#Imagine if Taichi had Koushiro as his Digimon

[genork-the-fandork]

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Word Count: 525 Prompt: & Sora A/N: I honestly think I'm a little bad at writing interactions between Taichi and Sora. Maybe it has something to do with my personal attachment to him, or maybe it has to do with the fact that I (admittedly) don't think of them often. I'm always worrying about his interactions with Yamato, Hikari, Koushiro... but not Sora. I hope to rectify that here, even if it rehashes some of the same pain I touched on in the Yamato drabble. Here's to you, Sora! @taichiyagamiweek

There had been a time when being in the same room as Sora had been as easy as breathing. Another part of himself, someone he could rely on, always. Of course, he could still rely on her, and he always would be able to, but something had changed over the years. He was well aware that part of it was his fault, the way he let his feelings dictate his every move, but he also knew that Sora would tell him they were both at fault. Even on the days when he wasn't sure if he knew her, he understood her all too well.

"You, too, huh?" he murmured, noting the distinct lack of a certain pink-feathered bird. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Sora bowed her head, some strands of her hair falling over her face. "It hurt too much."

"Yeah. I get that." He tapped his fingers awkwardly on the table, trying to find something to say. It had been a while since they'd last seen each other, long before either of them had faced a greater loss than they were willing to go through. Taichi thought perhaps it would bring them closer together, as it had for him and Yamato, but maybe it was bound to drive them further apart.

"Taichi," Sora said quietly. When he looked up, she was giving him that look of sheer compassion she'd always been a pro at directing his way "I'm so sorry."

He blinked, and suddenly they were both in tears. Across the table, their hands sought each other, curling into each other as they had back when they'd played soccer together. Instead of congratulating each other on a job well done, however, they were sharing in a pain neither of them had imagined they would feel. For so long, the Digimon had simply been a part of them. Why did they have to be taken away so soon?

Bent over themselves, they cried out all the pain they'd been bottling inside for the sake of the others. Taichi had thought that perhaps their bond could never truly return to what it had been, once upon a time. He wasn't so sure of that anymore. Funny how the Digital World was still bringing them together, even as it tore their hearts out.

It took a while, but Taichi eventually straightened and squeezed her hand. "We should go get some water. I feel a headache coming on."

She smiled as she got up and followed him out of the room. "And here I thought I was the group mom."

He laughed guiltily. "You look after us, but you gotta let us look after you, too, sometimes." Meeting her brown eyes with his own, he added, "Besides, the three of us only have each other now."

Sora just stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "That's not true. We still have five other friends."

"There she is," he said to himself as she entered the kitchen ahead of him. It would always hurt—that was the thing with losing your literal other half. But maybe, just maybe, some of the old Sora would still be around.

[froggie-bolt]

Day 4: Trauma and Healing

Tell me Taichi wasn’t having a difficult time after Kizuna. TRY.

I bet you can’t.

I was preparing a comic! But I couldn’t get it done soon enough and I’m already late. SO! Either tomorrow or at the end of the week, I’ll post the finished comic!! But please take this thing from my drafts!!

Taichi’s grip on his shoulders grew tighter as Koushiro felt his back press into the offices couch.

After the week they just had, Taichi’s weight was just so comforting. Grounding him.

But the conversation that was to come was far from such.

And the way Taichi was going about starting it…

Because when the brunette leaned in and pressed his lips to Koushiro’s, he knew what this was about.

It didn’t take a genius to figure it out. Well, maybe it did. Koushiro did fit that description.

But this?

This took someone who knew Taichi.

Luckily he knew him like the back of his hand.

“Taichi—“

Taichi kissed him again, Koushiro engaging this time.

His hands went to hold the others hips, pulling him closer, hoping to maybe bring Taichi the same comfort he was bringing him.

It seemed to work. Sort of.

His shoulders were released at least.

Honestly, they really shouldn’t be making out in his office after hours.

However, when Taichi insisted on grabbing them some food and hanging out, Koushiro couldn’t bring himself to say no.

But he couldn’t afford to become distracted. They needed to have this conversation. He needed Taichi to be direct about his feelings; to tell him what was on his mind.

“Taichi-san you need to…T-Taichi, hold on, we need to—“

He expected Taichi to interrupt him again.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he rested his head on the crook of Koushiro's neck, and fisted the boys shirt.

“Do you know” his voice shook “How fucking worried I was?”

“I..can only imagine..”

“What if we didn’t beat that thing, Kou.”

Koushiro bowed his head.

“That wouldn’t have happened—“

“It almost did!”

“But it didn’t.”

Taichi let out a sharp sob.

He wasn’t going to cry. Of course not. He wasn’t going to, he told himself.

But now here he was, sobbing into his boyfriends shoulder about something that didn’t even happen.

Koushiro rubbed his hand up and down his lovers back. He couldn’t know how Taichi was feeling.

He could only guess. His guesses are usually spot on though, and this time was no different.

“Koushiro, if things didn’t work out..! I-I would have lost my sister, everyone’s digimon... I would have lost you—! A-And Yamato, I would never be able to look him in the eye again I— it was too much. J-Just too much, Koushiro and now that it’s over I—! I don’t know if I’m supposed to be relieved, or angry, or sad! I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel and it’s fucking me up.”

It was fucking both of them up.

Koushiro knew how to hide his emotions well. Always had.

But when Menoah turned out to be the perpetrator, he felt so stupid. So betrayed.

So used.

He hated feeling used.

Not only that, but the knowledge that someday, he might have to say goodbye to Tentomon…

But because of Taichi, he knew how to deal with his feelings.

Taichi was good at giving advice on such things.

But sometimes, he couldn’t follow his own.

“Taichi, you know the answer to that.”

“No! I-I—!”

Koushiro cupped the others cheeks and pulled him up until they were eye to eye.

He kissed Taichi sweetly before wiping the others face.

“Taichi-san,” he spoke gently. “You, more than anyone knows.”

“What..what do I know, koushiro…” his voice trembled, another sob waiting at the back of his throat.

“You don't have to feel a certain way. You don’t have to know how you feel.”

The red head pulled the other into a gentle embrace.

“You just…feel.”

[sloanerisette]

Digimon Secret Santa 2023 Gift!

So I was @bacomon-art-blog's Secret Santa! I know how much you love Iori and Jou, so I wanted to write something with them for you! I hope you have a merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this and a ton of fun coming up with this fic!

---

For some reason, Iori felt a bit out of his depth for this celebration. According to Takeru and Hikari, August 1st was a big day for the original eight Chosen Children, being the day that they went to the Digital World and came back. As a result, the eight Chosen Children were joined by him, Miyako, and Daisuke to celebrate. They were Chosen Children now, so they had been welcomed wholeheartedly in the group. But while Miyako was quick to find friendship with Sora and Mimi thanks to her exuberant nature, and Daisuke had already been close with Taichi and had recently become closer with Yamato after a he received the Digimental of Friendship, Iori felt… well, a bit out of place.

It wasn’t that he felt unwelcome by any means, but it was a bit different. Everyone was so much older than him, and compared to the other new Chosen Children, he felt he hadn’t gotten nearly that close to any of his seniors. His own Digimentals were Knowledge and Reliability, and while he greatly respected both Koushiro and Jou, his relationship with them wasn’t nearly as close as Miyako was with Mimi or Daisuke was with Taichi.

Still, he was grateful to come along. The heat wasn’t too bad, they had a picnic together, and he had been enthralled by all the stories of that first trip the others took into the Digital World. He couldn’t imagine the idea of being stuck there for so long… it merely made his respect for them all grow so much more. Every so often that day he looked down at Upamon, each time with a fond, if small smile. He and his Digimon partner had already become incredibly close friends, and Upamon had done plenty to get him to lighten up just a bit more than usual. All he could hope was that their bond would continue to grow and grow.

By the mid-afternoon, the humidity had grown quite a bit, and Iori found himself needing to fan himself a bit more.

“Water?”

He snapped from yet another bout of thoughts about what being a Chosen Child meant and he looked up to see Jou offering him a bottle of water. He blinked.

“Ah, thank you, Jou-san,” he said with a bow of his head before taking it.

“I’m surprised the summer hasn’t been rougher,” Jou said as he cracked open his own bottle and took a long drink. Iori opened his bottle and offered some to Upamon before taking a sip himself.

The group of Chosen Children had split up a bit, with all of them splitting up into their own small groups. Miyako had dragged Hikari over to Mimi and Sora, while Daisuke was listening to Taichi and Koushiro, and Yamato and Takeru were standing next to each other, laughing about something one of them said.

“Don’t worry, I made sure to pass water out to everyone else. You just seemed to be in such thought I didn’t want to interrupt you, but considering everyone else got their own by now, I hope you don’t mind,” Jou said lightly. Iori shook his head.

“No, I appreciate it, thank you.”

Things stayed quiet between the two as they sat down on a bench, watching their friends socialize. It was nice to spend some quiet time, but with the oldest of their group there, Iori couldn’t help himself.

“Jou-san, do you mind if I ask a question?” he asked, voice serious as ever. Jou’s eyebrows raised and he let out a gentle chuckle.

“Of course, fire away.”

Compared to the few times he had seen Jou in the Digital World, he seemed a lot more easygoing now. Well, not necessarily easygoing, considering this was the guy who had made sure everyone was staying hydrated on a warm summer day, but he definitely wasn’t as stressed as he was making sure their friends didn’t die or in helping temporarily stop the Digimon Kaiser.

And, really, there were some questions that Iori floated in his mind. Even if Taichi had been the leader in Jou’s group and Daiuske was the leader in theirs, he still wanted to do his best to help out. Frankly, out of all the people to ask, from what he knew and the stories he was told, Jou was the only person to really ask.

“How did you do it?” he asked. Jou blinked and tilted his head.

“Do what?” he asked as Iori gave Upamon another drink of water.

“Keep them all under control,” Iori said simply, before taking another gulp for himself. Jou scratched his cheek and grimaced.

“Ah, well… that was more Taichi’s job than mind…” he trailed off.

“I understand that, but you were the oldest one. Your crest is Reliability, and I share that too through my Digimental. Mimi talking about how you stayed with her to make sure she stayed safe when you went back to the Digital World a second time, the story about making sure Taichi didn’t get in over his head while trying to rescue Sora, making sure Takeru didn’t get hurt… even if you didn’t lead the group, you still did everything you could to keep everyone safe.”

Jou placed his hand to his chin and hummed quietly, in deep thought. Iori focused his attention on him, waiting for what he had to say. He wanted to do his best to keep everyone safe with how dangerous the Digimon Kaiser was dangerous. Ever since they had to fight Metalgreymon, it felt like the stakes were being raised more and more. It wouldn’t be easy, and they needed to do all they could. Iori had to keep an eye out and make sure they all stayed safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of his friends.

“Well, to be honest with you, Iori… I think a lot of it happened by accident,” he said with an awkward laugh. Iori’s jaw dropped.

“Huh?”

At his bewildered expression, Jou waved his hands and shook his head.

“No no no, don’t get me wrong! I worked as hard as I could to keep everyone safe, even if Taichi took the lead of the group,” he said. He paused again and pursed his lips, trying to best figure out how to better word what he meant to say.

“A lot of our group is pretty impulsive. Sora-kun and Koushiro are probably the only others who could keep as much of a level head, and there were plenty of times where I still needed to do what I could to help them out, too. Working with a lot of people isn’t always easy, especially when a lot of them are so headstrong.”

Iori glanced over at Daisuke and then to Miyako. He could definitely understand that pretty well.

“In a way, you sort of have to be an anchor for your group.”

The anchor for the group…

Iori had a hard time thinking of himself that way. While he had been raised with a good head on his shoulders thanks to his family, being the “anchor” felt like something else entirely.

Jou set a gentle hand on Iori’s shoulder, his own gaze having followed towards Iori’s friends.

“Daisuke and Miyako-kun are both pretty energetic, aren’t they,” he mused with a soft chuckle, “They really are like Taichi and Mimi-kun.”

“Jou-san, you really think I could be the anchor to our group?” he asked. He always appreciated the advice, help, and knowledge he received from Koushiro-san, and the few times Jou-san had offered it had been a boon, too. He still thought about what he had said when he needed to call on him in order to help save the group.

“I wouldn’t say think, I would say I’m sure you could be,” Jou said, offering Iori a smile. To Jou, it was almost funny how different the two were. Here Iori had taken helping out the Digital World in stride, doing everything he could in order to help fight against the Digimon Kaiser, while Jou had been so anxious and hesitant during his first trip there. Granted, they were in completely different situations, but he was always impressed by the boy’s convictions and strength.

“Takeru and Hikari-kun may have the experience from being in the Digital World with the rest of us, but you have an incredibly level head. You know when to take action and you focus on the right thing to do.”

Hearing Jou-san say that… really did mean a lot. It wasn’t always easy being the youngest, but…

“Thank you, Jou-san. Going against the Digimon Kaiser hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a battle we can entirely win,” Iori frowned. He wrung his hands together as he watched the others. He didn’t want to see them get hurt. He still thought about how his friends had nearly died, had a few nightmares about it. If it wasn’t for him being able to get Jou-san, then…

“I know we can’t help you all out too much, but we’ll always do what we can. You’ll always have our support.”

Upamon looked up at Iori, with that same adorable smile that he always held. It brought warmth to his chest, and enough relief to cause the knot that had slowly been forming in his stomach to unwind.

“Iori,” Upamon squeaked, “If I get what Jou is saying, then I know you do that for me, too!”

“Upamon?”

Jou smiled in silence as he watched the the pair.

“You always help me out! And if it wasn’t for you, there’s plenty of times I would’ve had way more of your mom’s food than I should!” Upamon said as he wiggled in his place.

And there were a lot of times that he had gotten seconds (and thirds) to give to his partner after a long day in the Digital World.

“Sounds a lot like a seal I know,” Jou said, before pausing for a beat, “Well… a lot less sarcastically than said seal, at least,” he said before adjusting his glasses.

“Thanks. Both of you,” Iori nodded as he held Upamon a little closer. “I hope one day I can be as close with Upamon as you are with Gomamon.”

Jou set a reassuring hand on Iori’s shoulder, patting it a few times before he reached for his bottle of water and took another drink.

“I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about on that front. You two are just as much anchors for each other as Gomamon and I are for each other.”

“Hey, Iori!” Miyako shouted out with an exaggerated wave, “Get over here! Daisuke is buying us ice cream!”

“What!? I didn’t say I was gonna do that!” he shouted, his voice booming through the park.

“Sounds like you have to now!” Takeru said, his laughter mingling with Daisuke’s continued cries of refusal.

“B-But I was talking to—” Iori started, but was stopped by another hand on his shoulder again.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m sure I can find someone to talk to,” Jou said, mirth clear in his voice as he nodded towards his group.

“And I want to get ice cream, too!” Upamon said.

“Hey, wait! If I start buying ice cream for all you guys I’m gonna be broke!” Daisuke shouted.

“Oh! I want ice cream, too!” Chibimon squeaked out happily as he danced around his partner’s feet.

“Me, too!” Patamon said as he flew in circles.

The two stood up and started to walk forward. “Thanks for all of your advice today, Jou-san. It’s really helped me out.” Iori stopped in place and offered his senior a half bow.

Jou smiled, “I’m happy to help.”

“Hey! If you don’t hurry up then you and Upamon aren’t getting any ice cream!” Daisuke shouted over to them.

“Iori come on!” Upamon said, nearly flying from the boy’s arms to secure his frozen treat.

“Oh, and Iori? I think you’re already on the right track to being the anchor for your group,” Jou said, shooting the younger boy a thumbs up before heading over to talk to Mimi and Koushiro.

“Fiiiiiiiinally,” Daisuke said, putting his hands behind his head as Iori approached, Upamon practically buzzing in Iori’s arms as his little eyes darted around to try and find ice cream.

“I thought we were gonna have to leave ya behind,” Daisuke grinned. Miyako flicked his ear, leading to him shouting “Ow!” and rubbing his ear with a grumble.

