both patiently and with adoration.

Had she not realized that Patamon and Tailmon were still there with them, Hikari would have kept her lips on his a little bit longer.

"We should probably keep walking," Hikari said, giggling nervously with her face feeling hot. "I want to see Taichi's face when we bring these milk buns home to him."

"You know what, me too," Takeru responded in agreement, although his cheeks were tinged with pink.

Patamon flew up to Takeru's hat and Tailmon joined Hikari at her other side as they continued to walk. Hikari didn't realize until a few feet ahead that Takeru had slid his free hand onto holding hers.

"Is this okay?" he asked.

Hikari interlocked her fingers with his. "Of course it is."

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oops, I forgot the key," Hikari said once they reached the door to the apartment. She knocked on the door, knowing that Taichi was home, but grew annoyed after a few minutes had passed.

"Maybe he isn't home?" Takeru asked.

Hikari groaned. "I'll just text him."

Once she set her phone down, she saw from the corner of her eye that Takeru was watching her.

"What is it?"

He must not have realized what he was doing, because the next moment he looked away with a new blush forming on his cheeks.

"It's nothing," was his casual but nervous response.

Hikari had realized then, that Takeru was always watching her, and she was slowly beginning to understand why. He was always looking out for her, encouraging her with no other explanation other than love.

"Takeru," she said.

"Hmm?"

"That chocolate cake from earlier. You've still got some on your face."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. For someone who cared about how he looked, I would've thought you'd notice."

"Maybe I'm just too comfortable around you to care."

"Let me." Hikari lifted her finger towards the corner of his mouth, drawing herself towards him.

Takeru might have figured it out seconds before, but he didn't have crumbs to begin with. It might have been why, after Hikari lightly brushed his cheek with her hand, he accepted her kiss that followed.

And that was when the door finally opened. Both Hikari and Takeru broke off the kiss and turned to Taichi with their arms around each others' waists.

Taichi appeared to be at a loss for words. Hikari took a moment to exchange a glance with Takeru before turning to Taichi again.

"Hey, Onii-chan," Hikari said with a smile. "I was wondering when you were going to answer the door.

"Are you two being serious right now?" Taichi asked.

"Hikari bought you milk buns," Takeru replied, lifting the bag forward nonchalantly. "There's a dozen in here."

"Didn't you say you wanted to thank Takeru for suggesting them?" Hikari added.

Taichi was confused. "How are you not answering me? When did you two become a thing?"

With a grin, Takeru replied, "You're welcome, Taichi. I told you they were amazing."

"Did I hear more milk buns?" Agumon asked behind Taichi.

"Fine, I'll leave the subject for now." Taichi took the bag of pastries from Takeru. "But you better have an explanation for me later, Hikari."

Taichi walked back into the apartment, leaving Takeru and Hikari in a fit of giggles.

"I guess the cornets are for me, too?" Taichi asked loudly from further in. "I know these can't be your favorite, Hikari…"

"He's messing with you, now," Takeru told Hikari, wearing a smirk.

"I can deal with it. I won't let him take away your gift from me."

"Even if he does, I'll just buy you more tomorrow."

Hikari knew that if she told him that he didn't have to, he would still buy her gifts regardless, so she settled for responding with another kiss before they finally said goodnight.

When Hikari and Tailmon entered the apartment, they found Taichi and Agumon at the kitchen counter, both with milk buns in their hands. Taichi had left the cornets on the side to give to Hikari, who, after a few more minutes of dancing around the subject and aggravating Taichi, finally confirmed that she and Takeru were an item.

"It was about time you two confessed," Taichi said. "I'm happy for you."

And now, knowing that her feelings were out in the open, and her heart was going in the right direction, so was she.

[polite-pandemonium]

Digimon fic I will never finish

Writing has absolutely taken a back burner to the endless strategies, recommendations, reports, and presentations I’ve had to put together for work since October. I miss writing and feeling creative.

Since I still don’t have time to write (I’m currently procrastinating on putting together a deck for a talk I’m doing Wednesday morning by compiling this), in a bid to feel slightly creative, here’s some unedited scenes from various Digimon fics I will probably never finish. I have written thousands of words for this fandom that will never see the light of day, so may as well give them their time in the sun. Usual ships you’d expect from me - Sora/Yamato, Taichi/Mimi, and Takeru/Hikari, but I have labelled which scenes feature which ships below, cause this got long. 

(also, for some reason, almost ALL of these are sad? am I okay???) 

I am easy to find - taichi/mimi we’ve got something (kind of funny) - yamato/sora (taichi is there, too)  somewhere in her smile, she knows - takeru/hikari  to be so lonely - yamato/sora/jyou  combustible - yamato/sora  everyone’s gotta lean (sometime) - taichi/meiko, yamato/sora  you already know - takeru/hikari

I am easy to find taichi/mimi

in which Taichi and Mimi reunite for the first time in years at a party in New York.

“Are you?” Mimi broached the topic slowly. Something about the way he said her name made Mimi feel like she should proceed with caution. “Still with Meiko, I mean?”

Taichi was quiet for a moment, peeling at the label on his beer bottle. “Uh, no,” he responded, his tone tight. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “We haven’t been together in a while.” He peered up at Mimi then, curiously. “Didn’t you know that? You guys were close, weren’t you?”

Mimi felt her stomach twist. “We were,” she looked down, “but life happens. We fell out of touch. I try to keep up with Facebook and Instagram, but even that can be difficult, especially with my job. With the exception of Jyou and Sora — and I guess Yamato, by extension — I don’t really talk to anyone these days.”

“Yeah,” Taichi said quietly. “We noticed.”

Stomach twisting even further, Mimi kept her gaze fixed to the ground. “I’m sorry. It’s hard. With the time difference and stuff; it got harder as we got older. And I speak mostly English here, so my Japanese has gotten kind of rusty, so I am sometimes nervous about picking up the phone. You must be able to tell; I sound like I’m out of practice.”

Shrugging, Taichi propped himself straighter up against the wall. “Yeah, a little, maybe,” he conceded. “Still. A long time ago, it would have been strange to think of a universe where you’re weren’t close with Meiko. You guys were tight as hell in high school...and yet here we are. I can’t believe you don’t talk enough for her to tell you something like this.” His tone sounded equal parts confused and judgemental, and Mimi felt herself bristle.

“I could say the same thing for you,” she raised her beer and took a long swig, the taste bitter on her tongue, pointing her finger at him accusingly. “I mean, you were dating her. Why didn’t she tell you that we fell out of touch? What, did she not talk to you enough for her to tell you that we weren’t close?”

Taichi chuckled softly. “Yeah, actually,” he lifted his gaze to hers and Mimi paused at the look of hurt in them. She hadn’t seen that look in more years than she could count. “That was kind of the problem. She didn’t talk to me about anything.”

Averting her eyes from his, Mimi took another drink of beer. How awkward. “Oh,” she mustered up. “I um...I’m sorry to hear that.”

Shrugging, he pushed himself off the wall. “Whatever,” he said, “Like you said, life happens. Sometimes you can only go so far with a person. Sometimes there’s places within them that you can’t reach. It...it happens.” 

“I guess so,” Mimi frowned. She couldn’t say she could exactly relate, could understand how he was feeling. Something about that made her feel unsettled in a way she couldn’t quite place her finger on. “How long ago did you break up?”

Raising his eyebrows, Taichi laughed. “Wow, cool, thanks Mimi,” he ran a hand through his hair, “haven’t seen you in six years, but sure, let’s rehash the details of my failed love life and arguably one of the most painful relationships in my existence to date. After we’re done with me, shall we run through your recent dating adventures?” 

“Sorry,” Mimi said quickly, flushing. She hadn’t thought of it that way at all; that it was too much, too soon. She was just trying to fill in the gaps. “There’s just…a lot I missed. A lot to catch up on.”

Taichi was silent for a moment; so quiet, she swore she could hear his breathing. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. It has been a while.” He paused. “I can’t believe it’s been eight years.”

