#so i went to see what all hikari was up to

[foreveratemu]

"Who me?"

[in-class-daydreams]

Imagine Sen begging ex-husband Gojo, "Please don't tell mom!"

"Why is there a huge wolf in your dorm?" Satoru asks, bewildered.

Satoru was on business at the Kyoto school when he stopped by the dorms to visit his son. He got more than he bargained for.

To their credit, Naoki Zenin and Hikari Higuruma don't cower at the prospect of the famed Gojo Satoru catching them red-handed.

"She approached us while we were camping," Hikari explains. "We were cooking some meat and she came up with her ears pinned back and whined for some."

Satoru eyes the 150-something pound wolf. "That doesn't explain why it's indoors. And wolves went extinct in Japan more than a hundred years ago. And why is it that big?"

Sen and Nao hugged the creature around the neck. Sen says, "We think she's pregnant!"

"Still doesn't answer any of my questions."

Their line of conversation gets cut short by Satoru's phone ringing. He checks the caller ID.

"It's your mom," he tells Sen.

"Don't tell her! Please, dad, she's going to beat my ass!" Sen begs.

Satoru chuckles. "Oh, I know." He answers the call. "Hey, what's up?"

The four of them wince when your voice booms through the speaker.

"WHAT'S THIS I HEAR ABOUT SEN BRINGING A LIVE WOLF INTO THE DORMS?" you shout.

"How'd she know?" Nao mutters.

"I know it sounds bad, but--"

You cut your ex off. "Put Sen on the phone!"

Knowing that there was no escaping unless they wanted you to come down here yourself, Satoru gingerly hands his son the phone. While you have a full-volume rant about rabies and mauling and animal-borne diseases, Satoru holds up a finger and mouths, "Wait here."

He teleports away while Nao and Hikari pat Sen on the shoulder in solidarity. Hikari is about to tell Sen that he can take you off of speaker until she looks down and realizes you're not on speaker at all. You've just got the lungs of a drill sergeant.

"--rely on limitless to prevent yourself from getting bitten? Wild animals are not pets! What if there's-- Satoru, what are you doing here? I..." The trio listens with anticipation when you trail off and they hear Satoru saying something unintelligible to you.

The audio goes muffled, as if you'd put a hand over the speaker. You and Satoru exchange heated (on your side) words until you stop and huff. Then one thing from Satoru reaches the trio's ears.

"Just let me handle it. Please?"

They can feel your glare through the phone.

"You think you can just come here and bat your lashes and give me that wet puppy look and I'll cave?" you say incredulously.

"Yes. And, well. You know."

You huff and the line goes dead. A moment later, Satoru reappears.

"I've never heard anyone talk her down like that," Sen says in wonder.

Satoru shrugs. "It's a learned skill. I just showed her this picture." He hands them a polaroid.

The color is faded, but the paper is still in mint condition. Someone seemed to have taken great care of it. It reads "September 2005" and it depicts somewhere that must be the Tokyo High dorms. Satoru's visage is unmistakable, what with Sen looking exactly the same. The only difference is more babyish features, his hair, and the round sunglasses.

You looked much the same back then, too. Maybe a bit less tired-looking and with a bit more mischief in your eyes than Sen had ever remembered seeing growing up, but it was still you.

And sitting on the bed, surrounded by empty filet-o-fish wrappers strewn all over your bedroom floor, being hugged from either side by your teen selves, is a fully-grown grizzly bear.

~

Thanks for reading!

Click [here] to keep up with ex-husband Gojo and his estranged family | Ask stuff about Sen and the fam [here]

Hi, everyone! I'm back! Sorry, I was worried I was posting too much before and then I lost a little inspo. I've been having doubts about my Sen work, so I took a little break. Thank you for your support and kind words! It meant a lot! (And to the anon's who asked about reader's burn many moons ago, I haven't forgotten you, I'm just trying to do her injury justice in the fic for it.)

[lev1hei1chou]

When their child wants a sibling

Dad!Gojo x reader, Dad!Nanami x reader Genre: Fluff Masterlist Requests open!