“He wasn’t going to leave, I wouldn’t let him,” she said as she folded her arms. It caused Hikari to laugh, putting a hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

“Iori, Iori, how many ice creams can I get?” Upamon asked as he finally popped out of his partner’s arms, bouncing on the ground with Chibimon.

“Just one!” Daisuke said with a huff, pouting out his lower lip, “I’m not made of money.” Despite his grumbling, he couldn’t help the way the edge of his mouth turned upwards into a half grin before he led the charge towards a small convenience store, the rest of the group following close behind.

Despite the fact that Upamon ended up having an extra half a popsicle after begging Iori for some more, the tiny Digimon still ended up scarfing down a whole plate of food he had taken to his room after dinner. Iori watched with a mix of wonder and terror as the Digimon chowed down face first on a large pile of rice.

“You know, I still can’t help but wonder how many stomachs you have.”

“I dunno but not enough! I’m still hungry!” Upamon said between bites.

Iori smiled to himself as he leaned back in his chair. His partner was certainly something else. Not that he would ever complain.

“Hey, Upamon?” Iori asked after a few minutes. Upamon looked over at him, chewing on a piece of fish. Iori reached forward and wiped away a few grains of rice that were on his cheek.

“Yeah?” Upamon asked, finally swallowing the massive mouthful of food he had.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Of course we do! We make the best team ever! Ever ever!” Upamon cheered as he bounced in place. Iori chuckled gently.

“I think so, too. I’m glad and I’m grateful to be your partner.”

Upamon couldn’t stop himself from continuing to munch as he watched Iori with wide eyes and rapt attention.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous about taking on the Digimon Kaiser… it won’t be an easy fight. But I want you to know I’ll always stand by you. As long as you’re able to fight, then so will I.”

Upamon suddenly launched himself into Iori’s arms, the force of which caused his chair to nearly fall backwards. Iori barely managed to get his feet planted on the floor in time while Upamon nuzzled into him. Iori grimaced as some soy sauce started to stain his shirt.

“I’ll be your anchor if you’ll be mine, Iori!”

Iori smiled, closed his eyes, held his partner tight, and gently set his forehead against the top of Upamon’s head.

“I will.”

[dutchforstrangers]

Taishiro, 8, Christmas party in front of the other Chosen (either just 01 kids or the 02 kids too)

Digimon Drabble December 2021 - #1

The D in December stands for Digimon and Drabbles!

A three sentence fic I had way too much fun with hehe. Also, couldn't help myself to write in a very sly and slightly bold Sora (and a surprisingly confident Kou, because hey, sometimes you gotta do what ya gotta do)! You can imagine it with only the 01 kids or with the 02 kids present too. Anyway, hope you like it (:

Thanks for the request and enjoy the rest of your December :D

Taishiro (Taichi x Koushiro) + prompt 8: A kiss to shut the other up + Christmas party

During the Chosen Children annual Christmas party, Taichi was bragging about random girls he wasn’t even interested in to which Koushiro annoyingly rolled his eyes. “You know, this is your chance,” came Sora’s cocky, whispering voice from beside him and close to his left ear.

She was right, Koushiro thought to himself, and without further thinking for once, he reached for Taichi on his right, grabbed his face and pressed his lips against his crush’s lips to make him shut up while listening to all the girls squealing and guys gasping.

[noctisfishing]

Before the Reboot

In which I re-worked a scene in tri. Part 3: Confession. This is set after Agumon tells Taichi about the reboot and before Meicrackmon shows up. I extended the time period by a day. For Taiora purposes.

I also wanted to challenge myself with some prompts. Credits to @creativepromptsforwriting for the Kisses prompts <3

This one in particular gave me the challenge to write a bit of a slow burn. >)

Summary: Sora senses that Taichi is hiding something from her, and Taichi can only admit in the end that he is. Even then, Sora discovers the feelings that they both have yet to admit to each other. [tri.Write]

Ship: Taiora

Sora pressed the button to buzz the Yagami residence. She had noticed the odd behavior of Piyomon asking about her future aspirations, pressing her with questions and wanting to know everything. It reminded her of back when they first met. She had been confused about Piyomon's behavior back then, but as she had matured with Piyomon by her side as her partner and as her best friend, she found the oddity to be endearing.

It had been a day since she and the other Chosen Children decided to bring their partners home with them. Out of everyone Sora checked in on, Taichi was the only one who hadn't answered his phone. She felt the need to check on everyone, sure - luckily, when she called Jou, he was about to take a light nap before studying again, and she trusted Koushiro to have at least some type of snack and bottle of oolong tea in hand while he did his complex research on what was happening between the Digital World and the Real World.

But during these strange times, she needed to check on Taichi. Especially Taichi.

The moment Taichi opened the door to his apartment, Sora wasted no time cutting to the chase. "You haven't answered any of my messages or my calls," Sora said.

"I'm fine," Taichi replied with a shrug. "I was about to play soccer with Agumon. Wanna join? It'll be like old times."

Then, Taichi grinned at her, Sora caught sight of the change of his expression, if only for a fleeting moment. He let out a chuckle, but Sora had known him for far too long to know that he was hiding something.

"Taichi?"

"Yeah?" He looked up and met her eyes, and he was back to normal. He wore that face of childlike curiosity that he always had since he and Sora first became friends. At the time, she had been slightly taller than he was before his growth spurt in middle school. From then on, aside from the bruises and a few concerning broken bones, soccer had been kind to Taichi, Sora thought, and she watched him grow taller and into his lean, muscular build.

"What are you gonna do, Sora-san?" Mimi's voice taunted in her head, causing her to feel the heat rising in her cheeks.

"Sora?"

"W-what?" Sora shook her head and imagined herself swatting Mimi's voice away from her thoughts and remembered what he had called Taichi's name about. "I mean, nothing, Taichi. I'm glad you're okay. I was worried about you.

Taichi laughed. "You're always looking out for everyone. I like that about you."

"You do?" Sora furrowed her brows and stared at him.

"Yeah!" But the longer she stared at him, the more he became flustered himself. "You know, because that's who you are- you know.."

"See?" Piyomon said at Sora's side. "Even Taichi knows how special you are."

That made Taichi and Sora both flush.

The two of them and their partners sat in the living room together and Sora filled Taichi in on what lessons he missed from school that day. Taichi leaned back against the couch cushion while Sora sat with her back straightened. From the topic of school they delved into other topics, and Sora found herself relaxing her shoulders while Piyomon and Agumon joined in. Sora smiled as she watched Taichi chatting with the Digimon and laughing with them. It was something that she related to, that spending time with their Digimon partners was something to cherish, especially in the moment that they were able to do it.

But there reached a moment - while Agumon and Piyomon chatted amongst themselves, leaving Sora and Taichi to watch them - a moment in which Sora noticed Taichi quietly get up from his seat and walk away. It was then that confirmed for her that something had been bothering him, after all.

Sora followed him to his room and watched as he stood at the front of his desk, placing his hand on the digivice next to his goggles.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"It's nothing to worry about," he said softly. The tone in his voice told her otherwise.

"Taichi, if you wanna talk-"

"I said, it's nothing to worry about."

The sudden shift in his tone, and the fact that he raised his voice caught Sora off-guard. In past situations like this one, Sora would walk away and give him time to calm down until he was ready to talk. This time, however, was just one more concern that tested her patience, which had been wearing thin more than she had let herself realize. She had already been worried about Koushiro who probably would be starving if she missed one phone call to check on him. She saw the stress in her friends ever since the Digimon started appearing along with the power outages and damages this whole situation had caused. She worried about Jou who was worried about his exams, about Yamato who just refused to even talk. And now Taichi, whose emotions had been all over the place since his reunion with Agumon.

"Of course it is!" Sora said, raising her voice louder than he did. "There's something that you aren't telling me. I know it has something to do with the Digimon. You've been on edge this whole time - I know everyone else has been, too. Even me. Don't you know that any one of us will understand whatever is on your mind? Any one of us, including me?"

"And what if I just don't want to? What if none of it matters in the end?"

The words were abrupt, and it hit Sora like a stab through the chest. She bit her lip as though she meant for it to hold the tears that fought to leak out from her eyes. She had always found it hard to express her own emotions. But to let it out for once, and to Taichi who was her closest friend only to hear his biting reply.

She felt rejected by him.

Taichi's expression softened. "Look, Sora… I'm sorry. I'm an idiot. I…"

Sora crossed her arms across her chest, at a loss of what to say next. Maybe she could let Taichi ramble. Or, she could leave him in his room to give him space. She could cool her own head with him out of sight. Maybe it would hurt less, the idea that he didn't want to be close her, when her thoughts at that moment were of her knowing how much she wanted to be near him.

But when she turned to leave, she heard a shuffle and hurried steps behind her, and then, a hand taking her wrist. She turned to see his eyes, sorrowful, yet pleading.

"There's something I shouldn't tell you," he said. "About Meicoomon. And the Digital World. I promised Agumon that I wouldn't tell anyone."

Sora saw this troubled expression on his face far too often these days. With that, she leaned closer to him and softened her voice. "But it hurts you knowing this. I can see it. Why not just tell me?"

His voice quivered. "Because I know how much it will hurt you, too. That's why I don't want to tell you."

She took his hand that he loosened his grip from her wrist, and she held it in her own, squeezing it. To think that he considered her feelings to try to lessen her worries, but whether he revealed his troubles or not would worry her regardless.

"How bad is it?" she asked.

"It's bad. Really bad."

She massaged his hand with her thumb, not knowing what else she could do, or what words to say.

"And, you know, Koushiro's working hard to try to find a fix. But there's only so much he can do. I wish I knew what I could do."

"You are already doing enough, Taichi."

"It doesn't feel like I am."

Then, Taichi leaned forward until his forehead rested on the top of Sora's shoulder. He heaved a sigh, and Sora placed her free hand on his back, rubbing it gently.

"But you are. Trust me on that. You're keeping everyone in high spirits and you choose to fight, even when it's hard. Even when there are people who think the Digimon are bad. You motivate Agumon and everyone and their partners. You motivate me, too."

Taichi remained silent for a few moments, and Sora continued to rub his back. She thought about how this was just like her to console a friend in need, for she was the mother hen of the group, anyway. She wondered if her words gave Taichi any comfort.

Then, she felt his arms wrap around her waist and he pulled her close to him, which caught her off guard once again.

"I needed to hear that," he told her quietly. "Thank you. For being here."

"Of course, Taichi."

She put her arms around him, and they held each other in an embrace. She felt her heart flutter and a fuzzy sensation, but it took her a few seconds to admit to herself that being held by Taichi comforted her just as much as she did for him. It also took the same amount of time for Sora to realize that he wasn't letting go.

"I mean it, Sora," he said, holding her a little tighter. "Thank you."

The way he held her made her wonder if there was more that he wanted to tell her. Maybe it was about how he felt about their friendship. Maybe he wasn't ready to say it.

But it made her heart skip a beat.

"Taichi…" she said, a little breathless from the mere thought. She wondered what words would come out of his mouth next as he finally loosened his grip, allowing them to pull apart to face each other.

"Sora… I…" he started, as though the words were caught behind his throat, hesitating to come out.

But his brown eyes that stared into hers explained it all. Sora looked into them, reading that friendship might not be the only thing on his mind for her. Did she want to feel the same? At that moment, what she felt so prominently was her heart beating loudly in her chest.

"Wh… What is it?" she said, barely letting a breath out from her nerves.

Her eyes took notice of Taichi's hand lifting up and moving towards her, his face drawing near. Taichi wiped a few strands of her hair away from her face, brushing her cheek in the process. Sora's breath caught in her throat, feeling the light tickle of his touch along her jaw, until his palm cupped that side of her face.

Sora let out a soft breath in an attempt to loosen her nerves. But as Taichi held her gaze, his expression now curious, almost as though he was convincing himself with his next move, Sora took notice of his lips.

She began to wonder what they might feel like if they fell onto her own.

She had noticed Taichi's lips more often than she would admit. They were sometimes dry and chapped, and she had scolded Taichi for licking them because that would make them worse.

Then, one day, he had asked her to help him make a "very important" decision when they walked into the convenience store together after school. When he led her to the display of lip balm varieties, she rolled her eyes. She knew he would give her a hard time until he finally made his purchase, and he wore the biggest grin as he surveyed every flavor. However, he fell silent after Sora insisted on knowing why he cared so much about what flavor she liked the most.

Sora hesitated to bring up the conversation since that time, but with Taichi inching closer to her now, his mouth partly opened and the smooth appearance of his lips inviting, she could hardly draw her attention away.

Taichi stopped suddenly and paused, and Sora furrowed her brows.

"I'm… not sure if you'll let me…" he began, his hand still on the side of her face.

Maybe it was her impulse, but she found both of her hands cupping either side of her cheeks.

Anticipation made her heart race, and she licked her lips, not being able to find the words to respond, but she hoped that nodding would give him the response he had hoped for.

So, Taichi leaned in. Sora watched him close his eyes as he drew closer, then she felt the warmth of his breath after closing her eyes. A jolt of electricity went up her spine the moment their lips barely touched.

But the buzzing sound of electricity gave her a start. Sora's eyes flew open and darted to the sparks flying out of Taichi's computer hard drive. With a gasp, she turned to Taichi who exchanged a look of shock, and they both seemed to share the same thought - that a Digimon was about to enter the atmosphere, and they knew it was the one they had been waiting to return.

"Taichi!" Agumon called as he ran into the room, while Taichi shot up and grabbed his goggles to survey the activity outside the window. Sora watched with everyone as the sky ripped into an opening, a digimon floating through.

"It's Meiko's Digimon, isn't it?" Piyomon asked.

"Let's go, Taichi!" Agumon said.

"We'll meet you there," Sora said, "While we round up the others."

"Right," Taichi replied.

When the four of them stood outside of the apartment complex, Taichi and Agumon were the first to run towards the infected Digimon. Sora watched them, and held her fingers to her lips, the taste of watermelon lingering.

"Sora?" Piyomon called, cocking her head to the side.

Sora looked down to Piyomon, then lowered her hand as she remembered Taichi's outburst.

"There's something you're not telling me, right, Piyomon?" she asked.

Immediately, Piyomon lowered her head, looking ashamed.

"I just didn't want to add to your worries, Sora," she replied somberly.

Sora took a deep breath, feeling a tug at her heart. But maybe now wasn't the time to dwell on the secret that the Digimon partners desperately wanted to keep, and the one that Taichi felt he needed to bear without telling her. So, Sora crouched to Piyomon's level and embraced her with a tight hug.

"Whatever it is, you and I will get through it. Together."

"Sora…"

Sora pulled away and gave her a smile. "Come, now, let's go find the others. We'll need everyone to help save Meicoomon in any way that we can."

[izzyizumi]

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna [“Bonds”] ~ KOUSHIRO[U] IZUMI, [Koushiro ‘Izzy’ Izumi in US] COMPANY PRESIDENT

gifs by izzyizumi, {DO NOT REPOST} {usage of gifs may be allowed if permission is asked / or if credit is given. However, read my ‘About’ & AGREE to my ‘FAQ’ pages first. Please do not use / ask if you match anything in my “Do Not Interact” section.}

BONUS FROM THE KIZUNA NOVEL of an extra interlude scene (bolding for emphasis mine): [With translation credit thanks to onkei of Digital Scratch!]