Sensing a moment to break the tension, Mimi grinned cheekily. “Did you miss me, Taichi-san? Did you miss me this whole time we weren’t together? Are you stunned by how attractive and put together I have become?”

Rolling his eyes, Taichi polished off his beer. “Wow. Glad to see you haven’t changed.”

“What?!” Mimi exclaimed, “Of course I have! My hair isn’t even pink anymore; it’s rose gold!” 

––––––––––––––––––––––––––

we’ve got something (kind of funny)  sora/yamato, taichi/mimi

in which Taichi unexpectedly runs into Sora. 

Taichi arrived at Yamato’s apartment just as Sora was leaving. 

“Oh, Taichi,” she said awkwardly in the doorway. “Hi.”

A grin spread across Taichi’s face. “Hi, Sora,” he said, looking her up and down. Her usually neat hair was pulled back in a messy braid and she was wearing an oversized red plaid shirt that he was 95% sure was not hers. “Whatcha doin’ here?” 

Sora smiled back stiffly. “I was just stopping by,” she hitched her bag on her shoulder. “And now I’m just leaving.”

“Just stopping by, huh?” Taichi’s grin grew wider. “Pretty early in the morning to be just stopping by.”

“Says the person who is also just stopping by at 9 in the morning,” Sora said pointedly, stepping past Taichi to enter the hallway. “You and Yamato have something you want to tell me?” 

Taichi’s face fell. “Goodbye, Sora!”

“Goodbye, Taichi!” she called over her shoulder. “Have a good day!”

Glancing back at Yamato’s open door, Taichi saw the blonde leaning against the wall, arms folded, an annoyed expression on his face. He was still in his pyjamas. 

“This is why people don’t just drop by anymore,” he scowled, “you should have texted first.”

“Sorry,” Taichi said, not sounding sorry at all. He stepped into Yamato’s apartment, closing the door behind him as he bent down to take off his shoes in the genkan. “I was hopped up after my flight last night and couldn’t really sleep.”

Pushing himself off the wall, Yamato shrugged. “Whatever. You want coffee?”

“Sure,” Taichi flopped down on Yamato’s living room couch, stretching out. “So, you and Sora, huh?”

Yamato set a mug down on his counter, loudly, before responding. “What about me and Sora?”

Watching as his best friend picked up a French press, Taichi grinned mischievously. “You guys back together?”

Yamato’s eyes flicked up to him, his head still bent over their coffee. “I’m not answering that.”

“Okay,” Taichi conceded, “you guys sleeping together again then?”

“I’m not answering that either.”

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

somewhere in her smile, she knows  takeru/hikari

in which Hikari pesters Takeru about who he is taking to her brother’s wedding.

“I know,” she agrees, “it’s way too much. But it’s what Mimi wants and if it’s what Mimi wants, then it’s what Taichi wants,” she sighs. “Have you really not given the wedding date thing any real thought, though?”

He turns to her to answer and stops, feeling himself get distracted at the sight of a bead of sweat making its way down her neck. Just a little bit further and it would slip underneath her shirt, down to skin he could not see and could not touch. 

Despite the temperature, he finds himself feeling chilly.

“Takeru!” Hikari snaps, her features looking slightly annoyed. “Are you listening to me at all?”

“No,” he admits, biting into his ice cream. The wafer had gone soggy by now, the whole thing basically mush. “Not really.”

Whacking him on the arm, Hikari rolls her eyes. “Typical. Why do I even bother?”

Takeru grins. She’s so easy to rile up, even after all these years. “What’s wrong? You want my undivided attention, Hikari-chan?” he slips the honorific onto the end of her name, long abandoned since their early 20s, whenever he’s trying to be cute. Whenever he’s really trying to rile her up.

“No,” she says stiffly. “I just am trying to have a normal conversation with you and you’re barely even listening.”

Sighing, Takeru crumbles up the wrapper his ice cream had been in and leans down to grab his bag from its place on the ground. “It’s not that I’m not listening, but I just haven’t thought about this, so I don’t really have an answer. I’ll probably just ask Mizuki or Himawari from work, one of the girls I can have fun with without too much commitment.”

Hikari scrunches her nose. “Mizuki or Himawari? Those aren’t dates, those are just your drinking buddies.”

“Exactly,” Takeru says, pocketing the wrapper in his bag and setting it back down. “If I take a girl I have been on a few dates with or something, then she’ll think that this means more than it is and I do not want that.”

“Of course not,” Hikari rolls her eyes, folding her arms. “God forbid a woman think you’re actually interested in her.”

“Yes,” Takeru agrees. “God forbid.” 

Hikari shakes her head, sets down her ice cream cup. She hadn’t finished it, it’s soupy consistency now looking far less than appealing. “You know what I think you should do?”

“What, Hikari?” He leans forward, resting his hand on the railing between them. “What does my lovely, grumbly best friend think I should do?”

“I think,” she begins matter of factly, “that for the wedding, you should bring someone you like.”

He nods slowly. “Got it. Okay. I’ll bring Patamon then.”

“Idiot!” Hikari whacks him in the arm again. “No, I think you should bring someone you like. Someone you really, really like.”

The words stumble out of Takeru’s mouth before he can stop them. He’s not even sure he thinks about it before speaking. “Well, I really like you. So why don’t we go together?”

A beat passes between them.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

to be so lonely  yamato/sora/jyou

in which Jyou has a realization.

“You know, I never even felt a reason to be jealous,” Jyou says quietly, fingers pressed to his lips. “I never felt even the slightest need to. Yamato was a part of your past and I was a part of your present and that was enough for me. I trusted you so much, that just knowing I was yours was enough for me. But clearly I was foolish. Clearly, I was foolish enough to think that what we had really mattered.”

“No, Jyou,” Sora raises a hand, tears running down her cheeks. “It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it like, Sora?” Jyou snaps. “Because I’m having a really hard time trying to compute what any of this is, never mind what’s it not.”

“It’s just...it’s Yamato,” Sora chokes out. 

Jyou lets out a laugh. “Yeah,” he swallows. “That’s what I thought.”

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

combustible yamato/sora

in which Yamato and Sora break up in Paris, during Fashion Week.

They stare up at the Notre Dame, or what’s left of it rather, covered up in scaffolding and tarps. It makes Sora sad to see the sight of it. The last time they were here, the cathedral had been strong, beautiful, and whole. After the fire had ripped through it, even with repairs, she could feel that it was never going to be the same. 

Much like them.

“Yamato,” she turns to speak to him. “This isn’t working.”

He’s quiet for a moment before replying. “What isn’t?”

Sora swallows. “You know, Yamato.”

He doesn’t look at her and that’s how she knows she’s right. His eyes drop to the ground instead.

“Yeah,” he agrees, “it’s not.”

Sora feels something well up in her. “It’s not that I don’t want it to work. It’s just not anymore and it breaks my heart.”

He nods. “I feel the same. But we can’t keep denying it anymore. It’s been years since it’s been working.”

This stings Sora, the implication from him that things have been bad for far longer than either of them acknowledged. While she can admit it to herself, to hear him say it hurts. 

“It hasn’t been that bad,” she folds her arms, feeling cold.

Yamato glances at her then and she feels a shiver run down her spine, for reasons she can’t quite explain. “No,” he looks back up at Notre Dame, “but it hasn’t been good either.”

A silence settles over them, both unsure of how to fill the space that has appeared between them.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

everyone’s gotta learn (sometime)  taichi/meiko, yamato/sora

in which Taichi turns to Yamato and Sora following his break up with Meiko.

Meiko left him on a Tuesday and he had seen it coming a mile away. Things between them had been crumbling for months — probably even years — so it wasn’t a surprise to him when he stepped inside their (his?) apartment in Kichijoji after a long shift at work to find every trace of her completely gone. 

Well, that was partially a lie. He had expected Meiko to leave — but he hadn’t expected her to be so dramatic about it, just up and go in the middle of the day. 