GOJO SATORU

"Mommy, can I have a sibling?" your five-year-old daughter, Hikari, asked as she plopped down next to you on the couch, her eyes wide and hopeful. You were in the middle of reading a book, and the sudden question caught you off guard.

Gojo, who was lounging on the other end of the couch, immediately perked up. "A sibling, huh?" he mused, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "That sounds like a great idea."

You shot him a look. "Satoru, we need to talk about this first."

"But Mommy," Hikari interrupted, "all my friends at kindergarten have siblings. I'm the only one who doesn't."

You sighed, closing your book and putting it aside. "It's not that simple, sweetheart. Having a sibling is a big responsibility."

Satoru scooted closer, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "She's right, Hikari. It means sharing your toys, your room, and your parents' attention. Are you ready for that?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yes! I promise I'll be the best big sister ever. I can even help take care of the baby!"

You looked at Gojo, who was trying to not laugh. "Well, I suppose we can think about it."

"Yay!" Hikari cheered, jumping off the couch and running around the living room in excitement.

Gojo leaned in and whispered in your ear, "Looks like we're in for some fun times ahead."

Later that evening, after Hikari had been put to bed, you and Gojo sat in the kitchen, sipping tea. "Do you really think we can handle another kid?" you asked, looking over at him.

"Of course we can," he replied confidently. "We're a great team, and besides, Hikari will make an awesome big sister."

You smiled, feeling reassured by his words. "I guess we could start trying."

Gojo's grin widened. "That's the spirit! And, you know, the trying part is the most fun."

You rolled your eyes but couldn't help laughing. "You're impossible, Satoru."

A few weeks later, you found yourself in the same spot on the couch, Hikari sitting on your lap this time, telling you all about her day at kindergarten. Your husband was, as usual, lounging next to you, pretending to be deeply interested in a magazine.

"Mommy, did you and Daddy think about what we talked about?" Hikari asked suddenly, looking up at you with her big, innocent eyes.

You exchanged a glance with Gojo, who gave you a slight nod. "Yes, we did," you said. "And we decided that we're going to try to give you a sibling."

Her face lit up with joy. "Really? When?"

"Well," Gojo began, putting down his magazine, "it might take some time. Making a baby is a little complicated."

Hikari frowned, clearly not understanding. "But you can do it, right?"

Gojo chuckled. "Yes, we can do it. You just have to be patient, okay?"

"Okay!" she agreed, and then ran off to play with her toys.

You turned to Gojo, who was trying to suppress his laughter. "You're enjoying this way too much," you said.

"I can't help it," he replied. "It's just so cute seeing her so excited."

Days passed, and Hikari kept asking every now and then about her future sibling. Every time, her dad would give her some humorous yet evasive answer, like "We're working on it," or "These things take time."

One day, you and Gojo sat Hikari down for a serious talk. "Baby, we have some news for you," you began, holding her small hands in yours.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"Mommy is going to have a baby," you announced, watching her reaction closely.

She gasped, her face lighting up with excitement. "Really? I'm going to be a big sister?"

"Yes, you are," Gojo confirmed, ruffling her hair. "But remember, it means you'll have to be very patient and very helpful."

"I will! I promise!" Hikari declared, hugging both of you tightly.

As the months went by, she was true to her word. She helped pick out baby clothes, decorated the nursery, and even tried to learn how to change diapers on her dolls. Gojo, ever the doting husband and father, made sure you were comfortable and happy, always ready with a joke or a warm hug.

One evening, as you all sat together in the nursery, she looked up at you and Gojo and said, "Thank you, Mommy and Daddy, for giving me a sibling. I can't wait to meet them."

You smiled, tears of joy in your eyes, and pulled her close. "You're going to be the best big sister ever, Hikari."

Gojo wrapped his arms around both of you, his voice soft and full of love. "And we're going to be the best family ever."

NANAMI KENTO

The sun peeked through the curtains, casting a warm glow across the room where Nanami and you lay snuggled in bed on a lazy Sunday morning. The peace was interrupted by a small figure bouncing into the room with unmatched enthusiasm.