Koushiro typed furiously on his keyboard while facing his computer. He was trying to analyze the fragment of Eosmon that he had retrieved. “How is it going?” Tentomon asked, standing next to him. “Nothing to speak of yet,” Koushiro answered, looking away from the monitor briefly to rest his eyes. With his mind off work, he recalled the words that Menoa had spoken to them earlier that afternoon. His face clouded as he remembered the rings on Taichi and Yamato’s digivices. “Tentomon, have you ever heard of ‘the candle of life’?” “What’s that?” Tentomon asked, tilting his head. “It’s a rakugo performance about the grim reaper. The reaper has a cave where they overlook the candle of life for many people. The protagonist learns from the grim reaper that the length of that candle represents that person’s length of life.” “Huh. The candle represents the person’s length of life…” Tentomon repeated doubtfully. “Yes. When the candle’s light goes out, the owner of that candle dies. The protagonist’s candle was in a precarious situation, so when the protagonist saw that…” Koushiro trailed off. “What did he do?” Tentomon pressed impatiently. “What do you think he did, Tentomon?” “Oh now, don’t be mean! Just tell me!” Koushiro smiled at Tentomon’s reaction. “The story actually has various endings. There’s one where the protagonist uses the candle next to his to extend his own life and it turns out to be his wife’s candle, or he puts a fallen candle back up and it turns out to be his sick younger brother’s, or there’s one where the flame goes out while he’s mulling over what to do.” “Uh-huh… Sounds like getting a happy ending is quite the high hurdle,” Tentomon said, shaking his head. “I can’t help but think of that ring of light as the candle of life.” Would his own digivice bear the same ring of light that was on Taichi and Yamato’s digivices, one day? Just imagining that he would eventually be facing that problem made him feel bleak. Koushiro gazed at Tentomon. “What kind of ending would you like, Tentomon?” “Let me see…” Tentomon paused in thought, then looked up.

“Instead of taking things from people against their will, I’d much rather give what I have to them before my end.” “…Me too.”

Koushiro and Tentomon looked at one another and broke into smiles. Koushiro faced his monitor once more and went back to work. This time, with the belief that it would be the first step in breaking down this current state.

BONUS FROM TENTOMON’S TRI IMAGE SONG:

( ‘ Kioku no Kakera ‘ [Shards of Memory], Tentomon Side ):

Koushiro-han will be okay Koushiro-han will keep working hard Koushiro-han will succeed I’LL KEEP TELLING YOU THAT There’s no such thing as a mistake

You’re my important partner JAPAN’S     NUMBER-ONE     GENIUS I’m not the only one that thinks that Don’t you see     WHAT A GREAT PERSON YOU ARE ? So, Koushiro-han Don’t turn away No matter what It’s no good for you to give up hope

With translation credit thanks to Wikimon !

EXTRA BONUS:

“ ... YOU REALLY ARE    A ‘ GENIUS BOY ‘ , HUH ? ”

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[noctilucentstorm]

Fic: Fireside

Summary: Sora, Yamato, Jou, and the digimon stop for the night. Across the fire, the conversation turns to loved ones in Tokyo. Set in the Digimon Adventure: universe. Spoilers up to episode 13.

Words: ~1000

Ships: N/A

A/N: sorry, I just love these three so much that I needed to write something, even if it turns out not to be canon-compliant.

Read on ff.net

Fireside

Jou wrapped his arms around himself and scooted closer to the fire.  The mountain terrain was much colder than the desert they had crossed during the day.  The disparity in temperatures was almost too much. He wasn’t prepared for this!

Sora, in contrast, seemed to be every bit the survivalist despite her protests to the contrary.  Jou couldn’t complain though.  Thanks to her, they had a warm fire that Yamato was managing to cook some surprisingly normal-looking fish and misshapen fruits over.  Gabumon and Piyomon had insisted the fruit wouldn’t poison them – not exactly a ringing endorsement in Jou’s opinion.  But everyone was hungry and it wasn’t like they could just visit their local hypermarket.

Yamato handed the first cooked fish on a stick to Gomamon, who took the stick carefully between his claws.  He tore through crisp skin and made a noise of happiness, his hunger finally addressed.

“Do your fish mind that you eat them?”

Gomamon sucked out a bit of meat and gave Jou a thoughtful look as he chewed.  He stared at the fish between his claws.

“They’re not the same.  I wouldn’t eat my Marching Fishes.”

He said it with such certainty.  It was true that Gomamon’s colourful fish seemed to be quite different from the ones they caught in the nearby river.  Jou tried not to think how his partner seemed to materialise them from thin air.

“How much further do you think the base is?”

Sora pulled out her digivice and opened the map showing their position.  

“We’ve been making good time, so I imagine we’ll get there sometime early tomorrow.”

Piyomon finished her fruit (she didn’t want any fish) and rested her head against her partner.

“You think the others are…”

Yamato shoved a cooked fish towards Jou so forcefully that for a moment he had thought it would end up in his face. He gave a sheepish thanks, a little embarrassed Yamato had gotten so annoyed at his constant chatter without him realising – again.

They ate in silence for a time, the only sound coming from the light breeze rusting the trees and the occasional pop and crack of the fire.  Yamato finished his fish and threw another log on, moving it around until it started to catch.  Gabumon rested on Yamato’s back and appeared to fall asleep shortly after.

“We haven’t been able to contact the others at all,” Sora observed, cutting through the silence.

“I’m sure they’re fine.”  Yamato sounded as if he was reassuring himself as much as the others.

“I wonder how everyone in Tokyo is doing.”  Jou tossed the stick into the fire and folded his legs in front of himself.

When no one replied, he glanced over and realised that both Yamato and Sora were also staring pensively into the fire.

“Sorry.”

“Do you have family in Tokyo as well?”

Jou almost did a double-take when he realised Yamato had willingly engaged him in conversation.  He grinned despite his worry.

“My family live in Nakahara. Koushiro’s last update before we split showed that area affected by the blackout,” he added, the grin slowly slipping from his face as he thought of his brothers.

Sora suddenly perked up.  “My family live there too.  Which elementary school do you go to?  Were you on the camping trip last week?”

“Yes, I cut my finger!”  Then the rest of her words caught up with him. “Wait, we go to the same school?”

Sora nodded, her earlier gloom quickly forgotten.  “Along with Taichi and Koushiro.”

The two turned to Yamato, who glanced between them awkwardly.

“Yamato,” Gabumon opened his eyes and shifted his weight so he could make eye-contact with his partner.

The digimon seemed to win their silent battle of wills because Yamato sighed and turned back towards the other two Chosen.  

“I’m from Shimane.”

Jou frowned, trying to remember exactly where Shimane Prefecture was.  It was definitely nowhere near Tokyo.

“But you said your brother was in Tokyo,” Sora asked, somehow managing to be much more tactful than he would have.

Yamato curled up into himself and for a moment Jou wondered if that would be the end of the conversation.  He didn’t want to push Yamato into speaking about something he was clearly uncomfortable with.  Gabumon nudged his partner’s back, but that only seemed to make Yamato curl around himself more.  Jou opened his mouth to change topics, but Sora held up her hand barely above the ground and deliberately made eye-contact before she shook her head.  Yamato, who had missed the exchange entirely, slowly took in a breath.

“My parents divorced when we were young.  My brother, Takeru, still lives in the city.  We don’t really get to see each other much anymore.”

He sighed, then stretched the silence by throwing another log on the fire.  Sparks flew into the air, catching on the wind and swirling around like fireflies before fading away.

“What if he gets hurt while I’m wasting time here?”

A light, but cool, wind blew through their campsite and Jou shivered.  He thought of his family doing everything they could to help keep everyone alive.  A blackout would be putting a lot of strain on the local hospitals.

“We can only do what we’re able to.” He looked down at Gomamon, sleeping peacefully on his lap with a full belly.  “Maybe the Holy Digimon won’t be able to help, but we have to at least try.” He looked up at them, forcing a smile onto his face.  “You guys taught me that.”

Sora nodded, her own smile filled with determination.  “Plus, there are digimon who will benefit if we manage to help the Holy Digimon.”  Her fingers brushed through Piyomon’s soft feathers.  “Until then, we have to believe our families in Tokyo can hold on.”

Yamato nodded as well, but there was still tension in his shoulders.  He looked up to the sky, which flickered in places, revealing what looked like a honeycomb barrier between them and the stars.

“We should take shifts and let the digimon rest.”

“I can take the dawn shift if no one else minds,” Sora offered.

“I’ll take the middle shift,” Yamato said before focussing on Jou, “as long as you’re ok with that?”

Jou saluted.  “No problem.”

“You able to keep the fire going?”

“Hey, I’m not that incompetent!”

The three children shared a grin.

“Make sure to wake us up if there’s any trouble,” Sora said as she laid down with her partner.

Yamato silently turned away so that his back was facing the fire and Gabumon was curled in front of him.

Jou watched them all settle down and turned his attention to the moon.  It was a little lonely staying up by himself, but Gomamon’s warmth on his lap reminded him that he wasn’t alone.  Jou couldn’t remember having any school friends, or at least not any that he wasn’t also in competition with.  He wondered if Yamato and Sora would mind him calling them his friends. Suddenly, his partner shifted in his lap.  And Gomamon too, of course.

[holyhikari]

Okay. Okay. It’s 2020, most of the world is shut down and the first episode of Digimon Adventure aired yesterday, missing a ‘Butter-Fly’ and with a colon to spare. Life sure is something. 

Gotta say I’m relieved. (For now, at least.) Sure, yeah, I got into the hype train for the reboot from the get-go and determined to just have fun, but. If I can picture all the ways something can go wrong — go BORING — down to excruciating details right from the first episode, why not? That’s what brains are for. So that’s what I did. 

Should have saved all that energy. 

I want to share with all of you my thoughts on this episode, break it down a little bit; how it made me feel, the few character introductions we got, the pace, the plot and its possibilities. 

As much as I want to approach this series keeping the idea of authenticity in mind, it is a reboot. They chose a certain set of (popular!) pre-existent characters to explore, to work with; a balance between creating and adapting. And I’m very interested in seeing how they’ll combine the core elements of Digimon Adventure with all there is unique to this generation of kids, teens and, you know it, adults who stuck around. 

Since all we’ve got is the introduction to the series, I’ll be contrasting TOKYO DIGITAL CRISIS to how the original Adventure kicked off back in 1999 with  ADRIFT? THE ISLAND OF ADVENTURE!

I did try to keep this as coherent and review-like as possible, but there’s a fair amount of fan-girling and it’s all seen through my very biased Adventure-stan-colored lens. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. 

‘99 starts with an image of our planet, and  ‘20 starts almost the same. This time, though, we can see we aren’t alone. ‘The Digital World affecting the Earth’ is something that happens, I believe, in every Digimon reincarnation. In ‘99, it’s deeply affecting our climate. Now, the issue doesn’t seem so drastic that it’s able to reach influence organic matter and mess up many Nature’s cycles across the globe, but it’s still not looking so good for our kids. (It’s the first episode and Hikari and Yuuko almost get train-sandwiched, but I suppose that almost having your head chopped off, courtesy of Kuwagamon, isn’t lovely either.) 

Anyway. 

I think this Digital World/Network shot isn’t actually part of the episode? I think it’s part of the opening (I mean, not the OP sequence with the song, obviously), and that we’ll be seeing it before each episode starts. Still, it’s an interesting juxtaposition, isn’t it?

A Glorious World is upon us! I wasn’t actually expecting Butter-Fly or anything similar to it, don’t worry. I’m glad the new OP is its own thing! I want Digimon Adventure ‘20 to be as authentic as possible without losing the original’s heart. The song is nice enough. I don’t want to compare it to Butter-Fly, but I’m only human. Give me a few episodes. Gotta let go. 

The OP has way more Taichi than the others. No surprise there. He’s our goggle boy. (Still, since they went for a quick throwback to the original opening, it’s a shame only Taichi was shown falling down towards the Digital World). 

Everyone got a part, though. Shout out to Takeru and Hikari for being yet again the ominous, powerful baby-faced duo that is definitely up to something. 

It’s so interesting that, while the other crests are shown very clearly and surrounded by sparkles, Light and Hope are only shown briefly shining in their partners’ shadows. Why is Takeru so far away from us, why is this so sinister-looking. Hi, mysterious plot. Nice to meet you.

Wherever Hikari is by the end of the OP, it reminds me of Vamdemon’s castle. Maybe she feels connected to Tailmon and follows her somehow? Angemon wasn’t shown in the OP with the older six children’s partners, just Patamon. I wonder if they’ll try to make us grieve for Angemon a second time. It’d work with me. Either way, I imagine we’re in for another last-minute Patamon evolution when everything looks hopeless. 

This time, though, we’ve got Hikari from the beginning (yes, I am VERY excited about this, thank you for asking, THIS IS WHAT I DESERVE), and, while I think Patamon is more powerful in regular conditions (as in, Angemon can probably take Angewomon in a fight despite the level imbalance, but as soon as Hikari starts glowing you know who’s winning), he will now be sharing the spotlight with another Archangel evolution… as his friend or as his foe, considering that Tailmon might be a double agent of some sorts in the beginning. Welp. 

Anyway. Toei isn’t fooling around, in the OP we can see MetalGreymon in a very scary-looking, glitchy fashion that I’m LIVING for, WarGreymon’s silhouette and, good grief, there’s even a glimpse of Omegamon. Talk about too much information. Maybe chill out a little? (I say this, but the adults already know all of their evos, and the kids just want MOOOOOOORE monstahhhhhrrrrrrsss….which is fair.)

MetalGreymon looks dope here. The others, though, are only shown up to their Adult evolution, even Gabumon. I don’t think they will have only Gabumon and Agumon reaching their Mega forms, and then fusing into Omegamon while everyone else only gets as far as Perfect.  Again.

They wouldn’t do this to us. Right? Yeah, they would. Maybe we can have Holydramon/Ophanimon and Seraphimon later on, as a treat. Aaaaaand, depending on how many episodes — how many seasons — this new timeline gets, I’m not giving up hope just yet. Let me have Phoenixmon, Toei, you heartless thing. 

Moving on to the actual episode… The first non-Digimon character to show up is the true protagonist. Our queen is back. Our little Digivice thief, Miko herself.

Just you wait, you ain’t gonna be Hikari’s favorite cat-like creature for long. 

Speaking of Hikari, LOOK AT THIS WITTLE BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2020 Taichi right off the bat was Taichi for me. He’s talking to Yuuko and yells “Hikariii~” so loudly Hikari hears it from where she stands, the short cutie. Their mom just hands down the phone for her without missing a beat so Taichi can comfort her through whatever she’s worrying about (her summer classes, probably). Such a sweet, natural little moment that flashes both characters out. I want more of that, please.

We’re then introduced to Koushiro! I’m not gonna lie, I cringed the first time I heard him speak. I thought the voice didn’t fit him very well. This impression faded quickly enough, though, and I’m already attached to his new voice. Later, I realized that part of the reason he sounded off to me was because of how nervous he seemed — around Taichi, of all people! In this version, they’re just meeting for the first time, so it’s very in-character for him. Guess I was kinda shocked seeing Koushiro not feeling at ease talking to Taichi. Poor thing is Anxious! And he’s overthinking about Summer Camp! And he’s happy Taichi is his neighbor! That certainly would’ve helped during the Vandemon arc back in ‘99. 

Koushiro gets a little bit over his awkwardness upon hearing the news regarding the cyber attack, something he’s curious about, and finally steps towards Taichi instead of away, which is spot on. These two fall into an easy camaraderie, as they SHOULD, and they head to the train station together, where Taichi decides to, I don’t know… run like crazy on the tracks until he gets to the rogue train where his family is and stop it with sheer force of will? Yeah! Sounds like him! 

And now to one of the most interesting parts of this adaption, is that they’re showing us the Crests early on and HOW they’re doing it. 

Taichi is able to meet Koromon because he’s being brave.

I mean, the first time, he was chosen because of his courage, too, but they all go in together. They’re taken. They’re washed off the Earth. And while Taichi had no idea he was going to be pulled into the Net, he chose to try to save Hikari and his mom (and, a few moments later, he chose to dive in towards Koromon). This time, it feels so much more personal. The screen switched back and forth between the Crest of Courage, Taichi and Hikari, who I believed called his name. The scene worked so well! (Following this pattern, Koushiro gets his Digivice when expressing curiosity, the will to pursue an explanation for what was happening!!!!)