He runs a hand through his hair, letting out an exasperated sigh, before pulling out his cell phone. 

Yamato answers on the second ring.

“Hi,” he says slowly, and Taichi already knows he knows exactly what happened; Meiko must have gotten to Sora first. “What’s up?”

“Meiko left,” Taichi leans again his counter, pinching the bridge of his nose. He can feel a headache coming on, strong. “I just got home and there’s nothing of hers here.”

Yamato inhales sharply on the other side, a little bit too convincingly. He definitely knew. “Fuck,” he swears, “Taichi, I—”

“If Sora already told you, don’t sweat it,” Taichi lets out another sigh. “I would say it sucks that everyone knew before me, but it’s not like I didn’t know this was coming.”

Yamato exhales. “Fuck, shit, Taichi, I am so sorry,” he says, and he sounds it, “Sora just found out maybe ten, fifteen minutes ago? And the two of us have been sick waiting for this call. I’m so sorry, I feel like an ass.”

“Don’t,” Taichi interjects, chuckling darkly. “It’s not on you that she thought it would be nice to tell my friends before she even told me.”

A beat passes between them. That wasn’t fair of him; Yamato and Sora were as much Meiko’s friends as they were his. Taichi cringes, wondering how awkward he made it for Yamato.

If he’s phased, Yamato doesn’t show it in his voice. “Do you want to come over? I’ll cook and Sora will go get beer.”

“Yes,” Taichi says without a heartbeat, picking up his keys off the counter. “Yes, I do.”

He shuts the door to his practically empty apartment. He’ll deal with it later. 

x x x

He goes to Yamato and Sora’s and tries to ignore the signs of their domesticity that he normally wouldn’t notice. The same signs that were all over his own apartment until meer hours ago. 

He never feels like a third wheel with Yamato and Sora. He never feels like three’s company. But something about that night, with them trying as hard as they could to make him feel even a little better, he feels it, intensely.

He drinks to make the feeling go away. 

He gets drunk, horribly drunk, and calls his sister, who doesn’t answer. Koushiro and Mimi are in Seoul. The chances of Jyou answering are slim to none, and if Hikari didn’t answer, Takeru wouldn’t either. He doesn’t want to talk to any of the others. 

He passes out on the couch and an hour later, finds himself leaning over the toilet, throwing up while Sora rubs his back. Yamato brings him water. 

He’s not sure if it’s how well they work as a unit or the unconditional kindness they show him time and time again, but something about it all breaks him, and he starts to weep on their bathroom floor. 

The tile is cold against his skin.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

you already know  takeru/hikari

in which Takeru and Hikari reach a breaking point.

“Sometimes I look at you,” he says softly, watching the tears fall down her face, “and the years between us stack up. They stack up and up and it’s like, none of it matters. Sometimes I look at you and all I feel is the weight of things unsaid and all of the places I can’t reach. Sometimes I look at you and I feel like I don’t know you at all.”

Hikari winces, clearly stung. Something dark passes over her face. “Can you ever speak like a normal person?”

Takeru narrows his eyes. “What?”

“Speak like a normal person,” Hikari says slowly, punctuating each word. “Just say things the way a person normally word instead of making everything sound like a declaration in a novel. I get it, Takeru, you’re a writer. We all get it.”

Chuckling, Takeru shakes his head. “Wow. After all that, after everything I just said, that’s what you cling to? My verbiage?”

“Do you know why, Takeru?” Hikari snaps, her voice raising, “because you talk like that and it makes me feel like you think we’re characters in one of your books. Like you’re just projecting all of these things on to me, all these ideas of me and you and what we’re supposed to be. You tell me that you look and me and all you can feel is the weight of things unsaid? Who talks like that, Takeru? Who talks like that when you’re apparently sharing the deepest of your feelings?”

“Characters in a novel?” Takeru gapes, “are you serious right now? I am a writer, Hikari, it does make my feelings more verbose, but it doesn’t mean that I am projecting things onto you.”

“Oh yeah?” Hikari begins to pace, “cause you talk like that in moments like this and you call my lingerie exquisite and you tell me time stops when you’re with me and all I can think is you think we’re part of this grand, sweeping story when the reality is we’re just two fucked up people who had to go through some fucked up stuff when we were kids. We’re not anything special, you and I, Takeru. Not really. And it’s hard to take anything seriously when you act like we are cause it makes me feel like you’re right, you don’t really know me at all.”

Takeru is quiet. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that maybe you just like the idea of me,” she says quiet, her voice still brimming with anger, “that you like the idea of being in love with your childhood sweetheart. That you think this codepency we’ve bred together is romantic and incomparable. That you refuse to take me as I am — a flawed human being who — and instead take me as your other half because of some ridiculous personality traits forced onto us when we were eight. Nothing you have ever said to me during all of this has ever felt like you were really saying it to me.”

Takeru feels like she shot him. “That’s because I can’t talk to you, Hikari,” he steps closer to her, “because everytime I do, you clam up and go somewhere I can’t reach. I’ve tried talking to you about this Hikari. I’ve tried practically our whole lives. And every time I get close, I stop, because I know it would hurt you and you’d go even further away from me. I’ve wanted to tell you what this feels like for years.”

“Yeah?” Hikari raises her chin, definitely. “What does it feel like?”

“It feels like I am being ripped in half,” Takeru shouts. “Every time we’re together, every time we sleep together, I feel like I am cracking open. I feel like I am cracking open in a bid to get you to finally see me, finally get closer and you just ignore it! There’s no way you haven’t known how I felt, Hikari, no way at all. And yet you still have been fucking me for years now. Years. And it is killing me and I know you knew that and you still went along with it anyway.”

Hikari is silent. 

“And I can’t figure out why,” his voice sounds desperate even to him, “I can’t figure out why you would do that. In the beginning, it was fine, but we were younger and I didn’t think it was going to go on forever without something changing. But nothing’s changed, Hikari. And it’s getting too hard. It hurts way too much. I can’t figure out how we got here and I can’t…” he swallows, “I can’t figure out why you’re okay with it. Why you want things to go on this way.”

“I think you should go,” Hikari says.

Takeru nods too, throat tight. “I think I should, too.”

[fizzingwizard]

so I actually don’t remember seeing the Digimon Adventure profiles listed on this site before. :o

They look familiar to me - tbh they read a lot like character profiles as they might have been shown when Adventure was first airing. A lot of it’s right from the first 13 episodes. I have most likely seen these before, and I’m certain the mega fans out there have done these already, but still there were tidbits I’d totally forgotten about!

So even if this wasn’t that last anon’s request, I’m gonna translate them. At the very least, it’s a nostalgia blast!

Taichi:

He's a "I don't like studying but I'm up for all physical activity!" athletic young boy. He's the super active type whose his body moves faster than his mouth. Sometimes he overdoes it and fails, but he never lets it get him down, and optimistically leads his friends on with his inherent courage and energy. He's in the soccer club at his elementary school, where he is their ace striker in spite of being a fifth grader.

“Anyway, let’s go! It’s no use just waiting around here!”

Sora:

An energetic girl with short-cut hair. She doesn't wear skirts and always dresses boyishly. She's got great reflexes and made a "two top" formation with Taichi in the soccer club. But while strong-willed like a guy on the one hand, on the other she's sensitive and considerate of her friends, so she often winds up with a sisterly role in the ragtag group.

"Hey, don't just get all relaxed like that. I'm not going to take responsibility here."

Yamato:

A cool kid who does well in both school and sports. His parents divorced three years ago, and now he and his father are living together. Perhaps because he has a strong sense of responsibility and is overly serious, he tends to be a bit cautious during their adventure in the digital world. Maybe for that reason, he often gets into conflicts with intuitive Taichi. He’s also overprotective of his younger brother Takeru, who lives with their mother. His special skill is playing the harmonica.

“I’m saying we should wait and take stock of the situation for a while! Everyone’s tired!”