On the other hand, it’s sort of bittersweet  they weren’t pulled in together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they didn’t try to introduce all of them AND the Digital World at the same time again. But… ‘99 established them as a ‘team’ within seconds. It’s interesting, though. I’m VERY curious to see how their bonding will go this time around!

Taichi and Koromon meeting was beautiful. I was worried the soundtrack wouldn’t even stand a chance against the masterpiece that is the original one, but the musing playing was so delicate, so majestic. I felt I was witnessing a precious moment. Also, Koromon’s ears twisting into how we represent the DNA while he was evolving was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SUCH A GOOD DETAIL!!!!!! 

It cracked me up when Koushiro said that what was happening was very surprising while not sounding surprised at all. I wonder how long the kid has been looking into the cyber attacks. Oh, and the Network is pretty. Prettier than I had anticipated, though not that different from Appmon’s style, I think? I can’t wait to get a look at the actual Digital World and see if it has that unique feeling and that odd, watercolor painting aesthetic. I hope I can trust the OP:

 Did you notice that Agumon giggled a few times? He looked at Taichi with such love, familiarity and devotion and like he knew something. It felt… right. My heart. My poor, poor heart. (I know this Agumon probably has met Taichi before inside of this very Universe, like the Hikarigaoka incident in the original version, but I like to think about Universe-hopping platonic soulmates.) 

Overall the sound work was fantastic, but this scene deserves a highlight. The noise of the Kuramon lookalike moving after evolving was genuinely disturbing. And look at how pretty this is:

Speaking of evolution, AGUMON EVOLVING INTO GREYMON WAS THE SHIT. I loved how straight-up FERAL it was, while still keeping the “Digital” part of “Digital Monster” very much present. It reminded me a bit of Hosoda’s Greymon (most amazing Greymon to this day!) in the Digimon Adventure Movie and, now that I think of it, of him fighting in some Tri. Reunion scenes. Scary Greymon is the best Greymon. Yes. I like it when the Digimon manage to disturb and scare me, okay? They aren’t called monsters for nothing. 

I mean we got to see his horn literally bursting out of his skin. This is low-key terrifying. 10/10.

BUT WHERE IS THE EVOLUTION THEME SONG

I am: deceased. Cause of death: Hikari’s soft smile when she realizes her big brother managed to help them. 

Alternatively, this first pic had killed me on the spot.

FINALLY, we get to see Yamato, and of course, he’s staring down dramatically at Taichi on top of Garurumon like the intense person he is. And, no big deal, there’s a cyber attack in a U.S military base and, uh, apparently the next episode is the 2020 version of Bokura no War Game?! 

I— WHAT?!

No pressure, am I right? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be falling off a good ol’ cliff with my camping buddies. 

To be honest, if they intended to end it like this, it felt like this should’ve been a special episode. Maybe one-hour-long or so? Why……….HOW……….. They wanna go from the pilot straight to a Bokura no War game tribute?! The very movie that introduced Omegamon. I swear, if Omegamon’s debut is the SECOND episode, I’m gonna break. How is this gonna work. Well, at least they have us… intrigued? 

The ED is so Yamato-focused it’s almost weird that his voice actor isn’t the one singing lmao. That amount of Yamatoness got me by surprise. Some of the pics look like a PowerPoint presentation of CD cover ideas for his yet-to-exist (or not) band… and I say this lovingly, okay? I love him so much. 

This is my favorite one!

I lost count of how many times I listened to this song!! It also got me hooked up. What’s up with Takeru and how the writers took the whole Angel aesthetic to a whole new level?! Is he sick? Is he dying? Is this why Yamato is so sad and lonely throughout the ED?????? EVERYONE GO BEFRIEND HIM. I heard he’s a good friend.

Be right back, I’m gonna tattoo this pic to my face.

Bonus commentary!

I bet I wasn’t the only one looking for  random cameos whenever they showed us crowds. Didn’t find anyone we know, but I’m sure this will change. 02 characters cameos, I’m ready for you. 

Soooooooooo the Tachikawa own a tech company this time?? For all we know they own Japan. That’s scarier than the Diablomon-like virus giving Trump a headache. If so, Mimi is gonna be way more spoiled than before. Oh, dear.

I HOPE WE SEE MORE OF THESE PIXEL BABIES! That was a perfect Easter egg.

If none of these icons at the bottom is the Digimon Analyzer, then what’s the point of my entire existence? 

I can’t wait for next Saturday! Even if solely to yell “WHY??????” at my screen.  

I can’t thank you enough if you read this far!

[brighterthanghosts]

By Your Side

Word count: 3,474

Pairing: Taishiro

Read below the cut or here on ao3.

Summary: “Taichi-san, you spent years telling me to believe in myself. Either you would beat a dead horse or I’d finally conquer my insecurities. Personally, I’m glad it was the latter.”

Five times Koushiro and Taichi were being good to each other from childhood to adulthood. Rated T for zombie gorillas and Taichi's foul mouth.

5&6

“Taichi, be careful!” his mom called out. But Taichi had already taken off toward the monkey bars, leaving a trail through the pebbles that separated the swings from the jungle gym. The jungle gym was attached to a large fort-style playground set that was often the backdrop for Taichi’s adventures — today, he needed to escape a rampage of zombie gorillas, and the only way was to make it through the forest Tarzan-style.

He wasn’t tall enough to reach the monkey bars on his own, but he had learned that the big dome on the opening of the slide was the perfect height. He stuck his shoe between the slide and plastic log fort, balancing on the large bolt that held the slide in place. Hoisting himself up and over the edge of the dome. The monkey bars were about two feet away to the right, and all he’d need to do was jump. He better get going, too, because the zombie gorillas were headed this way.

Taking one look behind him, Taichi stood, like a hero in his own movie, and prepared himself. He only had one chance to do this. If he didn’t make it, the zombies would eat his brain and spread the zombie virus to the human race. Taichi couldn’t let that happen. With one breath and a battle cry, Taichi lept from the top of the slide, arm fully extended out to grasp at the monkey bars. He was going to make it. He knew it. Almost there.

His fingertips brushed the underside of one bar, and he recognized his mistake. The zombies won.

Crashing to the ground snapped Taichi from his fantasy. He’d landed on his hands and knees, now bruised and scraped, and he could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes as he sat on his butt and assessed the damage.

“Are you okay?”

Taichi looked up into deep, dark eyes that were filled with concern and a tinge of something else.

“Y-yeah. I just —” Taichi said, turning his palms outward and gesturing to the little red-haired boy, who was kneeling beside him.

“That looks like it hurts,” the boy said, reaching out to hold Taichi’s left wrist, turning his hand this way and that. “But you looked so cool! Like Super Sentai!” The boy looked up at him, then, wide-eyed and a smile full of admiration.

“Oh!” he said, like he’d forgotten something. He looked back to Taichi’s palm and pressed a small kiss right in the center. “My okaa-san said it helps the healing.”

“Th-thanks,” Taichi said, feeling his face heat up.

“Koushiro! It’s time to go home!” a woman yelled somewhere off to the left of where the two boys sat.

“Ah, that’s my okaa-san!” the boy said, scrambling to his feet. He bowed, then smiled and with a wave said, “I have to go now! I hope you feel better soon!”

Taichi sat there, watching the boy’s back become smaller as he ran toward his mom.

“Taichi?” his own mother called.

He looked back over his right shoulder.

“Oh, Taichi! Are you okay? Are you hurt?” his mother asked.

Taichi shook his head, looking back at his hand. “No, mom, I’m okay. I’ll be better in no time.”

9&10

“Koushiro! Pass!” He heard someone yell, but he was too overwhelmed by the two bodies blocking him. Koushiro was running toward the soccer net as quickly as his little legs would carry him. The two children to his right and left stood a whole head taller than him. He could hardly see as it was; his hair was sticking flat to his forehead, sweat beading down in tiny rivers that pooled in his eyes.

“Pass it!”

He saw a mass of hair whirlwind behind the kid to his right, and Koushiro prayed it was his teammate. He quickly stepped to the left, pulled his right leg back, and kicked the ball. He made contact, he was sure, but his feet got tangled somewhere along the way and he planted face-first into the pitch.

“Go, go, go, go!”

Koushiro lifted himself up just in time to see Taichi straight-kick the ball right past the goalie and into the net. He looked like a pro, with the sunset as his backdrop. Koushiro would bet his life that Taichi would one day be the best soccer player in Japan — better than even Kamamoto Kunishige. With a little more than 30 seconds to go before half time, Koushiro got to his feet and started trekking back to the bench. His chin hurt, and he could use a towel and some water.

“Oi, Koushiro!” Taichi was jogging his way, dimples framing his warm smile. “Hey man, great pass!”

“Ah, n-no, it was all you,” Koushiro said, looking at the ground. Peeking up at his teammate, he added, “You were amazing out there, Taichi-san.”

“No way! We never would have scored had you not ran the ball down the pitch,” Taichi said, reaching a hand out to ruffle Koushiro’s hair. “Honestly, you were awesome!”

Koushiro looked down again, his face suddenly warm. “Th-thank you, Taichi-san. That makes me very happy.”

Taichi slung an arm over Koushiro’s shoulders, pulling him into Taichi’s side. “C’mon, let’s get a bandaid for your chin. You’re going to look so cool. Coach said girls like battle scars.”

Koushiro heard what Taichi said, but his brain stopped working sometime around the word cool. Taichi thought he would look cool. And suddenly, Koushiro wanted nothing more.

11&12

It had been one year exactly since their adventure to the digital world, and Taichi was feeling a little nostalgic. School had been well enough, and Taichi kept himself busy with soccer and video games for most of the summer. Had it been a Saturday, Taichi wouldn’t have felt bad about spending the morning in bed. But it wasn’t Saturday, it was Tuesday, and his mom was expecting him to be alive by the time she got home.

Taichi rolled himself toward the edge of his bed, slowly extending a leg and an arm so he could lower himself to the floor. He lay like that for a while. He’s not really sure how long, but he heard footsteps in the hall and gentle knocking on the door — he must have dozed off again. At least he was out of bed.

“Onii-chan? I’m heading out now.” A pause, then, “Onii-chan?”

“Have fun,” Taichi called out to his sister. Hikari had adjusted to life without their digimon much better than he had, and he didn’t want to bring her mood down like that.

“Okay. Why don’t you invite someone over? Have some fun yourself!” Hikari was trying to encourage him, and honestly, Taichi doesn’t think it’s a bad idea.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“I’ll see you later, okay?” He can hear her footsteps retreating. Shortly after, he hears the door open and close. Taichi is officially alone.

Taichi stared at the ceiling, tracing patterns in the popcorn texture and thinking about the first time he met Koromon. The first time he evolved. The first time he understood the power of his courage. “Hey, that kind of looks like Ikakumon,” Taichi chuckles to himself. He’s probably imagining it. He could almost hear Koushiro telling him about how our brains are formidable and capable of filling in the gaps and playing tricks on us. He smiled and rolled onto his stomach, let out a groan, and picked himself off the ground.

***

Koushiro answered the phone after three rings. Taichi wasn’t sure why he suddenly felt nervous, like he was troubling the other boy or something. It was Koushiro. Koushiro, who showed up randomly at Taichi’s home just a couple months ago and helped his mom bake a cake. This is fine.

“Uh, Taichi-san?”

“Come over.” Taichi said, mentally smacking himself for being so blunt. “Please?” He adds before Koushiro can respond.

“Okay, Taichi-san. I’ll be there shortly.” And it sounded like Koushiro was smiling.

When he said shortly, he wasn’t kidding. It was maybe 25 minutes later when Taichi heard knocking at the door. They’d spent the last hour eating snacks and playing Mortal Kombat, and Taichi was becoming increasingly more irritated for the following two reasons: 1) Koushiro had gone through six glasses of Oolong tea and had already taken two bathroom breaks and 2) despite this, Koushiro was still kicking his ass. They were 12-3 with Koushiro in the lead, and Taichi had already decided that Koushiro was clearly cheating. To prove his point, Taichi had the boy pinned to the floor in a bout of tickle tortue.

“I’m not cheating, Taichi-san!” Koushiro said through giggles, accidentally kneeing Taichi in the stomach.

“Well, if you’re not a cheater, then you’re a magician, and that’s still cheating!” Taichi replied, poking his fingers into Koushiro’s sides.  

“Me cheating is about as possible as Agumon being a real dinosaur!” Koushiro laughed. And suddenly, he wasn’t laughing.

“Taichi-san?”

Taichi’s face felt hot and wet, but he doesn’t remember how it got that way. Koushiro was looking up at him, concerned and a little scared. He didn’t want to look weak in front of his friend. He felt so weak.

“Taichi-san,” Koushiro said, softer, and Taichi lowered his head to rest on the boy’s shoulder, hiding his hurt in this pocket of trust. He felt a hand on his back as a sob wracked up his spine and out his throat. “It’s okay, Taichi-san. I miss them, too.”

17&18

“Who does Yamato think he is? Saying that kind of thing all cool and nonchalant. He should have known that Sora wouldn’t take it well. Oi, Koushiro, are you listening to me?”

He wasn’t. His heart was in his ears as he stared at his phone.

“Yo.”

He’d never felt so many emotions at once. But this really shouldn’t have surprised him.

“Koushiro. What’s so damn interesting that you can’t put your phone down?”

His phone was pulled right from his hands, and he did nothing to stop it.

“Oh.”

He’d laugh, but he wasn’t sure it would sound much like a laugh at all.

“Oh, Koushiro. Hey, man. That —”

“N-no, it’s fine,” Koushiro mumbles out. His voice is low, breathy, almost inaudible, and it sounds foreign to his own ears.

“No, it’s not. Dude, like, she could have at least said something.”

Except, she didn’t need to. Mimi returned to America shortly after Christmas, following their final battle with Ordinemon. Koushiro had never worked up the courage to properly confess his feelings, and Mimi didn’t owe him any kind of explanation for the photo she uploaded to her social media, captioned “So thankful to be in love with this guy.” She was kissing him on the cheek. They looked happy.

“She looks happy. I’m happy for her.”

And he was. Truly.

“That doesn’t mean your feelings don’t matter!”

“Taichi-san, really. It’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t.”

A hand cupped his cheek, thumb swiping just under his eye. Taichi is looking at him like he’s proving a point.

“We wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

“Why not?”

He could hear tints of frustration in Taichi’s voice. He flinched a little at the words; that tone was usually reserved for Yamato. Koushiro decided to choose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted was to lose Mimi and Taichi in one sitting.

“Ah, I, um — I don’t think I’m bold enough to stand at Mimi-san’s side.”

“That’s bullshit.”

He flinched again.

“Do you ever say nice things about yourself? Don’t you see how amazing you already are?”

Koushiro looked up, meeting Taichi’s eyes for the first time since he’d unlocked his phone.

“Amazing?”

“Duh. Koushiro, you’re like the most incredible person I know.”

But Koushiro didn’t really believe him. Taichi was being nice because Taichi was a good person. Taichi was a good friend. Taichi was the amazing one. Tall and strong. Fearless. A natural leader — our leader.

“Don’t look at me like that. Like you think I’m being ‘illogical.’ I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. You’re amazing. You are literally the reason we weren’t all killed in the digital world. You have your own office. You were the one who figured out that Meicoomon had backups of our digimon’s memories. You’re creating portals for us to travel between worlds. Portals, Kou. You’re so fucking smart, I don’t even know where you come up with all your ideas. And you turn every idea into a reality. You might think that isn’t significant, but I do. Mimi is missing out. Everyone is missing out on—”

Kou. Koushiro has never been particularly spontaneous. He was usually calculated and found reasons to justify his actions. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you. Taichi and his kind words had pushed Koushiro to some kind of breaking point. The trust. The safety. The idea that someone thought so highly of him and this sudden need to protect it all. You’re amazing. He had subconsciously leaned forward toward his friend, as if their physical proximity could solidify this moment, like maybe Koushiro could really become one with all the lovely things Taichi was saying. He felt drunk on his heartbreak and sudden excitement. So fucking smart. Taichi’s words itched their way under his nails and made his fingers twitch. His blood was made of fire, his heart a bass drum, his brain alphabet soup — the letters spelling out ‘significant.’ This whole situation was illogical. Maybe Koushiro, too, was illogical.

Taichi didn’t move, didn’t push him away. Five seconds, their meeting lasted. Koushiro pulled away, the world crashing down on him as he realized what he’d done. He braved a peek at Taichi’s face — he looked different. Eyes glazed, looking past Koushiro. Mouth slightly open, jaw slacked. Koushiro took this moment to panic.

“T- ah, Taichi-san?”

“Huh?”

“Um.”

“Oh. Hey. I’m hungry. Want to grab a bite?”

“Uh?”

“I’ll treat today, so don’t worry.”

Taichi stood, grabbing his duffle bag and his wallet, looking back toward Koushiro, past him, again. His face said I need to get out of this room. Koushiro stood slowly, not making eye contact. He packed his laptop in his bag and decidedly ignored his phone, still unlocked and glowing with Mimi and her new boyfriend.

“I know I said I’ll treat, but I don’t have a lot of money. Are burgers okay?”

“Yes, that’s okay.”

“Cool.”

23&24

Taichi let out a yawn and scratched the back of head. He was thankful for this Friday evening, much welcomed after the long week. Taichi had been meeting regularly with Koushiro and his team to finalize their presentation on the digital world. They were finally making headway with the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly to get safety regulations passed to ensure secure travel to and from the digital world, which meant a foot in the door to (hopefully) his future boss and a potential research grant for Koushiro’s team.

Koushiro had texted him earlier in the day, suggesting dinner to celebrate their hard work. Taichi suggested pizza, Koushiro suggested Odaiba beach. Taichi was a bit surprised — it would be about an hour to get there from the city — but Odaiba did hold nearly all of their memories.

He smelled him before he saw him. Well, he smelled the pizza. Taichi turned to find Koushiro approaching his makeshift picnic space in the sand.

“Taichi-san!” Koushiro said, picking up speed.

“Hey,” Taichi responded smoothly. “You seem awfully excited. You didn’t miss me, did you?”

Koushiro let out a huff, but smiled anyway. “We worked hard this week! I added some finishing touches this afternoon and sent it to Nishi-san for proofreading. It should be ready to go early next week!”

Taichi wanted to say how appreciative he was, but his stomach rudely interrupted. Koushiro let out a laugh and handed over the pizza box.

They sat in silence for a while, making their way through their food and enjoying the breeze coming off the ocean. At some point, Koushiro had removed his socks and shoes and buried his feet in the sand. It had been a long time since either of them had been to the beach.

“You know, I thought about bringing Tentomon here to say goodbye.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. I was trying to think of something special to do. But I was too busy with work to get down here in time.”

“I took Agumon to watch the ocean. What did you end up doing?”

“I locked my office door and hugged him as tightly as I could.”

“How did he take it?”

“He knew what was happening. It didn’t matter where we were as long as we could properly say goodbye. I think he was happy with that.”

“Do you think we could ever, you know, regain our bonds?”

“I’m not sure. But I hope that, if we obtain this grant, we can proceed to research the digital world for traces of their data. If I’m being honest, I’m not convinced that our digimon are gone.”

“Hearing that from you gives me a lot of hope.”

Koushiro doesn’t respond. Taichi looks at him then, and he looks serene. Relaxed. Hopeful. It’s rare for Koushiro to display his quiet confidence. But if anyone can figure it out, Taichi trusts that his friend will.

“Taichi-san?”

“Hm?”

“You’re staring.”

“Ah, sorry! It’s just. You look confident.”

“Oh,” Koushiro said, high-pitched in surprise. “Hm. I suppose I can thank you for that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Taichi-san, you spent years telling me to believe in myself. Either you would beat a dead horse or I’d finally conquer my insecurities. Personally, I’m glad it was the latter.”

Koushiro looked back to the water, the air between them filled with something strange and familiar.

“Hey, Kou?”

“Hm?”

“Remember that time in high school when you kissed me?”

Koushiro sputters, face reddened like a radish bathed in sunset. “Why on Earth—”

“Why did you do it?”

“Um,” Koushiro drawls like he’s not sure how to answer. “Well.”

Taichi waits patiently, but he’s never been a particularly patient person.

“I don’t quite know, if I’m honest. I didn’t realize it was happening until it happened.”

“Hm.”

“Uhh. I remember being upset. And you made me feel better. My thoughts were blurry at that time. Ehh. I, um. I think I, maybe, I wanted to be the words you were saying?”

“What do you mean?”

“Mmm. You said I should see myself through your eyes. You ambushed me with compliment after compliment. And it took me by surprise because you were always someone I admired. I wanted to believe I was all the words you used to describe me. I wanted to believe I was worthy.”

“You are, though. I hope you believe that now.”

Koushiro isn’t looking at him, and Taichi doesn’t think he’s going to say anything else, so he continues.

“It’s the same, you know. For me.”

This caught the other boy’s attention, but Taichi cut off whatever Koushiro was going to say.

“I wanted to believe I was as cool as you thought I was,” Taichi said, huffing out a chuckle. “I wanted to stand by your side and be someone you could count on. I also wanted to believe I was worthy.”

“Do you? Believe, I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Silence lies between them, but it’s no longer heavy. Koushiro’s twitching slightly, gazing out toward the water, but Taichi can tell his mind is somewhere distant. He hopes Koushiro is thinking the same thing.

“Hey, Kou?”

“Yeah?” Koushiro breathes back at him.

“Can I kiss you?”

***************************************************

A/N

And that’s it. That’s the end.

This was a wild ride that all started with the concept of kisses to fix booboos — a trope I need.

Some minor notes:

-This is loosely based around Adventure, 02 and tri., but I chose to ignore the movies (ie: Children’s War Game).

-Super Sentai is what the US’ “Power Rangers” is based on.

-Kamamoto Kunishige is one of the most prolific soccer players from Japan and is the all-time goal scorer in his country. He played for Japan’s national team throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, and it’s my headcanon that Koushiro only knows his name because Taichi doesn’t shut up about him.

-I know Taichi works with the UN in the epilogue, but I wanted him to be just a couple years out of college here, so I filled in the gaps. Because Koushiro has already made a name for himself in the tech world (and with the knowledge that his work involves researching the digital world later), I thought it would be interesting for them to work together with common goals. That said, I have no idea what Taichi’s career path would look like, so bear with me.

[holyangemon]

Episode 22 - The Saddest Episode of Adventure? (Not Clickbait)

Oh boy is there so much to unpack in episode 22. This episode is a lot. If you’d like to witness someone scream about just how much of a lot episode 22 is, then welcome. I have some screaming to do. 

(this is literally just a recap of the entire episode and I’m pretty terrible at analysis so this probably makes no sense but hey, I have spirit)

I don’t even know where to start there’s just so much going on here. Okay, from the beginning. Taichi gets back to the digital world and finds Tokomon passed out from hunger with Takeru’s discarded digivice and crest. Obviously some shit went down, and Tokomon is nice enough to explain.

Through this, we find out that Taichi and Agumon have been missing for at least a month and a half, which is where Tokomon’s flash back explanation starts, and that the kids stayed in the desert looking for Taichi for this month and a half. We see the group arguing over what they should do next. Sora wants to keep looking, Yamato thinks it’s hopeless, Koushiro wants to find Gennai, Mimi wants to go home, and Joe doesn’t actually say what he wants. (In the next episode it’s revealed he went to look for food before being led astray by PicoDevimon, but in the context of this episode he just kind of goes). But anyway, important thing to point out here is:

the saddest images I’ve ever seen in my life. Takeru is sitting off by himself, which may make sense while they’re having big kid talk and he stays warm next to the fire, but he also sleeps by himself while the rest of them are all huddled together. Also to note is that Takeru and Yamato are on the complete opposite ends. Here we can see how disconnected Takeru is from the rest of the kids, including his brother. This’ll be important later, but let’s put a pin in it for now.

Here is where the group falls apart, with Sora heading off on her own first. She lets Tokomon know that her and Piyomon are off to look for Taichi, to try to keep Takeru from crying if she doesn’t tell him.

(A month and a half in this desert, by the way). Koushiro heads off first, followed by Joe, and finally Mimi, leaving the brothers and their Digimon as the only ones left together. Once it’s just them, they finally leave the desert. We also learn that during this time they haven’t encountered any new enemies. Takeru wants to go back into the desert and look for Taichi.

But as we already know, Yamato has given up. You can’t blame him either, how long are they expected to just wait in a desert? Of course, Takeru cries, and Yamato instantly apologizes, and says that Taichi and Agumon are probably doing fine somewhere.

I’m telling you, this is some heavy shit. Yamato agrees, and says they’ll see them again someday. If he really means that, or is just saying that to keep Takeru happy is another matter, and probably something Yamato is conflicted on himself. Regardless, they continue on, and come across an amusement park. Yamato thinks to himself that it looks safe, and they explore the deserted park. And here is where things take a turn.

We see Takeru holding back tears before saying that he’ll be okay, and will wait.

He asks Yamato to come back quickly, as Yamato has decided to go check things out in the infamous swan boat, planning to only be gone for two to three hours. Now, it’s easy to judge Yamato a bit for leaving Takeru alone in the first place, he could have taken Takeru with him, but Yamato needing some time alone to think things over without upsetting Takeru would make sense. I wouldn’t  judge him for that, can relate, but it’s unfortunate how it ultimately turns out. In any case, Takeru insists that Yamato come back quickly, and waves him off with a smile. Once Yamato is out of sight though . . . 

And my heart breaks again. This boy is too good at hiding his feelings when it’s something that deeply hurts him. But that’s a long rant for another day. For now, unfortunately, Yamato does not end up coming back. Takeru waits until nightfall, and refuses to eat, before eventually falling asleep on a bench next to the wharf Yamato set off from.

Please my heart can only shatter so many times. Takeru continues to wait on the wharf, wondering why his brother won’t come back. He said he was just going to take a look around. He said he’d be back soon! 

Takeru reaches his limit and breaks down. But unfortunately, it’s not over yet. A certain bat shaped Digimon decides that this small sweet boy isn’t broken enough yet. He approaches them, pretends to have good intentions, thanks them for being involved in defeating Etemon, and offers to go look for Yamato. No good intentions can be found in PicoDevimon, and he comes back to spout some dirty dirty lies.

“Yamato said that he doesn’t want to see your face anymore. He said that he really, really, really hates you. He doesn’t want to be your brother anymore.”

“Oh, Yamato also said this. He really hates you for being a crybaby.”

This is too much for Takeru, and he runs off in tears.

Tokomon of course tries to tell Takeru that Yamato would never say anything like that. But Takeru is in no state to listen right now.

I’m not even halfway through the episode oh god. Tokomon runs off to confront PicoDevimon about being a lying little bitch, but he of course denies it, since Tokomon has no proof. Tokomon is pissed, and hits PicoDevimon with his baby bubbles. Unfortunately, Takeru chooses this moment to arrive on the scene, and he’s an anti-fight boy.

PicoDevimon sees his chance to cause a rift between the two, and says not to blame Tokomon, he was jealous that him and Takeru had been getting along. Tokomon scoffs at this, causing Takeru to get mad at Tokomon’s attitude, and tells him to apologize to PicoDevimon. Tokomon refuses, they argue, and Tokomon claims that he’ll leave if Takeru keeps trying to force him to apologize. So, Takeru tells him to go ahead and leave.

Tokomon gives Takeru the chance to change his mind, but Takeru is hurt, extremely hurt, and is taking it out on Tokomon.

And this is where the flashback ends, and we’re back to Taichi. Taichi is worried about Yamato, he knows that Yamato would never willingly abandon his little brother, but finding Takeru comes first. Meanwhile, Takeru is spending a very depressing time in the amusement park with PicoDevimon. PicoDevimon is trying to get Takeru to forget about Tokomon using the rides, but it’s not working out for him.

Yeah, Takeru’s not in the mood for fun. PicoDevimon asks if Takeru is worried about Tokomon. At first, Takeru says who cares, but follows it up with wondering if Tokomon is okay by himself . . . . but he really doesn’t care about him at all. PicoDevimon sees through the tsundere act, knows he needs a new plan, and heads off to regroup, leaving Takeru alone.

He deals with this by sleeping (relatable), and this is where Taichi finds him. The first thing Takeru says to Taichi is “Taichi! You’re alive!” and it’s just really heartbreaking that these kids had to seriously consider the fact that Taichi could be dead. They don’t dwell on it much in the show, but it’s pretty dang dark.

A rare non-Yamato related hug from Takeru. Taichi apologizes for making Takeru worried. Takeru notices that Tokomon is back, and ruins the happy mood by asking Tokomon if he realizes he was wrong now. Tokomon angrily replies that he did nothing wrong, which is true. And the arguing starts again. 

They really are kids. Imagine Angemon having this argument. This time, Taichi is here to break it up and tells them this isn’t the time to fight since they should go look for Yamato and other others. But Takeru doesn’t want to. Everyone left him. First Sora.

Can you here those screams in the distance? That’s me. Takeru has taken PicoDevimon’s words about how Yamato, and has applied them to everyone else too. Why?

Because he had already had those types of thoughts himself. PicoDevimon was voicing his worst suspicions. Whether they did it intentionally or not, we can clearly see that there was some excluding of Takeru going on. We don’t get to see what happens during this month and a half, so unfortunately the why is unknown. Maybe because their conversations are more serious in general and they don’t want to deal with Takeru crying. If he was crying often, maybe some resentment/annoyance was growing. Or maybe Takeru himself was distancing himself. However it happened, negative feelings were brewing, and being a kid sensitive to separation, everyone leaving would enhance those negative thoughts. PicoDevimon’s lie has grown from Yamato hates me, to everyone hates me. And that makes my heart hurt.

Taichi tries to counter this by saying that there was no way Yamato could ever hate him (which is true, but mention the others too Taichi!). And here’s where Takeru says something veeery interesting.

(episode 3, directed at Taichi)

It’s like they say, kids are more perceptive that they’re given credit for. Takeru isn’t exactly wrong about this, but he goes a bit overboard, and connects it with Yamato being against searching for Taichi when Takeru wanted to, and then adds an extra reason for why Yamato hates him.

Taichi is not equipped to deal with this. Takeru’s thoughts are really spiraling at this point, all centered around how everyone hates him and why. Let’s not consider him potentially thinking that his dad and brother left because they hate him. It’s a good thing Yamato isn’t here to see this, because Takeru claims he wants to be Taichi’s little brother instead.

That’s an understatement, Taichi. Taichi is currently the only person Takeru has who he doesn’t think hates him, so of course he’s going to latch onto him. Taichi is essentially the fun friend and Yamato is the strict brother. It doesn’t help that since the brothers don’t get to spend a lot of time together, there’s some awkwardness in their relationship, mostly from Yamato. There’s some awkwardness from Yamato just in general. He completely adores Takeru, but isn’t always great at showing that in ways Takeru can understand.

We don’t get to see the in-between of this conversation, but Taichi is able to calm Takeru down and coax him into agreeing to at least hearing what Yamato has to say in person. Things are going well, but of course liar mc-lying bat shows back up with a bunch of memory erasing mushrooms. Like he hasn’t caused enough damage. PicoDevimon tries to start an argument with Tokomon, but Agumon interrupts to ask about Yamato. PicoDevimon doubles down on his claims, because he sucks, and Taichi asks to be taken to where Yamato is.

PicoDevimon agrees, but offers them some of his sketchy mushrooms to eat before they head off. He’s just the worst. Everyone is hungry, apparently hungry enough for some sketch mushrooms, but Agumon needs a convenient bathroom break where a mysterious voice that sounds a lot like Sora warns him that the mushrooms erase memories. So convenient!