Koushirou:

A boy who’s always carrying around his notebook computer and whose number one hobby is using the Internet. He’s very inquisitive, and when he comes a cross a puzzle he becomes totally absorbed in trying to solve it. But when he becomes too engrossed he can miss other problems or dangers in front of him, so he sometimes offends people. He isn’t great with socializing and always refers to everyone as “-san.” He swears he’s bad at physical activity (but is he?).

“Maybe we can solve the mystery. What this world is, who you are...”

Mimi:

She's the number one prettiest girl in Koushirou's class. Basically, she's a soft-hearted, young lady-type who everyone likes, but having been raised in a wealthy family without any cares, she can be a little selfish and irrepsonsibile. She hasn't known hardship, so when something bad happens she has a bad habit of quickly crying about it and relying on someone else. To be plain, she's not very useful, but she has an innocent personality that oddly no one can hate.

"I hate this! I'm going home!"

Jou:

A reliable, serious honors student. Born into an elite family, his future goal is to enter a first-class university. He’s the oldest of the group, so he always feels an obligation to bring the others together as the leader. But due to his indecisiveness and lack of skills, the reality often is it’s emotions only that are spinning his wheels, and he looks like a fool to the others.

"I have to be be strong. I have to bring everyone together."

Takeru:

Yamato's little brother. Since their parents’ divorce, he’s been living with his mother. Because of that, he really adores Yamato, and believes that everything will be okay as long as his brother is here. Although his personality is kind and honest, sometimes he listens to Taichi over his overprotective brother and unknowingly annoys Yamato.

"Yeah! It's summer vacation, so I came to my brother's place to play!"

Hikari:

Taichi's little sister and the eighth Chosen Child. She was supposed to go to camp with the others and journey in the Digimon's world, but she had to stay home due to a cold and was the only one left behind in the real world. Usually she's very kind and cares about her brother, but when a terrible adversary appears she has an inner strength that doesn't waver.

"He's very kind, my big brother."

I’m gonna do the partner Digimon too, but only the bits that I haven’t seen much before, since usually it’s the same stuff regurgitated again and again.

Agumon: He (probably?) inherited his quickfire personality from Taichi, often fighting recklessly to protect him. But he's usually easy and carefree, and the other humans besides often Taichi treat him with friendship.

“I... I will protect Taichi!”

Piyomon: She likes to be coddled, and loves her partner Sora. Her personality is honest and she feels sad when scolded by Sora.  She's really not so good at flying, and always competes with Patamon who's at a similar level.

“As long as Sora’s here, I’m not worried!”

Gabumon: He acts tough around his fellow Digimon and humans, but inside he's quite shy, and never takes off his Garurumon pelt (so his real face is a secret).

(When someone tries to take off his fur) “Ah, don’t ever do that!”

Tentomon: His relaxed and friendly personality with everyone maybe makes a surprisingly good combination with Koushirou, who is not good at socializing at all. He keeps up a running commentary as if he knows a lot about Digimon, but there is some good information thrown in. For some reason he speaks in Kansai dialect.

"I’ve never seen a legend before, so I don't know."

Palmon: Her personality clearly shows her emotions and she tends to go at her own pace. Also the way she likes to be spoiled resembles Mimi a lot. Depending on her mood, she can emit different scents from the flower on her head, and she can extend her leaf-like arms to photosynthesize.

“That’s right. Feet that are like roots are great!”

Gomamon: When he gets angry, the red fur on his hair bristles... He's a rascal who meddles with everything he sees, so of course he plays around without really listening to Jou either.

"It's okay, when push comes to shove, I'll help you out."

Patamon: He is particularly amenable compared to other Digimon, and bravely does what he is told. He can fly using his ears, but only at one kilometer an hour, so walking is actually much faster.

“I can fly, look!”

Tailmon: Although it's hard to imagine it based on her cute appearance, but she can take out Greymon and the others light as bean bags... Perhaps because she was in command of the Digimon unit [under Vamdemon]. she sometimes speaks to her fellow Digimon in a commanding tone like a strong-willed older sister.

"My training was different from yours. Alright, let's go, Patamon!"

[digimonadventuretimelines]

[09- Save the Outer World’s Digital World! Chimeramon Showdown]

“You’re late.”

“Sorry, I’ve met with a friend” Daisuke responded, he had finally arrived at the Kaiser’s base in the DigiWorld. However, he sounded differently from the cheerful Daisuke who had met Daichi “Uh, Ichijouji… Care to talk about a thing first?”

“What is it?” Ken kept typing and analyzing data, with Wormmon and V-mon in the corner watching the boys.

“... Maybe we should stop doing this thing and… Join the Chosen’s side.”

“You suggested us to WHAT!?” he glanced at Daisuke. How infuriating! How dare Daisuke to suggest that!

“... Ichijouji, what we’re doing… Don’t you see how much we’re hurting the digimon? You wouldn’t dare to put a dark ring on our partners, right?”

“Motomiya, what’s wrong with you!? I thought we shared the same opinion about the digimon!”

“We need to fight the evil digimon, not all digimon. Don’t you see it!?”

“You were with those insects, weren’t you!?”

Daisuke clenched his fist. He wouldn’t accept Ken yelling at him anymore.

“What if I was!? What’s wrong with them!? They’re right, and we’re wrong! They can fight the evil with true power of friendship and teamwork. All we do here is submit to your orders!”

“Heh… You’re dumb Motomiya.”

“No, I’m wise because I know to stop when I’m wrong.”

“He’s right, Kenchan” Wormmon spoke with a quiet voice “You had been chosen to protect the digimon, not to… hurt them.”

“You need to stop,” V-mon added “We can find the digimon who caused Osamu’s accident, but first you need to--”

“SILENCE!” Ken shouted “I’ve found the solution to beat them for all once.”

Daichi, who was outside the room listening to the convo, decided to step in with Natsu and Ulforce. Then Natsu saw… This Ken had the Digimon Kaiser motif, but darker colors. His belt had a purple gem on it. The bracelets and gloves were totally identical to the fake Kaiser, but the red of the gloves was purple. The glasses were oval-shaped with golden frame and purple lenses, same as the fake Kaiser. Also, this Ken’s hair wasn’t that different from his normal haircut except it had a few rebel hair strands and a ponytail, tied with a metal-lookalike elastic hair.

“Mr. Ichijouji please” he said with a serious voice “You have to listen to us. What you’re doing will cause a huge damage to you and everyone!”

“What!? You brought him here!?”

“Yes, I did” Daisuke responded with a nod “Daichi came to help me convince you to stop, because things aren’t okay anymore!”

“You traitor…!”

That word hit Daisuke so bad he got petrified for a few seconds. Despite that world being different, Daichi could see that that Daisuke wasn’t different from his dad. Daisuke put the helmet on and cracked his knuckles.

“I gonna show ya why I’m so done with that attitude, pal.”

And then Daisuke threw himself against Ken, starting a fist fight with him.

“Why the helmet-- Oh nevermind, what’s on that screen digi-girl?” Ulforce pointed at the big screens with some kind of digimon on it.

“Chimeramon” She gasped “Daichi, this is bad! If Ken’s working on Chimeramon this means he will end up destroying the Digital World!!”

“What!?” Daisuke exclaimed, and that was enough to Ken shove him away and run to the keyboard.

“That’s it, insects” Ken smirked “I gonna release Chimeramon and then no one will stop me!” and he pressed a few buttons, ending with a very dramatic button pressing on the ‘Enter’ from the keyboard.

The lights turned red, and alarms had been heard.

“I’m scared…” Wormmon cried.

“D-Daisuke, we need to stop him!” Natsu shouted “Do you know how to use these!?”

He shook his head, “I ain’t the brains of this team, y’know…”

“Nice, we’re dead now” Ulforce sighed “What’s the plan, Daichi?”

“Uhh… Wait, mr. Ichijouji’s escaping!”

“You four stay here” Wormmon said “I will go after him!” he left the room after Ken.

“I will give Wormmon a pair of fast legs!! Send a message to the Chosen Children, and try to prevent Chimeramon from being released!!” Natsu said, and then caught wormmon, lifted him from the floor and chased Ken.

“L-let them know!?” Daisuke babbled “Does she know that they don’t… At least Miyako and Iori don’t like me!?”

“I will message them” Daichi replied, “I’m not good with computers, but I know how to send multiple messages. Sometimes I need to give my dad an extra help.”

“... Why are you trying to help me, anyway?” Daisuke got up from the floor “I… I attacked you that other day. And why do you seem to like me?”

Then the computer made a beep, showing a new message on screen.

“They’re on the way! Don’t worry mr. Motomiya, we will stop mr. Ichijouji and save him.”

“How do you…”

“Because I’d like to save him as well. You’re his friend, and friends don’t give up on each other.”

“... We need that to stop him” V-mon said “Please, follow me.”

“We need what ...?”

 -----------------

“Why is Daichi with Lightnimon and the Kaiser?” Miyako pouted “I thought he tried to stop them!”

“According to the message” Iori began “There’s a dangerous digimon to be released and we need to stop it before it destroys the Digital World.”

“What!? What did the Kaiser do this time!!”

“M-Miyako please” Hikari asked “... I think Daichi went to talk with Ichijouji and Daisuke.”

“He said he would” Takeru confirmed Hikari’s suspicion “Maybe it worked… Partially.”

“Everyone…” Patamon shouted “What’s that!?”

“... Chimeramon” Tailmon stared at the terrible digimon appearing in the horizon.

-----------------  

“Kenchan please stop!!” Wormmon yelled “You have to stop!!”

“Why are you here!?” Ken hissed “Stay away, I will make them pay for what they had done to Osamu!”

“You brat,” Natsu gritted her teeth “you had given me no other option but…” and then put more effort on her legs, catching Ken with her other hand “YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW, MR. ICHIJOUJI KEN.”

“Let me go, you you shouldn’t have been here! Adults can’t--”

“I’m the proof that adults can so why not listen to your elders?”

-----------------

V-mon led them through the base, to a dark room. and pointed at the strange object floating there. However, Daichi felt it wasn’t his job to use whatever was that…

“Mr. Motomiya, you should fight Chimeramon.”

“H-huh!?”

“If you want to fix your mistakes, you have to fight it” he put a hand on Daisuke’s shoulder “Please, be the hero you meant to be.”

“Are you sure Daichi?” Ulforce looked at the boy.

Daisuke looked at V-mon and then nodded. He entered in the room with his partner while Daichi watched from behind. When Daisuke approached from the object, it showed a crest (Kindness) on it and then… The light consumed the place. The dust vanished and revealed a golden Digimental, which flew directly to Daisuke’s hands.

“Is that… a-another Digimental?”

“Daisuke, it’s time!” V-mon clenched his fists.

“Right” he responded, took a deep breath and then shouted: “DIGIMENTAL UP!!”

V-mon, Armor Evolve!! The Radiance of Miracles, Magnamon!!

The same light… Gave Daisuke a new outfit -- a sleeveless crimson jacket with red flames, the gold line forming the flames on it. A Blue shirt with a white stripe and two yellow stripes on the edges. Light brown shorts, dark indigo fingerless gloves, crimson wristbands with stripes in gold and in the middle of the gold in orange, white socks and crimson sneakers.

-----------------

“What you’re doing is wrong and you know it” Natsu said with an annoyed tone of voice “especially because you had been chosen to protect this world, not to destroy it.”

“But my--”

“Shh, there’s good digimon too. And they would’ve helped your brother to heal, or they would’ve tracked down the digimon who caused that misfortune to him, to your family and to you.”

“... You think that… They would help to make Osamu walk again?”

“I don’t say heal in that way, but to overcome it-- What’s that sound!?”

“It’s a fight, outside. I think” Wormmon mused “Maybe Daisuke wasn’t able to stop the release program.”

“What have I done…!?” Ken cried “All I wanted was… Was to… protect Osamu.”

“If you want to fix your mistakes… Let me fight!” Wormmon stared at Ken “Use your power!”

“My… power?”

“Natsu!! Wormmon!!” Daichi came with Ulforce and Daisuke to meet them in the middle of the hallway.

“Daichi! Daisuke!” she smiled “I’ve talked with mr. angsty kid and he changed his mind.”

“Magnamon is fighting outside” Daisuke said, “and I think with the Chosen Children as backup.”

“Outside?” Ken got shocked by that information “No no no!”

“There’s no time to complain!” Daichi said with a serious tone “We need to seal it all again…!”

“But how??” Wormmon asked.

“... We can delete it instead” Daisuke said quietly “There’s no reason to keep that digimon alive, the others must understand it.”

Outside, the Chosen Children had been in touch with Magnamon but not suspecting of him being Daisuke’s partner. A chaotic battle was in progress, with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon trying to capture Chimeramon, Digmon and Horusmon giving support to Magnamon.

But Chimeramon was strong. None of their powers were enough, not even with Magnamon’s help. Lasers and mass destruction had been caused to the desert area where Chimeramon had been sealed previously. But sealed by who? No one knows.

Daichi, Ulforce, Natsu, Daisuke, Ken and Wormmon left the base only so almost get hit with the hot air caused by the enemy’s attack. Luckily, Ulforce used his plasma shield alongside Natsu’s and prevented them all from getting hurt.

Daisuke decided to use that time to address the Chosen Children about his plan: They needed to combine attacks and destroy Chimeramon. But how? They had no idea yet. While Miyako and Iori complained about their former enemies trying to help them from saving everyone and the DigiWorld, Takeru accepted the help. The exchanges of ideas and strategies between the terrific duo and the heroes kept happening as Natsu used the shield to keep them safe from the attacks. 

Nefertimon and Pegasusmon tried another combo-attack, using Sanctuary Bind to tie the oppenent’s mouth, while Horusmon tried to use his Udjat Gaze to stunt Chimeramon. Digmon was quite ‘useless’ but he decided to work on the kids protection, opening a hole so they could hide themselves in and escape from the blast techniques.

“We need to aim our attacks here” and Ken used his bracelet to generate an hologram of Chimeramon, pointing at the stomach of the digimon “It’s its weak spot, but it will be harder so we need to work together.”

“We have like seven digimon right now” Daisuke mused “How about the rest keep it busy, and then Magnamon finishes it?”

“... Wait a moment” Daichi interrupted “It would work but… Mr. Ichijouji you know everyone’s abilities, right? Can you think of something?”

“Hm…” he started to think “Actually… Nefertimon and Pegasusmon tie the arms. Horusmon use Udjat Gaze to force it stop moving. Digmon continually use Gold Rush on Chimeramon stomach. Magnamon… I never had seen it before, but… Give me a sec” he scanned Magnamon’s data “Right. I got it… Magnamon does not have any sharp cut attack--”

“Here,” Ulforce removed one of his V-bracelets “He can use this. He’s a V-mon too so I assume he can manage to control part of my power.”

“You sure…?” Daichi asked.

“There’s no time for that!” Daisuke bit his lips and took Ulforce’s bracelet “Magnamon, everyone! Come here, we got a plan!”

The digimon returned, the kids explained the plan and Daisuke gave the V-bracelet to Magnamon. Then, they all executed those commands: Pegasusmon and Nefertimon used Sanctuary Bind around each hand, taking advantage its low speed. The holy beast duo pulled the strings and flew high, forcing Chimeramon to stretch the arms up. Next, Horusmon stood in mid air in front of the enemy, releasing the hypnotic eyes of Udjat Gaze at it, stunting then for a while. 

Ken armor evolved  Wormmon to Shadramon, Daichi evolved Ulforce to XV-mon, and both digimon grabbed the strings to give an extra strength to the holy beast duo. Digmon started bombarding Chimeramon’s stomach with his drills, making the opponent scream in pain.