Thank god Takeru tried to eat the mushroom whole without biting into it. Phew. When Agumon reveals with the mushrooms do, Takeru finally gets suspicious. (Why no one is suspicious about PicoDevimon from his name alone I’ll never know. Shouldn’t the whole Devimon part set off some alarm bells?)

Panicked and with his cover blown, PicoDevimon admits to everything being a lie.

It sure is buddy. Takeru apologizes to Tokomon right away for treating him so horribly, but of course Tokomon tells him not to worry about it and isn’t angry at all. It’s like Takeru said in episode 12, fighting between friends is okay, because you’ll make up soon. But fighting between adults . . . 

With the partners friends again, Taichi gives Takeru his digivice and crest back. Thanks to the reveal with PicoDevimon was lying, Takeru has restored some hope that maybe everyone doesn’t hate him after all.

This is enough for the Crest of Hope to regain its light (what a tease considering it won’t be properly activated for 30 more episodes). And here we see a first for Takeru. He actually wants to fight.

This is the same boy who initially wanted to try to talk it out with Devimon first, so this is a big shift for him. PicoDevimon 100% deserves it, but it’s sad to see how he’s losing his innocence. But it means the return of Patamon! Hurray! Making his battle debut, since this marks the first time Patamon is in a proper battle on his own (the Elecmon battle was half a fight that turned into tug of war).

. . . it could be better. Patamon really gets slammed all over the place. It’s surprisingly violent. But with Takeru cheering him on, Patamon is able to ultimately win (unfortunately PicoDevimon doesn’t die, we’re stuck with this asshole for awhile). 

Takeru once again apologizes for what’s happened, but Patamon is a pure precious bean so everything’s okay.

Takeru also says he needs to apologize to Yamato later too, though if Yamato knew the full details of what happened here he’d freak as much as I have. The episode ends with Taichi explaining that the distortions in the Digital World are affecting the real world, and that they’ll need everyone’s strengths to fix it before they can go home.

And with that weight on Takeru’s shoulders, the episode finally ends.

Phew, that’s a rough one. There are so many insights into Takeru’s character here, but I don’t want to get too much into all that until the rewatch is finished and I can look at the whole package. 

Does anyone else internally scream when they think about this episode? Or am I just losing my mind? Let me know.

[god-fucking-dammit-mizutani]

What are some characters you wished interacted more in Adventure/02? I always wanted to see more Joe/taichi (because wow they both have some shit regarding responsibility) and sora/koushiro! Also in 02 I wanted more sibling moments between the Yagami and Ishida/Takeshi siblings :’)

Immediately Sora/Kou and Joe/Taichi jumped into my head before I even finished reading so like same

Your icon is super cute btw!!

Sorry if all of this is a mess apparently if you give me a platform I just spout nonsense about digimon for days lmaoo

TL;DR: Sora/Kou, Joe/Taichi, Mimi/Yamato, the siblings but with maybe some closure to the Yagamis on some level if that makes sense at all

I feel like Sora and Koushirou were the two characters who believed in Taichi the most and really stuck by him, and supposedly knew each other before the digital world, but it’s honestly hard to recall any scenes where they acted incredibly close to each other? I know she defended him when Taichi was teasing Koushirou and trying to whack his computer and they also shared their opinions on Taichi during the Skullgreymon issue. There might be some scenes, but I’m honestly blanking. Yet I can think of specific examples for Taichi and Koushirou and Taichi and Sora off the top of my head (the gate episode for the former and Taichi saving Sora from nanomon). So maybe the series didn’t mean for them to be very close friends (I think there’s a chart and they aren’t shown with arrows between each other), but I always felt like they would mesh well together even if their main reason was just to bond over Taichi. But I think Sora has shown and would be open to just listening to Koushirou and encouraging him and I think Sora is mellow enough for Koushirou to be comfortable around. I actually kind of wish Sora and Koushirou had gone together in Adventure to look for Taichi because it seemed important to both of them, though I get narratively why they wanted everyone to split up. I kind of wish there was just more Sora, Taichi, and Koushirou being tight-knit overall and something more of an overt trio, since again they were the one’s who already knew each other more closely iirc.

I agree on the Joe and Taichi bit, too. I think there could have maybe been a few more instances where Taichi, well, relied on him and the two kind of commiserated about everything. Joe clearly had a lot of worry for the team and was willing to like risk his own life for Takeru and stay beside Mimi a few times because as her counselor he felt responsible and Taichi had a lot of baggage trying to do right by everyone all the time and wanting to be The Very Best and it felt like sometimes he could kind of feel the heaviness of it especially when Hikari came in; it just felt like they should have a late night therapy session together and there could have been some times when Taichi turned to Joe for some advice. If there was more than once I don’t really remember it right now? I know Taichi had a support pillar in Koushirou and Sora and Yamato at some point, but I honestly think it would have been nice to sprinkle in more of Joe there, and maybe have Joe even gain more confidence in his role in the team to just put his hand on Taichi’s shoulders and say, “Take a break,” but instead it always felt like he micro helped, which I guess was big, but idk Taichi should have his mom bake Joe a cake just to say he’s swell. But I also think it would be nice if Taichi could be a pillar back in kind. I don’t really remember if anyone was specifically there to support Joe back when I think about it except maybe Sora when she helped at the diner arc?? I also think this would have been nicer to explore in 02 and have Joe help herd some of the new youngsters more, but it kind of felt like by Our War Game Joe was a little more… not around? Was always kind of weird to me that the “reliable” one was never around. I know his crest in some iterations is honesty or sincerity, so maybe that’s why haha, but he did always come off as trying to be reliable, so I always fall back on that.

Also Mimi and Yamato would have been interesting to see…. interact at all?? I think in the novels he makes her cry at one point iirc and there was the scene at the graves of the fallen digimon, but I can’t recall any other impactful scenes where they straight on interact?? I feel like the scene where Sora breaks down and Yamato is pretty understanding could have also translated into some scenes with Mimi, like he could go from being annoyed by her and agitated to accepting her strengths and maybe through her find that being more emotional isn’t always a weakness, idk. I also remember Yamato once grilled a fish and so I always thought he’d end up being the cook of the group down the line so when it was Mimi in the epilogue I would kind of imagine her having him on her show for a segment, like cooking in rough conditions or something and talk about the food he eats in space idk it was a weird thing that stuck with me as a kid and it’s hard to kind of forget…

Overall with 02 I really wish there was just more of the original cast and they expanded their relationships from 01. Maybe not get rid of the new 02 cast members because I do really love them, but just integrate the original digidestined in more. I get that it’s hard to balance a large cast, though, so I get why they didn’t. I really feel like Sora, Joe, and Mimi just got forgotten about in the full narrative, though. I also would have still liked more relationship building between like the siblings as you said as well. Family was a pretty integral part of the original series in many ways and while they did seem to kind of bring it back in the ending iirc, there was a HUGE emphasis on the sibling dynamics in 01 I felt was kind of dropped by 02. Like it was even written in a prophecy?? I will admit my memory of 02 is fuzzy and due for a rewatch but I recall Hikari getting something of a developing episode re: her attachment to Taichi or some comparison she was making towards him about herself that I don’t remember, but I’m pretty sure he like… had no part in it really? I think even the dub just was like, “Let’s not even write in that issue.” I could be wrong on that, though. It just felt like Taichi was more distant than he had been at the end of 01 and maybe that’s just age and he grew up, but I still feel like it needed a resolution and he could have either had residual fears or at least have a “letting go” episode maybe so they could both grow together or something for the audience to bare. I felt like if anything Taichi and Hikari’s arc should have ended with him trusting her more and I guess he kind of does since he leaves the fighting to the new kids on the block but it was more like… he gave the responsibility to Daisuke (not a bad choice, this is nothing about Daisuke ofc). It just would have been more full circle imho if he maybe gave Hikari the goggles or something— like she didn’t have to be the leader I guess but it would have been kind of symbolic of him seeing her as strong finally and acknowledging her, you know? That’s probably a different road entirely haha Hikari and Taichi just had a really sweet bond in 01 so I remember it being a little jarring when I watched 02. I can’t remember much about Takeru and Yamato together either so :(

I think they balanced a lot of relationships and backstories and a huge complicated plot pretty well in general just overall and they made the characters so goood but I guess that’s on my essay on some of the things I would change re: their relationships i’msosorry

[uniarycode]

Digimon Adventure Reboot, Episode 14

It turns out Google was just inside your head the whole time.

Spoilers/reactions beneath cut

-        Tentomon flies me everywhere, it’s cool, imagine walking like a pleb.

-        Taichi’s team during off eps: Here’s us setting up the plot for the next episode

Yamato’s team during off eps: We discovered the laziest possible way to travel

-        Why are there so many fires during power outages? I mean in urban Japan.  Here it’s because people try to move their Barbeques inside after an ice storm.  It is also a source of carbon monoxide poising, do not recommend.

-        Is it just me or does everyone’s face look weird this ep.  Also, the mirrors I guess

-        THEY SKIPPED AN AGUMON EVOLUTION, I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THEY COULD DO THAT.

-        “These guys aren’t that much stronger than us, but are out maneuvering us.  If only we had some sort of ace up our sleave that could make up for their numbers.  Oh well, run away.”

-        Seriously they just kinda forget about the ability to evolve in this one, a lot.

-        Koushiro’s main development is being able to make simple decisions without a tablet.  It feels like it’s sniping new generations.  On the other hand, I’ve had a lot of success just stopping and going, “Think about this seriously.”  So I choose to take it as the ability to problem solve out of his element more than anything else.

-        Is this the first evolution that doesn’t happen mid-battle?

-        Yell out your plans in front of the creatures that were smart enough to make coordinated attacks and responded to Mimi bad mouthing them.  They won’t see it coming.

-        Thanks for evolving to Perfect only after the Kuwagamon were already losing Taichi, real clutch move there.

-        “What’s our plan?” “Hit it ‘till it dies.”

-        Yamato is willing to hang with Sora, but not Jou, ouch.

-        The ending animation looks like it make more sense on acid but hey we might be getting a Takeru mini arc soon :?

[opallene]