The final attack was Magnamon using the V-Bracelet’s plasma sword to slash the damaged area, dissolving Chimeramon after the cut. A big explosion of data was seen and heard by the kids. Instead of feeling victorious, all of them were relieved and exhausted. Miyako and Iori were quite angry at Ken and Daisuke. Despite the latter having zero fault at this event, the previous attacks Daisuke had part of kept ruining their interactions.

And Daichi was just there, watch both Daisuke and Miyako fight just like the times his parents had been fighting for something dumb, like who had eaten the last chocolate bar.

V-mon gave the bracelet back to Ulforce, who put it back on the wrist.

“Oh, it’s full again!” Natsu showed to Daichi and Ulforce the crystal pendant “We can go home now!”

“Uh, what do you mean by that…”

“I’m sorry mr. Motomiya, but I came from another world” Daichi bowed quickly “B-but glad to meet you here…!”

Daisuke frowned but didn’t mind it at all.

“Okay go home. Thanks for the help Daichi!” he smiled.

“Stop smiling because you are still part of the problem, Motomiya!” Miyako was mad, arms on the hips and staring at both Daisuke and Ken “And YOU you have to be grateful we helped you to clean your stupid mess!”

“M-Miyako” Takeru laughed nervously “Slow down…”

Natsu opened the portal with her pendant, and the space-time traveling trio left.

 . . .

The little intervention has been watched by Skuld, and she realized that another door had appeared and it was from the new door that they came out. The changes on that world made her smile at Daichi, but the boy didn’t get it at all.

Instead, he, Ulforce and Natsu returned to home.

[ahiddenpath]

Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

Guys, this is not an analysis: this is my feels and obnoxious comments while viewing the stage play.  My initial goal was to use these notes to make an analysis, but they’re too funny/stupid/wow to hide from the world.  I typed these notes in real time, stopping the play whenever I had a thought.  It’s the closest I can get to having you watch me watch the stage play without using videos.  I will write an actual meaningful post soon, but for now, have a confused and jumpy/unpolished blob of feels.

The other thing I want to say is that I didn’t edit this after I wrote it, except for surface editing (grammar, spelling) and clarifications (mostly adding more names).  So if I formed an impression at some point, that’s what I really thought in that moment; I didn’t go back and change it.

That said: this will completely and totally spoil the stage play.  SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!  Read on below the cut (if you dare; it’s almost 4K words long and full of images).

Hidden’s Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play Reaction

I am immediately not buying that Mimi wouldn't want to camp in the bungalow.  Isn't this the kid that went to Tokyo Tower instead of patrolling Tokyo because the tower has AC?  I guarantee she'd whine an hour in about wanting the bungalow, but wouldn't allow Koushiro to point out that she made this choice for all of them x__x

 Did Mimi just... just throw the laptop?  How bratty can you get?  I... wow, I really hope they don’t treat my Mimi so poorly the whole play.

From Sora's speech, I can see that nostalgia will be a major theme here, which, to be fair, is appropriate, lol!  Nostalgia is pretty much why we’re here.

TAICHI! It’s so good to see you get your big bro on again, lol???  Hikari:  "I'm not a kid who needs to wait for you to walk home with me."

 Taichi: "What?  Why not?  WHAT'S WRONG?!  CONFIDE IN ME!"  He’s so aggressive and clumsy about it, lol??

Taichi:  "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A STUBBORN BLOCKHEAD."

Jyou, amiably: "You, of course! Wait-"  I'm like 15 minutes in and I have already decided that Jyou is my favorite (not surprising lol).

Jyou:  "YOU ARE IN DANGER, TAICHI.  I HAVE NEVER SEEN YOU STUDY."  Oh lord, Jyou is bashing Taichi with the stone of foreboding. Is Jyou okay?  Is he quite sane?  He isn't, is he.  Do you see that gleam in his eye?  No, no. He is gone and gone indeed.  Jyou’s actor is A+++

Annnnnnd oh hey, it's Yamyams doin' jamjams!  I can dig that bass, is he actually playing?  Oh hey, he's gonna sing for real, he's-  Oh my god, stop!  ABORT! He's terrible, hahahaha?!?!?!  IT BURRRRNSSS!!!  

OH MY GOD HIS BAND HATES THE BAND NAME AND THEY'RE SPEAKING TO HIM IN FRENCH WHAT IS THIS

Wait wow what is this weird ass vibe between the bros?  Teeks is accusing Yams of not visiting...  Did Yamato have that habit to start with?  Hmm...

So Takeru says, "I don't want to see us go our different ways."  I've mentioned it over and over, but this feeling is so important to me.  It's something I want to write an entire fic around.  On the one hand, it's such an easy topic, given the subject material. On the other, it's where my brain keeps going.  So... Let's see what happens!

Also:  Takeru:  "Stay hidden, Patamon!" *puts Patamon on his head and skips offstage* Takeru, sigh...

OH SHIT IT'S ETEMON, saying Taichiiiiihehehehe like a creep ass creeper.  He done got beef, too.

Annnnd we cut to everyone reacting because Mimi has no supplies (did you all not bring any?). What I like here, though, is that Jyou can at least talk to her without getting shut down.  Poor Kou-chan -__-

Koushiro: "We're amateurs, is there anything we should watch out for?"  OH I DUNNO, MAYBE ETEMON IN A HAT AND A VEST god damn I know this is supposed to be funny, but they all look like idiots- 

Koushiro: "That old man had a feminine way of speaking"  Says the dude being portrayed by a male actor FOR THE FIRST TIME-

Koushiro: "Taichi-san, you're the closest thing to a caveman we have-"  Ah, bless.

(At this point, my husband is pointing out while playing Destiny that the puppeteers do really good digimon voices, and I'm explaining that the digimon voices are pre-recorded, lol).

ANNNNND Mimi is whining for supplies that she forbade people to bring.  I am shocked.

Jyou is talking about how he wants to help digimon by being a doctor, by saving and protecting, and my heart is growing three sizes.  Best Chosen, y'all.

But oof, the atmosphere got so heavy...  Why do these kids refuse to talk about what they want to do???  Jyou remains refreshing.  Also, I'm just noticing how Koushiro turns his entire body around every single time towards whoever is talking?  He leans in, too.  It's both cute and unexpected (I would expect much more reserved body language, but I get that this is a play and that's what you do).

HAH!  Only Jyou can see the shooting star because he's the only one with his shit together!  I love that, lol!  (Also, is that really Tailmon's voice actress?  Hmm...)

NO, ETEMON HAS KOU-CHAN, BAD TOUCH, BAD TOUCH although really it's painful that we're still pretending they can't recognize Etemon.

Koushiro can't read the room...  Well, at least that's familiar, lol!

(At this point, my husband is asking what I think, and I'm stuttering over how annoyed I am at the ‘not-recognizing-Etemon’ gag.  My husband is laughing at me and saying I'm at a loss for words. Thanks, love.)

HOLY SHIT did Hikari and Mimi just use the tired "scary stories" trope to bring up the Dark Ocean? I'll give 'em points for that.  I AM INTRIGUED, let's go!!!  Oh.  Oh, they broke it off.  They're not doing anything with it.  That's... sigh.  Thanks, guys. (Caterpillar Sleeping Bag Mimi is cute AF tho).

Hmm, right now I'm thinking that Mimi's actress is so lovely and so lively and really feels like Mimi, but...  I also can't stand how they wrote her so far.  Throwing Koushiro's computer, talking over him, not allowing him to point out when she's contradicting herself, immediately requesting the supplies she forbade people to bring...  This stuff annoyed me in Adventure, but she was 10 and in a situation I would have strongly struggled to handle.  But now she's literally...  Making problems for everyone...  For nostalgia's sake...  At age 16? I'm so torn, lol, because the acting is so good but ahhhhh...  Let's see how this develops...

Hmm hmm, I'm listening to Sora talk about how she doesn't wanna grow up, either... Darling, you're already quite grown up, lol!  Lovely lady. I love how the digimon puppeteers echo their puppets, I can't get enough of watching Agumon's puppet and performer while Sora speaks.  They really did a great job!

I think I'm about an hour into this, maybe a little less?  45 minutes?  So far all that's really happened is that we've established that the characters want to be together as Chosen Children, and that with the exception of Jyou, they aren't emotionally or mentally prepared to seriously think of a future beyond that.  I'll be the first to say that this a compelling and interesting topic, and it's something I've wondered about for them, but...  Shouldn't... more things... have happened by now?  Hmm...  I understood that this would be an issue from Sora's very first bit of dialogue.  No one in the audience needs this much expansion and repetition, particularly with so few new ideas and so little momentum so far.  Tri is intended as a love letter for fans of Adventure, yes?  Mostly adult fans?  We don’t need this much repetition to understand, we truly don’t...

Ah!  Now Yamato is talking about Jyou and how to become an adult, finally dropping some new ideas in.  Love ya, Yams.  And ahh, man, Taichi is just... screaming all of his lines?  The actor is so sweet and cute, but the delivery...  I'm pretty sure it's supposed to reflect that Taichi is putting up fronts like nobody's bidness, though.  Yamato ain't buyin' it (Yamato is Almost Best).  I really want him to grunt, "Tell the truth or shut up." XD XD  GRUNT GRUNT.

 Augh, god, I can't take this tho?  Literally EVERY TIME someone tries to say something that will move the plot forward or inject some vulnerability into this play (except for Papa Jyou), they change the subject.  I'm about halfway through now and this has to be at least the 10th time we've been blocked from useful information and deeper thoughts with this method.  Tri suffers from this same issue, though...  Their plot is such that they can’t sustain tension if issues are faced in a natural way, so they CHANGE THE SUBJECT or DROP A LEAD or IGNORE A LEAD, etc, etc.  Here it's mostly saying, "Well what about you?" or screaming someone else's name, which...  Subtle???  Ah, Taichi's latest method of not saying anything is to ask Yamato to play his harmonica...  Oh my god, he's playing Walk on the Edge!  Okay, okay, you got me, stage play.  Hahaha, I remember Yams being better at playing a harmonica, tho!!!!  (I keep picking on this poor dude who is asked to do all of the awesome shit Yams can do, sorry my dude).

Taichi:  Should we sleep?

Yamato:  Let's talk some more.

Taichi: (shit!  fuck!  He remembered I'm dodging-)  YES BECAUSE HE ISN'T AN IDIOT EXCEPT WHEN ETEMON IS ONSTAGE OMG SOMEONE HELP ME-

Ahhh, and they fade out...  With no forward movement.  THANKS.  I mean we established mood, touched on Taichi/Yamato’s relationship, and set up the problems that will be address later (I assume), but...  It’s so drawn out...  

And now Koushiro is drawing on the ground with a stick, bless you, are you trying to compute something? Sigh...  Ah, bless, Tentomon is intervening, haha! 

But...  As right as Ten-chan is, he's also... Wrong? XD  DON'T TELL YOUR FORWARD MOVEMENT MACHINE TO POWER DOWN!!!  Annnnd yes!  We're an hour in and SOMETHING IS HAPPENING!  I am so ready for something to happen. (Tony: "Can we handle the stimulation, though?")

Oh god, the kids freaking out over their partners acting weird, Gabumon's stage hand collapsing... God, right in the feels, I'm almost mad about how easy it is to get an emotional response this way, lol!  We just love our babies too much, lol!

Wow, Yamato lost it at Kou-chan...  You know, we think of Taichi as carrying a lot of pressure (and rightfully so), but Koushiro carries just as much, as we saw in Kokuhaku.  He's not magic, Yams, he needs his tools, and he doesn't have 'em. Related:  Although I don't much care for how it happened, I definitely would love to read/write/see a story where Koushiro has no computer and has to adapt, though.  I'd also love to see one where a new tech wizard appears and he questions his role, but that's a whole' nother thing.

EWW OH MY GOD DON'T UNDRESS ETEMON MIMI WHAT THE HELL, bleeeeehhhhhhh...  Oh god, he thought his outfit was obvious...  Well, you see Etemon, somewhere in the last 6 years, the kids completely lost their ability to read situations x__x  (I get that this is a joke, I really do?  But???)

 Oh huh, so they're claiming Etemon wandered the Dark Ocean for 100 years?  Didn't he...  Come back in Adventure as MetalEtemon?  Is he referencing his second defeat?  ?????

OH GOD POWER RANGER ETEMON WHAT IS HAPPENING.  Haha it's kind of cute that he's like, "Eh I don't know these two (Hikari and Tailmon).  I don't think Metaletemon saw them?  But honestly I don't remember.  I think he was around Jyou and Mimi mostly?

Wait shit are we seriously doing the actual conflict part WITHOUT JYOU AND GOMAMON?  I am so mad right now.  I kind of feel like they'll burst in at some point???  I hope...

...Etemon has a song and dance number.  I am rolling on the floor in pain with the Chosen.  I'm doing it, guruguru mawaru-  No, NO, YOU PUT TAICHI DOWN-  Goddamit how many bad touch jokes do I have to make-

 OH THANK GOD, is Jyou coming back?  THANK YOU DIGI JESUS!  (Tony: "Wait is your favorite back? Did he leave?  It sounded like he wandered off and now he's wandering back in again."

Gomamon: "YOU'RE BEING GROSS JYOU" honey, oh child, you ain't seen nothing yet.  Oh bless him, he's so happy, can we just watch Jyou bounce around in joy please and no more singing power ranger monkeys?  I take back my complaints about nothing happening, haaaaaaaaaaaalp me Senpaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiii

Oh lord Etemon's back WHELP.  Oh shit, oh shit that Obon joke, THAT'S THE BEST JOKE IN THIS PLAY, isn’t it?  We can't beat that.  Should I... leave?

Taichi, in Etemon's gross ass digital Wonder Land:  "What's wrong, Hikari?"  WHAT'S WRONG?!  WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE-

(My husband has informed me that I'm growling.  He tells me that, when we were watching Gravity Falls and Mabel tries to tempt Dipper and the others to stay in the perfect imaginary world Bill made for her, I said, "What is she, Satan?  Tempting them to stay here in comfort instead of facing danger to save everyone?"  This is a similar scenario, and it's one of the few things I didn't like about Gravity Falls and OH NO, TAICHI IS THE MABEL OF THIS SITUATION, HELP!!!!  Oh thank goodness, Taichi's done with this too, whew, okay, okay, breathe, stop growling).

Oh God, the Agumon puppet looks dead without the puppeteer, that's actually really awful? These puppets are amazing, guys.  I cannot say enough good stuff about the execution with these puppets.

Hmm, Taichi just begged for mercy, and Etemon is unimpressed...  Reminds me of the fandom after Saikai.  I wonder where they'll take this...

HOLY SHIT Taichi is losing his shit!  I won't say that all of that stammering and dodging earlier is accounted for here, since most of the characters did it to some degree, but it's nice to see the payoff within the same piece (instead of waiting months for the next Tri film and forming your own conclusions in that time period).  I'm actually happy to see a screaming breakdown like this...

Man Koushiro speaks SO QUICKLY, dude, slow it down!!!  Ahhh, he says that we're granted whatever we want here, so Etemon is probably trying to trick us by having us hear Jyou.  SOMEONE IS THINKING USING THEIR BRAINSSS I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!

JYOU IS HEREEEE TO SAVE THE DAAAAAAYYY THE NEW DIGI JESUS, JYOUUUUUU!!!  (And while I 100% agree that you should be cautious, Kou-chan, c'mon, he arrived saying that you made his phone go off on the train and it made him feel awkward, that's pretty much proof that it's Jyou, lol!).  OH AND NOW KOU AND YAMS ARE ROASTING JYOU, classic.