Unexpected

A short fic based on the first episode of Digimon Adventure: (2020).  Taishiro.

~~~~

The young boy looks in the hall mirror.  Steeling himself.  He hadn’t meant to look, but when he caught sight of his own furrowed brow on his way out, he had to stop.  Take just one more deep breath.  Recite inside his head the mantra that he knows is logical and true: “If you don’t ask, you cannot get the information you require.”

Fourth-grader Koushiro Izumi has already formulated the plan: This would be an entirely transactional encounter.  So what if he gets a weird look, a rude question, or some backhanded snide comment from the boy who lives downstairs?  He can weather it, as long as he succeeds in the small and, he reminds himself, entirely achievable mission that he has set before himself.

Out the door, into the summer air.  A little humid, but faintly sweet…Reminds him of summer camp.  That upcoming summer camp - the inconvenient begetter of this current gap in knowledge.  Why couldn’t this be handled online?  (If the camp organizers had just added a social media component…)  Why does his next hope rest on a physical encounter? Annoying.

The most dreadful part is, he’s already stuck with this Yagami kid in the same Summer Camp group, whether he likes it or not.  So, he’ll try to make a good impression.  Be as inoffensive as possible.  If Yagami has a problem with him -- well, that will just have to be on him, then.

As he shuffles along the outdoor terrace on his floor, he is faced with the memory of an encounter with some of his classmates last week.

“What do you have there, four-eyes?”

He rolls his eyes -- inside his imagination only.  I don’t even wear glasses, he thinks.

“It’s, uhm, it’s my persona1l Timeline…I can get all kinds of information from different sources…”

“Wow, that’s boring.  What a loser.  You know what tablets are for, Poindexter?”  The offending classmate elbows his buddy and beckons him over for a look.  “Hey, Tanaka.  Look at all that nerd stuff Izumi’s got over here.”

“Tablets are for playing games, duh.”

“Totally.”

“Watching TV!!”

“That too.”

Koushiro’s classmates start miming their impression of a studious person tapping away at a tablet and adjusting an imaginary pair of glasses.

He sighs.  It was easy to walk away from that one, and most of the others before it.  He can do it again, if needed.  But he would really rather not make another enemy right here among his own neighbors at his own home…especially the older fifth-grade kid he’d soon be forced to spend Summer Camp with.  He knows this Yagami kid is somewhat popular – which is probably bad news for him.

Down the stairs, around the corner.  It will all be over soon.

He checks the doorplate to make sure he’s got the right unit.  Yagami.  Yes.  Here goes…

The door opens.  He takes a step back.  “Um…”

The Yagami boy suddenly looms before him.

“Hello, I’m from upstairs…” Koushiro manages.

Yagami smiles and lights up with recognition.  He leans forward confidently.  “Ah, I’ve seen you around!  You’re a fourth grader…”

Koushiro Izumi is surprised that any of his neighbors, let alone another schoolkid, has paid enough attention to know what grade he’s in.  He straightens up and provides a proper introduction.  As proper as can be.  Introductions, at least, are a social playbook he can follow.

The Yagami kid is relaxed. A little too relaxed.  Clearly, introductions are nothing sacred to him.  No big deal.

But…while most kids his age would probably just mumble through, shrug it off and try to get back to whatever it was they’d been doing before their parents or a schoolteacher had forced them to interact, this kid is totally different.  His grin covers his entire face, and he looks completely…genuine.

Koushiro releases some of the tension in his shoulders and tentatively offers a smile back.  He returns the greeting.  Yagami…Taichi-san, was it?  Maybe he would actually be kind of a nice guy.  Maybe he wouldn’t give him any problems at all and summer camp would be…tolerable?

Oh, right.  Summer camp!  The reason he had come.  He stammers, trying to find the best way to preface his question.  But before he can properly ask, Yagami starts talking over him.  Casually invites him inside.  And, he says… “Just call me Taichi.”

Koushiro stares.  He is quite frankly baffled by this kid’s behavior.  He couldn’t possibly just step inside a stranger’s home so suddenly…

An urgent newsfeed catches his attention.  Something is going on…downtown?

This looks bad.  The two new acquaintances watch together for a moment.  This is no time to worry about being teased – !  The tablet device comes out, and Koushiro starts scanning for some posts he saw a little while ago that might be connected…

He’s in his own world for a moment, but suddenly he senses the other boy behind him, leaning in close. Fixated on the tablet with surprising intensity.  As soon as he reaches full awareness of this, Koushiro reflexively offers up an apology and explanation.

But this kid…Taichi Yagami-san…He looks genuinely interested.  Would he actually…care to know more?   Koushiro continues, uncertainly.  “This is my ‘Timeline’…”

There’s no way to miss it – The other boy faces him squarely, trying to soak up every detail as he listens intently.

“Wow.”

“Huh?”

“I’m really bad at that kind of stuff.”  Taichi leans in closer.  Practically in his face.  With a big, goofy grin and an excited glimmer in his eyes.  “You’re awesome!”

Koushiro is momentarily frozen.  None of this…none of it at all…is what he expected.  He turns.  He…smiles back.  There’s a moment.  A moment where he feels light; he feels – seen?  He feels appreciated in a way few other than his parents have ever…

Oh!  R-right. There’s an urgent matter at hand and, um, what is he thinking anyway?

He clutches the tablet to his chest and dives back into his task.

Suddenly, all of the hesitancy from before is gone.  Taichi may not be following every technical detail, but he’s right there on the same page. They talk through scenarios.  Their dialogue flows as naturally as though they’ve known each other for years.

At the same time, Koushiro’s heart is racing.  He soon starts babbling again – But this time it’s idle practicalities in the face of a possible disaster.  Electricity?  Batteries? Before long, he really doesn’t know what he’s even been saying anymore... But he’s forgotten his earlier anxieties and hesitations completely.

***

I met this boy today, Koushiro reflects much later in the day.

A lot – A LOT – has happened since then.

But it had started just then – Something pumping his blood, something that wouldn’t stop.  The adrenaline had started just around the same time, and it had carried him, brutally and relentlessly, through the next hour or two.

When that adrenaline rush had finally abated, there was still a lasting feeling.  Not anxiety.  Not the kind of quickened pulse that would typically drive him to a self-preservation instinct.

Why is he inclined, even now, to smile when there is no one around?

He leans back in his chair and studies his reflection in his bedroom mirror.  There’s some dried sweat above his brows.  Yes, it’s definitely time for a shower soon.

There’s also some kind of quality that he finds difficult to classify.  Something that could be described as a “glow”?  He is unable to come up with a hypothesis for what is causing this phenomenon.

His eyes linger for a moment and then his gaze drifts toward the window.

I wonder if I’ll see Taichi-san again?  He pauses.  B-before summer camp, I mean?

Summer camp has become an event to look forward to, he concludes.  How many days left?  Not days of anxiety and dread, this time, but maybe…No, definitely…Koushiro can hardly wait!

[dutchforstrangers]

I need you. Both. - A Taiorato Friendship one shot

Characters: Yamato Ishida/Matt Ishida, Taichi Yagami/Tai Kamiya, Sora Takenouchi Genre: Friendship, comfort Rating: K+ Words: 1500+

Summary: Losing a special someone will never be easy. Fortunately, we all have friends with shoulders to lean and cry on. Even when you don’t say a word, they just know they are needed.

More below, under read more! Enjoy.

A/N (feel free to not read it): For some unknown reason I found myself suddenly rewatching Digimon Kizuna (the english dub unfortunately, because I can’t find a properly version of the original with english sub - anyone who knows where to find it?) and I started wondering: what would Taichi and Yamato have done directly after losing Agumon and Gabumon? What would they say to each other? And how did they find out about Sora, who went through the same happenings on her own probably without letting anyone know... Well, here is my take on that!

Update on 27th of August 2021: So originally I wrote Sora and Yamato broken up (see fanfiction.net for the original one-shot), but after coming to terms with canon and Sorato during the past couple of months and this Kizuna meta I recently wrote, it didn’t feel right anymore. So I fixed it, Sora and Yamato are dating, but on a break (as I can totally see that happening with their personalities). 

Just to be clear, one last time: this is a Taiorato friendship! Which means all these dynamics are from a platonic point of view, even the Sorato parts.  Also fixed some typos :)

xxxxx

A cool breeze. Quiet after the storm. And the stabbing feeling of a loss.

He tried to fight his tears, burying his true feelings. In his one hand was the Digivice, petrified. He looked down on it, trembling, realizing what just had happened. With his other hand he brushed over the Digivice, then held his other hand preventing it from trembling too much. He needed to be strong. For himself, for the others. For Gabumon.

Gabumon.

Where would he be now? Yamato wondered. That thought freed the flow of tears he was failing to hide behind his eyelids. He wanted to scream. Shout. But what was the use? It wouldn’t bring his partner back. So he just stood there. Crying.

Mourning. The thoughts kept trying to fill the pit he felt in his stomach. As the crying died down because of those deep thoughts, he simply stared, following the flickering lights with his eyes. It being the only movement in front of him.

Movement. Life.

What was life? He knew for example life was not limited to earth only. There was a whole digital realm existing in between this world where he came from and the network where Gabumon had his roots. Was there even more? How far could he go? Space? Maybe space was where he should aim for. As far away as possible from here, from where he stood now. From the spot where his partner vanished.

“Yamato.”

He stood straight at attention upon hearing his name. It sounded vague and far away, though he knew it was close by. He turned around, letting his blue eyes meeting the brown ones now in front of him. He watched his companion scan the surroundings. His friend looked sad to him.

“No Gabumon?”

Yamato swallowed and shook his head, biting his lip to once again fight his feelings. The trembling made his Digivice almost fall out of his hand. He squeezed it tight and with that holding onto everything he knew. Not ready to fully let go yet.

Usually Yamato was the one far more calm and collected. Though this time, for once, it seemed like the guy who tracked him down was better at keeping his cool.

Taichi.

It was just Taichi, no yellow dinosaur following him. Yamato figured out Taichi must’ve gone through the same fate as him. Yamato wanted to be there for him, but he felt his feet stuck in his place. His legs were heavy, as was his heart. Any movement, except from trembling, seemed impossible. So he stood there, questionably looking for answers which he knew his friend neither had.

xxxxx

Yamato.

He just stood there, looking at him as if he had all the answers he wanted to hear. But he had to disappoint. He had one answer: both Agumon and Gabumon had vanished. With that their Digivices had turn into cold stone. Taichi figured out Yamato already knew that.

It had been one hour since it happened and he had been mourning since. But what Taichi knew too was that moping around wasn’t going to make things better. Besides, it wasn’t what Agumon would have wanted him to do, moping around.

Agumon.

Instead he had taken out his phone, the ring of light on the back vanished just like Agumon had. He was glad to see the phone still worked, though it looked like it was a little faded. Maybe he was seeing things. He had quickly updated the others in their group chat by sending them a picture of his petrified Digivice, then closed the chat. He did not want pity from his friends, from his sister, from the others. They did not understand.

In all probability, there was one other person who would come close to understand him. So Taichi tracked Yamato down through his GPS. As he found out his whereabouts, he silenced his phone and made his way to him. Without haste, because he knew Yamato wasn’t going far or fast for that matter, not even with that motorcycle of his. After all, he was mourning too, just like Taichi.

His feelings had been right as there was no sign of Gabumon. The only visible sign was the stone in Yamato’s hand. The same stone Taichi was carrying with him, in both his pocket and heart. Yamato looked completely lost in his feelings, emptiness overwhelming him.

Yamato turned his back again to him. Taichi’s hands balled into fists, at once feeling the urge to fight him just like the old days. Breathing in deep, that feelings quickly faded, replacing it with a sudden feeling of concern. He glanced to the blond, slowly walking towards him.

“I know how you feel,” Taichi said now standing beside Yamato, staring into the same direction. “It’ll be fine eventually. I promise.”

A careful smile appeared on Yamato’s face, making Taichi smile a little as well. It was a careful smile, but it was genuine, the feeling of concern growing bigger. Taichi placed a hand on the blonde’s shoulder closest to him before gently pulling Yamato to him.  

An embrace.

Back in the days the physical contact between the two of them were mostly fights with fists, but right now, Taichi knew it wasn’t the kind of touch he needed. What they both needed. Comfort, Yamato needed his friend, a shoulder to lean on.

“I know,” Yamato mumbled as he untangled himself out of Tachi’s grip after a little while. “It still stings though.”

Taichi nodded, completely understanding him, all the while grabbing the phone out of his pocket and switching it on to check the messages out of habit. He quickly scrolled through the messages in the group chat, but decided not to answer and leave them be for now. He looked through his private messages. 

One message from his worrying mother. A missed call from a bragging classmate. Another message from…

Taichi gasped. After a brief moment he placed his hand back on Yamato’s shoulder, making him turn to face Taichi. He held the screen to Yamato.

“We need to go. There’s someone who needs us.”

xxxxx

She had been standing near the window for what felt like days, the rain falling for hours and hours. And hours more. The tears on her face joined the crying sky, but there were no tears left. She sighed, swallowing the lump in her throat.

She turned around, briefly looking at her desk filled with both clothing and flower designs. It was loaded with things she loved, but it was empty to her all the same. Then her eyes trailed further down the room to an empty pillow in the corner, one that belonged to someone very dear to her. To someone who sadly wasn’t here anymore.

Piyomon.

The name lingered in her thoughts, making Sora want to cry, but nothing came. She felt empty, like the pillow, lonely and hollow. At the same time she was thankful. Thankful for the time she could have spent with her partner.

Would she still be here if Sora had chosen to keep fighting? Would it have made a difference? Sora wondered, feeling a sting in her heart. It had to happen eventually, so why not now... Because she knew she had to grow up, especially after that message they received from Koushiro about the glowing ring, counting down the time of her partnership. Little did she know that Taichi went through the same thing at the same time.  

Somehow it was hard to imagine him growing up. Into a man. To her, he had always been her childhood friend, the one making her feel strong, young and aware. She remembered the echoing sound of the whistle earlier today, immediately connecting the sound to him. By then she knew, even after they grew apart and had barely talked to each other during the past couple of weeks or even months, he was arriving at the same place where she already was at that time. 

Partnerless.

“Honey, there’s someone for you.” Sora heard her mother from the other side of the bedroom door, snapping her out of her thoughts. She walked towards the door, sliding it open and stepping into the hallway. Her head turned ninety degrees and her eyes grew wider.

Taichi.

There he was, with his back leaning against the frame of the door, her brown haired friend, as if he knew she was thinking about him. His arms folded across the chest, his head diagonally directed to the ground. Further outside she saw the silhouette of a certain blond boy she knew all too well.

Yamato.

After Taichi had sent a picture of his petrified Digivice in their group chat, she had sent him a reply through a private message. For Sora it was important that he knew and felt he wasn’t alone. But seeing Yamato standing there, leaning against the rail of the gallery, his blue eyes ice cold, she knew that Taichi already knew he wasn’t the only one.

As wasn’t she.

A few steps. Taichi looked up as Sora walked past him. Without looking she brushed over his arm and hand for reassurance, but her focus was on Yamato. It had been a little while since she saw him last. They maintained a steady relationship in the past, but with their busy lives and studies they decided to take a little break to take things slow. Very slow, distancing from each other to focus on their own paths first. 

Of course she missed him, and she still cared for him. A lot. And he needed her, she could feel. She knew he did. Standing fully in front of him, she placed her hand on one of his shoulders, finally making him look her straight in the eyes. She smiled her most genuine but soft smile, then carefully hugged him around the neck, placing a small peck on his cheek. She felt his heartbeat slightly increase, so she held on to him until his heart calmed down again.

As she let go and stepped back, Yamato flashed her a painful smile. Sora had to swallow seeing him like that, shifting her gaze to the ground. The touch of a hand on her shoulder brought her attention back up. She had thought she had no tears left, but that one touch did the trick.

Sora swiftly turned around, throwing her arms around the waiste of the owner of the hand on her shoulder. She felt Taichi pulling her even closer as she heavily cried, wetting his shirt. But she knew he didn’t care, because in that moment all he cared for was her. And Yamato.

Stupid.

And they just stood there, the two of them. Until suddenly she felt a warmth behind her, another body becoming part of their embrace. And she knew that whenever she was sad or lonely or in need of a hug, they were there within a heartbeat. 

“I need you,” she mumbled into Taichi’s shirt.

“Both.”

[noctisfishing]

Digimon Adventure - Knives Out AU

Notes: I’ve never done one of these before, so bear with me. But sometimes when there’s a piece of media I like with a colorful cast of characters, my mind goes to “what if?” land. I’d never see any of these precious Digidestined in the position of murder and greed (save for the one we know of) but I found it fun to imagine.

This headcanon is based on the movie Knives Out, a whodunit murder mystery. (I highly recommend you watch this movie!) It might go without saying, but this story starts out with a major character death. You’ve been warned. This also does not spoil the movie’s ending, but gives you some background of each character’s motives in which you are free to interpret.

Each Digidestined/Chosen Children plays a part. I fit all 12 (13?) somehow - you’ll see in the images below.

Also, there are no ships - this is gen. Although, Sorato on the rocks (sorry!)

Overall, I think this would be a really interesting and fun fic idea. :D

Alright, here we go!

The Story

Long after the adventures in the Digital World, that world has disappeared and now only lives on in the best-selling book franchise from the author known as Gennai. Loved by many in the Real World, it came as a huge shock when he was found dead in his mansion the morning after his birthday gathering with the Chosen Children.

Click through to read the rest!

The Victim

Gennai

He was the only known humanoid from the Digital World, and he became a successfully published author for his biographies and encyclopedias of the world that once existed. With the help of the original Chosen Children, he built a life and made millions of dollars through his publishing company. The Chosen were like family to him.

The Detectives:

Koushiro

No one knew that he was in the room of interrogation until the silence was met by the click-clacking from his laptop keyboard. None of the Chosen had seen him in years after he had grown distant from the rest of the group to concentrate on his own career path. As a genius detective, he will study every inch aspect of this case, closing any donut hole he may find.

Ken

Part of the local police department and serves as Koushiro’s right hand. The other Chosen had eventually warmed up to him at one point, but he never felt like ‘one of them’, even after reconciliation and forgiveness from his past crimes. Understanding the mind of a criminal, he works as a second pair of eyes, filling the gaps in Koushiro’s perspective and re-stating the facts to help Koushiro piece the puzzle of this mystery.

Daisuke

As part of the regional detective unit, he didn’t get to see the Chosen often but he immediately jumped on the case the moment he caught wind of it. He was always eager to see his old buddies (especially Hikari) and was always a big fan of Gennai, the man himself. He will also add fanboy remarks about Gennai and the Digital World, even when they’re out of place.

The Suspects

Perhaps the ones with the closest relations to Gennai, as well as the ones with the most glaring suspicions...

Sora

The older sister of the group and who Gennai treated like his own daughter. Living without a father herself, Sora found that relationship with him as she watched him succeed. Although she and Taichi were good friends, she voiced to Gennai her disagreements on the company’s business decisions influenced by Taichi as the CEO, and she even wished that she would one day take over instead of Taichi.

Yamato

Sora’s husband and a musician whose success may have matched Gennai’s. He cares a lot for his friends, his younger brother Takeru, and Sora the most. However, his relationship with her had been strained, and he had been the keeper of many secrets, one of them that Gennai happened to discover right before his death.