Koushiro finally takes a stab directly at the heart of this...  It's not even about being children and avoiding adulthood; it's about not wanting to leave August 1st.  I realize exposition is Kou's job, but I didn't expect him to be the one to lay it out after all of this dodging.  I’ll be honest, I’m so pleased with Koushiro in this stage play so far?  I love how he moves, I love how quickly he speaks, I love that he’s able to come out and say this.  I wasn’t into the way the play used him spouting off numbers to indicate intelligence, but that’s a nitpick compared to the ground they gave Koushiro here.  

JYOU.  JYOU.  EVEN IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, KOUSHIRO, I BELIEVE IN YOU.  He continues to be THE BEST, I am in awe, I bow before Jyou.

OH MAN is Jyou gonna work his awkward magic on Yams?  Where's my freakin' popcorn.  Oh, well, hell.  Yama said he... doesn't wanna talk.  *rubs forehead*  Great. Entertaining.  THIS IS FUN I AM HAVING FUN *curls up and cries*

Okay so now Taichi is freaking out and Koushiro is trying to talk to him (roughly 70% of this stage play is someone trying and failing to talk to someone else).  But I really like what Taichi says here- "I have nothing to hesitate about." We all know this isn't true; Taichi is hesitating all over the place right now.  Let's see where this goes!  (Please let it go somewhere this time, lord above).  WAIT- WAIT-  ARE YOU SHOWING ME KOUSHIRO POINTING FINGERS AT TAICHI'S BULLSHIT AND SAYING "I'VE BEEN BY YOUR SIDE FOR SIX YEARS!!" AND THEN CUTTING AWAY?!?!??!?!?!?!?  RAAAAAAAHHHH is this an aneurysm?  I think this is what an aneurysm feels like.  You can't drop lines that good and then CUT AWAY FROM IT GOOD LORD IN HEAVEN-

Sigh, tsk, groan. Hikari, Teeks.  Whacho got for me?  Whoa, I swear Takeru has been a second away from sobbing ever since Etemon revealed himself.  You... you okay, buddy?  Can I, uh, get you anything?  I love how much Hikari has her shit together in contrast.  Oh, and Takeru is about to say something usefu- ohhh, another cut. God, I have a headache.

Hmm, Sora and Meems are cracking, too...  Sora says, "It was simpler when I was everyone's mom.  It's not like me to decide on someone or something."  I really need to hear Mulan's Reflections in the background right now...

Mimi saying "I want to do SO many things!" is refreshing my soul.  I know she's one of the most shippable Chosen, but honestly, if not for the fact that she has a kid that is clearly biologically hers, I would assume that she's too busy doing EVERYTHING to have a family.  My headache recedes just a touch.

Hmm...  I actually really like what Sulky (Yams) is trying to say here.  "I don't want to be with everyone because I'm Chosen.  I want to be with Gabumon because he's my friend," basically.  Part of me sides with Jyou- dude we all get that, it's not a shameful secret- but another part of me...  Deeply appreciates that Yams can separate his duty as a Chosen from his bond with his digimon.  Gabumon is his best friend, his number one.  It doesn't matter if Gabumon can't fight, if Yamato can never digivolve him again. It doesn't even matter that he's a digimon.  It just matters that they're friends, and that they be together somehow, which may seem a more tenuous position by the day.  ...Now I'm sad.  Well played, stage play.  This moment is wonderful.

...Annnnnnd now Yamato is overacting to hell, and I'm laughing instead of thinking and feeling, was that supposed to happen?  Sigh. I still don't understand why he has to be SO SECRETIVE about it, but I mean...  That's our Yams??? 

And now we're back to Kou and Taichi, and they're pulling at each other's throats, as they will, and honestly this is the only "NOW KISS" moment for me, but where was I-

In all seriousness, I really like that the person to finally, FINALLY get the truth from Taichi is Koushiro.  That's how it often was in Adventure too, yes?  But I almost feel like Taichi's breakdown here is a reflection of what fans said in Saikai.  Taichi in Adventure always took action (although he grew so much during Adventure, I'd argue the version of himself he's referencing now wasn't there by the end of Adventure?). He can't fight in Saikai because he's concerned about hurting people/property/the tenuous relationship between humans and digimon.  He can't take action...  But the ability to see that is an indication of growth, not regression.  Will he understand that here?  

Ok god, Agu-chan is dropping some truth bombs...  And the way he and his puppeteer crawl...  I swear these goddamm puppets will be the death of me.

Agu-chan, can you do me a solid and STAMP THIS ALL OVER EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE KIDS PLEASE AND THANK YOU?!

HOLY SHIT IS THAT A METALGRAYMON PUPPET?!  THEY HAD THAT SHIT ALL ALONG AND THEY BRING IT OUT WITH 20 MINUTES LEFT?!  WHAT WOT WOOOOT?!??!  I cannot believe I'm seeing this.  And I love how heavy and cumbersome the huge puppet feels.  Like, I always felt like Metalgreymon would be huge and slow, right?

Etemon, I was done with your shit a LONG time ago...

WAIT he is admitting that he was Metaletemon previously. So... when... exactly did he fall into the Dark Ocean?  Sigh. This is one of those "Let it go, Hidden" things, isn't it.  Uh, wow, I am totally unfamiliar with Kingetemon.  That's... a... thing.  

The use of screens and images in the stage play are really fun!  It must have been awesome to see this show in person O__o;;

OH SHIT, Yamato arrives in a cloud of smoke, that's how you KNOW shit is gonna go down!

OH MY GOD OMEGAMON ONLY GETS A HEAD OH MY GOD I'M DYING (Tony:  "HEY do you know how big that thing's supposed to be?!)

KOUSHIRO IS WEARING THE GOGGLES I'm down.  HIDDEN IS DOWN!  REVIEWER DOWN!!!!

HOLY SHIT JYOU'S "A" ON HIS MOCK TEST WASN'T REAL okay this is also a Good Joke, I applaud. Also I am LOVING sassy Koushiro in this? His way of being sassy is to do it in a way where you're not quite sure if he is trying to be a butt or not, which is 10000000% yes lol (In contrast, Izzy is intentionally awful usually lol).

Annnnd I was right from the start; Jyou is carrying this entire thing, lol.  Oh my god, the delivery on this?!?!??!  AMAZING.

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. LAUGHTER.  THEME SONG.  DRAMATIC POSE.  I THINK THIS IS THE END SHOT YOU GUYS.

 Now the actors are coming out to speak!

THIS.  LITTLE.  SHIT. I love him?  I...  I love him. The snark is strong in this one. I... he is so... so beautiful.  I...  I think I might be in love?  (This at least indicates that I wasn’t alone in thinking the computer toss was too much???).

YAMATO’S ACTOR JUST SAID "DON'T SAY GOODBYE," Well played, son.  I like the cut of your jib.

 AHHHHH OKAY OKAY I have no idea how I’m going to analyze this.  My surface thought is that this play features a lot of the emotions and inner thoughts of individual characters that can’t fit into Tri, and that (I personally think) Tri suffers from a lack of.  Because there isn’t really ship bait and maneuvering around a new character and plot, we’re able to see relationships that feel much more familiar to Adventure than we often see in Tri (ie, Taichi worried about Hikari, Koushiro worried about Taichi, etc).  As you noticed, I’m very unhappy with the way the play pushes the payoff back as far as possible, cramming it into an AMAZING twenty minutes or so...  But I loved those twenty minutes.

Also, Koushiro feels waaaay more like Koushiro than he does in Tri, except for Kokuhaku.  As your local insane Koushiro fan girl, I am standing and applauding and screaming and crying.  NO PERVY KOUSHIRO.  NO FASHION DISASTERS.  Just Koushiro being supportive and apt and sweet and trying so hard.  I am refreshed.  I am younger.

And the passion and love and energy that went into us, so visibly in human form...  I can’t describe how wonderful the actors and the puppeteers were.  And even though I kind of hated Etemon, his actor was incredible.

So the stage play has amazing points and really irritating points, but on the whole, it’s my second favorite thing Tri has given us (following Kokuhaku).  I will try to write about it more smart-like soon!  If you got this far...  I’m in awe, lol!  High five, my friend!