Taichi

Having a knack for business and working with people, Gennai entrusted him as the CEO of his publishing company, but admittedly there were some decisions they clashed over, including some that Taichi may have made without rationalizing. He had even confessed at one point that he had never read any of the books. Rumors flew around before the party that Gennai had taken the CEO title away from him.

Mimi

Outspoken and sincere, Mimi was the main cheerleader in helping Gennai succeed. She was also an advocate in helping fund the Chosen’s education, most recently Hikari’s path to become a teacher. This encouraged her to try out her own endeavors in cooking, fashion and lifestyle. Little did she know, Gennai may have seen right through her with where that money was really going. Also, Sora never really liked her.

Attendees of Loose Suspicions 

They were all at the party, too; but should we really suspect them?

Miyako

Always overshadowed by Mimi as the life of the party, but she always got along with everyone. The Chosen were her second family, but she was sad when finding out that Ken rejected her invitation to Gennai’s gathering. Miyako was the one who discovered Gennai’s body, after being asked by a hungover Sora, who usually checked on him every morning otherwise.

Hikari

She was proud of her older brother for handling a company with such high stakes. When she talked about her dreams of becoming a teacher, she initially refused Mimi’s persistence to ask Gennai for help to fund her for education, but she eventually gave in and promised to pay him back, to which Gennai declined. Hikari left that party early to hang out with her university friends.

Iori

The most reserved and quietest of the bunch, but will speak up when it matters the most. He’s had to listen to every casual conversation and every tense argument between the Chosen, as well as any angry words directed toward Gennai, in private or not.

Takeru

He had left the party early as well, except he had stormed out of Gennai’s office in anger. No one knew the reason, save for the words Iori had caught Takeru shouting while he sat nearby. As an aspiring writer himself, Takeru had always felt that special connection with Gennai, but he constantly felt the pressures of being in the shadows of Gennai’s success.

Meiko

The nurse and close friend of Gennai. As a Chosen Child herself, she was hesitant to approach Gennai’s mansion when she heard that he was looking for a caregiver. The others were always nice to her, especially Takeru whom she found comfortable to talk to the most; but Gennai was the only one she truly felt accepted her as his own.

What about Jou?

In addition to becoming the doctor of the group, he was Gennai’s most trusted friend and only witness to the signing of his will. He chose not to attend that party after knowing that Gennai had made some adjustments to his will; and as he sat in front of the Chosen Children and opened that sealed envelope, he took a deep breath from the weight of the knowledge, knowing that the words he was about to read would cause all hell to break loose.

BONUS:

Who is Nana? I have one line for you:

“Ohhh I like to talk to them, too!”

“Takeru? Are you back already?” 

I’ve said too much. 

[soratakenouchie]

The Aftermath

Chapters: 1/1 Warning: Kizuna Spoilers-ish Relationship: Sora/Yamato Characters: Takenouchi Sora, Ishida Yamato, Yagami Taichi, Kido Jou Words: 3,482

Notes: Inspired by a what if: what if the reason why Sora decided to not fight anymore wasn’t only for her moving into adulthood. 

To @takerusfedora. Thank you so much for your help! If it weren’t for you this fic wouldn’t have been possible. 

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Sora never imagined that realizing the end of her relationship with Yamato would come in the form of a message. A text message from Taichi, to be more specific. 

It’s nothing special, just a “can you go to the bridge?” and she knows that it’s about a Digimon. The thing is, the one who always contacted her in those cases was Yamato. 

She made it clear when they started to get more Digimon appearing in the human world, that she was busy, and to only contact her when there was no one else who could go. She told them to think of her as the last option and Yamato, as the understanding boyfriend he was at the time, offered to do that. He also said that if he could, he would go himself, so Sora wouldn’t be troubled. 

So the times when she was actually required to go were few and far between, but now… well, she needs to start getting used to the idea that she won’t have any help from now on. Because now she doesn’t have a boyfriend who can give her a most-needed hand, no. 

Now, she only has herself and the text messages from her friends, announcing that they need her help.

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There’s a stitch in her heart as she reads Hikari’s message in the group chat. She's planning a meetup. Apparently, it has been two months since their last one, and Sora hadn’t even noticed. It really feels like it hasn’t been that long, but she reminds herself that it doesn’t feel that long to her because she’s used to seeing Yamato on a daily basis. And seeing Yamato was basically like seeing the rest. 

She’s not sure if she’s ready to confront him. They haven’t seen each other since their last encounter when they—or more like she, decided to end their relationship. It was something that needed to happen anyway since both of them were pretty much going opposite ways. 

That of course doesn’t mean that it didn’t hurt, because Sora has a hard time remembering the last time she cried the way she did that day when, with a sincere smile, wished Yamato good luck in whatever comes next for him. And he wished her the same because they were—still are, good friends.

Or at least that’s what she likes to tell herself.

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At the end she goes to the meetup because she has to, and also to prove to herself that she’s stronger than she first thought. Also because she may or may not have promised that she won’t make things awkward between them and their friends. 

It was basically the first point they mutually agreed in their breakup talk, and she’s complying like the responsible adult she believes she is.

Too bad Yamato excused himself for that day. He doesn’t come to the meetup. She assures herself she’s not mad—ha, she might be happy about it. At least now she won’t have to pretend that she has any desire to talk to him. 

Because, in case it wasn’t clear, she doesn’t. It’s not because she hates him. Quite the opposite. It's because this thing about them being friends hasn’t been working at all. And she’s okay with that, at least at the moment, because she’s giving herself enough time to grieve and she’s almost sure that Yamato is doing the same.

They’re meeting up in a new coffee place that recently opened near Taichi’s job. He said the place looked amazing and wanted to try it with them. And the invitation was a total success, almost all of them are there, even Jou took some time from his busy doctor—resident, Sora, I’m not a doctor yet—schedule to be with them, against all odds.

That surprises Sora, and she waves hello.

“Sora!” He greets her back, “I didn’t expect to see you here.” He takes off his gray scarf and takes the seat beside her. 

What she didn’t expect is for him to have thought that way.

“I don’t know why I wouldn’t be here!” she replies half smiling, half curious. “That should be my line, don’t you think?"

He briefly smiles and shakes his head.

“Well, you know... “ he starts nervously, “Yamato told me about you two and I thought…” He looks away, to the front more specifically, where Hikari and Takeru are making their entrance. “I thought you wouldn’t want to be here,” he finishes, and Sora has to add that to the list of things she didn’t expect that day. It’s increasing at a surprising speed.

“He’s not here.” Jou turns to look at her with wide eyes. “And even if he was, there’s no reason for me to avoid this meetup.” Even if I was just thinking of doing that an hour before coming here.

Jou weights her answer and nods once, twice and then, sighs. Sora is just there watching him, not knowing how to interpret whatever is happening.

“I’m sorry” he apologises, “I shouldn’t have said that to you as soon as I saw you.”

Sora downplays what he’s saying with a gesture of her hand.

“Don’t worry” she simply says. And please don’t make it more awkward she wants to add but decides against it. There’s no need to complicate it even more.

What she can do is ask him how he’s doing in medical school, and is about to do that when Taichi appears out of absolutely nowhere. She jumps a little after his hello.

“You two have been enough time alone,” Taichi says in a jokingly serious tone. “Koushiro said that he only has an hour and a half for us, so it’s better not to waste time.”

“I heard that!” Koushiro screams from the otherside of the room and the three of them laugh. 

Sora follows Taichi's steps and decides that she shouldn’t be overthinking the situation. She’d expected Yamato would have already told one of them about the break up. She didn’t expect that would be Jou, but that was a thought for another day. What she needs to do now is just relax, enjoy their time together, and stop thinking of avoiding them again.

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Except that’s exactly what she’s doing. Taichi’s is on the other end of the phone and she’s making her best effort so her excuse will sound believable. Okay, what she’s saying is not a complete lie because she is, in fact, very busy with her classes and helping her mom in the academy. The only thing that’s actually a—small?—lie is that she doesn’t have time to see them.

Because she has time, she just doesn’t want to spend it with Yamato.

And of course this time Yamato is going along with whatever plan they, or more like Taichi, has in mind. Taichi who suddenly wants to talk to them. Taichi who probably already knows about their breakup. 

Taichi who is making it impossible for her to refuse his plan. But if he’s stubborn, she’s even more so.

“Look, Taichi, for the twelfth time” she starts, patiently, “I can’t go for dinner with you and Yamato.” She expects that now that she's specifically said their names and their plan he would understand.

“Is dinner, Sora, and you always have time for dinner!” He retorts. “So stop making excuses because honestly, that’s not like you.”

Ugh, why is Taichi so… Taichi. 

“I was just planning on eating a sandwich while working.” And maybe eating a gallon of ice cream. Most likely.

“Sora, don’t be stubborn. You can’t avoid him—us,” he corrects himself quickly, “forever!”

And there it is. She knows what all of this is, although she admits he almost convinced her, but now that she’s sure that this is not about Taichi having dinner with them but about her confronting Yamato, she can’t help but feel a little betrayed. 

She’s unaware of how much Taichi knows about their breakup, but she really doesn’t have any desire to talk to him and Yamato, about how things shouldn’t be different because they’re still friends. She already knows that, but a little time to readjust her feelings doesn’t kill anyone.

“I appreciate what you’re trying to do but trust me, I won’t be the best company.” She hears him sigh dramatically. “Besides, I don’t think Yamato would appreciate it if I make a surprise appearance, don’t you think?”

“So you knew?” Taichi has the decency to sound ashamed.

She smiles.

“I have known you for almost 20 years, Yagami Taichi.”

"It was since the first hello, right?” She’s now laughing. “Dammit!”

She continues laughing and it doesn’t take him long to follow her. She hopes that after this conversation, he will stop trying to make things easier between Yamato and her.

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Or not…

Damn you, Yagami Taichi! 

She texts him quickly after finding herself alone with not other but Yamato Ishida. She’s so going to kill him.

Her phone buzzes soon after her text is sent and she’s waiting for a reply, but to her surprise, she’s getting a call. Well, if he wants to hear her screaming, she’s gonna give him that.

She’s about to tell him what’s in her mind but he goes ahead of her.

“It wasn’t my idea!” And that statement baffles her. 

So, she recaps her morning. 

She had breakfast with her mom, they talked about the very imminent, very important, very big event to take place in the Ikebana academy—don’t forget it, Sora!—. Then she checked her phone that for some mysterious reason had been buzzing non-stop since she sat with her mom. 

There’s a lot of messages that she didn’t bother to read, is not like they were talking about something she wasn’t aware of anyway, and scrolled until the last one. Nothing in the last text told her that there was an important conversation happening so she left the phone in her desk to do more productive things.

An hour or two went by when she decided that the insistent light of her phone telling her that there was something she needed to see couldn’t be ignored anymore. So she went directly to the group chat, again, but noticed that it wasn’t the general chat the one that was having activity, but the smaller one. The most personal. The one that only Taichi, Yamato and her were part of.

It took her more time than necessary to just click on it and check whatever conversation Yamato and Taichi were having, and even more to read and not merely look at the letters and words. They were planning on meeting that very same afternoon and that would be great if they weren’t talking about it where Sora could see —read and be aware of— what they were saying.

It was like a big joke that she wasn’t part of but somehow needed to witness. 

She wanted to mute the chat and just went with her life but something inside her was almost screaming that that would be unfair. She could still perceive the nostalgic tone in the conversation and it was like a punch in the face.

She could have ignored them, that was the logical step. But Sora must have had lost her dear friend logic, when she wrote “I’m going too” that was quickly replied to with a thumbs up emoji from Taichi and a simple “good” from Yamato. 

They ended up talking about plans and places and even shared some details about their college life. It was easy, so easy... that Sora forgot that it shouldn’t be.

.

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The minutes go by and the silence that she and Yamato submerged themselves into as soon as Taichi explained what really happened, is suffocating. Apparently, as much as it looked like it, Yamato’s big idea wasn’t planned at all and the conversation in their personal group chat was real and honest. 

They did want to meet, the three of them, what they didn’t expect was for Sora to agree. So Yamato didn’t hesitate to use this opportunity to have some time alone with her. That’s why he told Taichi to give them some time to talk before joining them.

She hears Yamato sighing and she can’t help but sigh as well. This is the most uncomfortable she has been since she got her period on a tennis match when she was fifteen. At least at that time she was sure she wouldn’t see the audience again, and that’s something she can’t assure will happen with Yamato. 

Because they will see each other, forever —that’s pretty much one of the most certain things in her life.

He opens his mouth in an attempt to talk, but then closes it again and crosses his arms. Sora is having none of it.

“Come on, you were the one who wanted to talk” she says with an almost irritated tone, “so don’t hold back and speak.”

He looks at her in the most Yamato way. As in, clearly telling her that he already knows that and she doesn’t have to repeat it, because he’s gonna do it, in a minute or two.

“I know that, but thanks for the reminder.” He’s using sarcasm and Sora is… confused to say the least. Why is he getting annoyed?

Who would have thought? Three months without talking and suddenly she can’t understand him anymore.

—except that that’s a lie. Because it’s obvious why he’s irritated: he’s afraid. He’s afraid of the aftermath of this conversation, and that’s almost endearing. At this point he shouldn’t be afraid of what will happen with them, the worst already happened when their relationship ended.

She’s aware that it was too much to ask to just go back and be friends, there’s a lot of baggage between them. Fucking hell, this man was her first… everything, and she also was his first. There’s nothing wrong with having time apart, especially when there’s a lot of obvious and unnecessary feelings between them.

And maybe she also needs to remind these things to herself as well. It’s just that, it’s hard. And Sora doesn’t like to admit it, but she’s hurt, even if it was her idea to end the relationship. 

But she still loves him—God help her because she does.

She’s absorbed in her thoughts and feelings when Yamato decides to talk again, that’s why she doesn’t hear what he says.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She asks with honesty but instead of answering, he rolls his eyes. A simple gesture that angers her. “Listen, if you’re gonna act like that…” 

He interrupts her immediately.

“I’m not acting in any way, you’re the one ignoring me!” She snorts and that makes him stand up, shaking his head. “I’m gonna call Taichi and tell him that it’s not necessary for him to come. I’m going home.”

And after saying that, he walks out and leaves her there alone. She’s in shock, she wasn’t ignoring him, she was fucking thinking of how much she still loves him! So against all of her beliefs and all she is, she goes after him.

It doesn’t take her much to find him and for the first time, she’s thankful that Yamato is a slow walker, which used to annoy her when they were dating. But there’s not time to be thinking about that.

She calls his name and he doesn’t hear her the first time, or the second, not even the third or the fourth. The fifth time, he turns to see if she’s really the one calling him and stops when he notices her running towards him. This would be a perfect movie moment, except that she’s not gonna throw herself into his arms and passionately kiss him.

Even if that’s exactly what she wants to do.

Sora stops a few steps in front of him and raises her hand so he gives her some time to take air. She really needs to start exercising again, that wasn’t even a long run! He looks at her a little concerned, even more surprised, but waits for her to talk.

“Thank you for stopping!” 

“Sora…”

“I know, I know.” No time to beat around the bush, get to the point. She takes some more air and...

“It hurts to see you” … she opens her heart to him.

He doesn’t expect that. It’s all written in his face, in the way he’s clenching his jaw, in the way he’s looking at her. With that sentence, she pretty much explained her absence in the group chat, or any meetup they’ve had. 

She can see that he’s also confused. There’s a “well, you were the one who decided to end it”, dancing around them and growing by the second. And yes, she’s aware of that, thank you very much, but that doesn’t mean that she has stopped feeling.

Yamato nods in understanding and Sora smiles a little, thanking him for not making questions.

“Is the same for me,” he whispers after a while, and Sora can feel a hole expanding all over her chest.

She can’t help but ask herself if she did the right thing. To her defense it really felt right at the time, and she’s sure that after this encounter it will feel right again. Even if everything inside her is screaming otherwise.

So she does her best to silence every voice and just end all of what’s happening between them.

“I understand, and that’s why I decided to take a step aside. Not everyone has to know, besides it’s true that I’m busy with the academy and my studies so it really is natural…” She stops when she notices she’s babbling, and also because Yamato is looking at her with such a confused expression, it’s almost comical.

She takes a deep breath, and starts again.

“What I’m trying to say, is that I’m not gonna be around that much. They need you more than they will even need me.” And I’m sure you also need them, she doesn’t say it but it’s implied. “Of course I’m gonna be there when it’s extremely necessary but all I’m asking now is time. Alone, with myself.” Please let me forget you.

He nods clearly not knowing what else to say, she made it all clear so honestly, why would he refuse? She knows she’s being selfish, but this is maybe the first time that she’s putting herself first over anything.

Even the love of her life.

“I just have one question,” he says after a minute, she nods for him to continue. “Can we at least have this afternoon? I don’t really think Taichi’s coming.”

“But you said…”

“No, no, what I said it’s true, he was coming but,” he shakes his head, probably realizing that it's better to show than to explain, and gives his phone to Sora. “Look.”

Sora takes the phone with a confused face. She looks at it and what she finds doesn’t surprise her a little; is Taichi’s Instagram, making it clear that he’s already entertained, because he’s about to watch a movie with Hikari and Koushiro. 

She can’t help it, she laughs and Yamato laughs with her.

“Guess is only the two of us then,” she says and she really has to admire how composed she sounds saying that.

“Just like the old times,” is his answer and she would agree except that is nothing like the old times, because they’re not gonna end the day in his apartment. But they do end it in her building, when it is past ten. 

After deciding to spend the afternoon together, Yamato takes her to a new place some of his classmates recommended to him. They resolve to eat there and, to Sora’s surprise, Yamato asks for a beer. He almost never drinks in front of her but maybe that was his way to tell her they’re friends.

As strange as that sounds.

Later, when they finish eating, he invites her to walk around the city. Yamato is surprisingly talkative —maybe the alcohol, Sora thought—, and confesses that he’s still indecisive about his future path. Sora can relate a little, although she isn’t indecisive about her future, but about how to leave her past behind.

He offers to take her home after she casually spurts that it’s getting late. He says he has his motorcycle with him and she refuses at first, but if she’s honest, she really wants to ride with him for the last time.  

And now they're there. She’s not gonna invite him to take tea with her mom or tell him that she’s gonna call him later, before sleeping.

Even so, they joke about what they would be doing if they were still a couple and maybe that’s why, when he closes the distance and kisses her like he always did, she doesn’t refuse him, quite the opposite, she kisses him back harder. 

Because it has the feeling—and taste, of a last kiss.