"Mama! Papa! Wake up!" Your energetic four-year-old, Haruto, exclaimed, jumping onto the bed.

Nanami groaned playfully, his arm draped over his eyes. "Haruto, it's too early for this much energy."

You chuckled, sitting up and ruffling Haruto's messy bedhead. "Good morning, champ! What's got you so excited?"

Haruto grinned widely, his eyes sparkling. "I want a little brother or sister!"

Nanami lifted his arm and squinted at Haruto. "What?"

Haruto nodded enthusiastically, his hands gesturing wildly. "Yeah! I want someone to play with!"

You exchanged a surprised glance with Nanami before bursting into laughter. "Oh, sweetheart, where did that come from?"

Nanami sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Haruto, having a sibling is a big responsibility. Are you sure about this?"

Haruto nodded again, his determination unwavering. "Yes! Like in the storybooks!"

Nanami looked at you, a mix of amusement and disbelief on his face. "Well, I suppose we should consider it."

You smiled at Nanami, silently agreeing that it was a discussion worth having later. "How about we start with breakfast, and then we can talk more about it, okay?"

Haruto nodded eagerly, already bouncing off the bed and heading towards the kitchen, his request seemingly forgotten in the excitement of pancakes.

As you all gathered around the table, Haruto dug into his pancakes with fervor, occasionally pausing to chatter about his favorite cartoon or his adventures with his friends at preschool. Nanami sipped his coffee, occasionally interjecting with a question or a gentle reminder to eat properly and slowly.

After breakfast, while Nanami tidied up the kitchen, you took Haruto to the living room where his toys were scattered about. Sitting down among the stuffed animals and building blocks, you leaned in closer to Haruto.

"Hey, buddy, about what you said earlier..."

Haruto looked up from his toys, eyes wide with anticipation. "Yes, Mama?"

You smiled warmly, trying to find the right words. "Having a brother or sister is a big decision for us grown-ups too. It's something we need to think about carefully."

Haruto nodded seriously, his brows furrowed in thought. "But Mama, Papa, I promise I'll be a good big brother! I'll share my toys and teach them everything!"

Your heart melted at his earnestness. "I'm sure you would be, sweetheart. We'll talk more about it, okay? Papa and I will figure out what's best for our family."

Haruto nodded again, seemingly satisfied with the answer, and resumed playing with his toys. You watched him for a moment, marveling at how quickly he was growing up. Glancing over at Nanami, who had finished cleaning and was now watching the two of you with a soft smile, you knew you were on the same page.

Later when Haruto was napping after lunch, you and Nanami spoke about what your son had started.

"I never thought we'd be having this conversation so soon," Nanami mused, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on your knee.

You chuckled softly, leaning into his touch. "Kids have a way of surprising you, don't they?"

Nanami nodded, his gaze warm and fond as he looked at you. "I think Haruto would make a wonderful big brother."

You smiled, feeling a swell of love for both your husband and your son. "He really would."

One day, after putting your child to bed, you found yourselves lingering at the kitchen table, a stack of pamphlets and notes scattered between cups of cooling tea. Nanami glanced up from a particularly detailed chart of baby essentials, his expression thoughtful.

"Are you ready for this?" he asked quietly, his eyes meeting yours over the rim of his glasses.

You nodded, reaching across to take his hand. "I think so. Our little one is growing up so fast. It feels like we have so much love to give."

He squeezed your hand gently, his thumb rubbing circles on your skin. "I agree. And he's already so excited about the idea of a sibling."

You smiled, thinking back to the countless times your child had brought up the topic, from drawing pictures of a baby with their older sibling to asking if you could name the new addition after their favorite cartoon character.

[kusakabesimp]

@95lexx requested that I address fandom comments still circulating that Kusakabe is a coward. While this kind of talk has improved since Ch 254 and his fight with Sukuna, it still exists in some circles (sadly, even with some Kusa fans). So, I've compiled as many examples of his courage and compassion as possible throughout the series.

The concept of supposed cowardice can be closely tied to the act of protecting others, especially when the person in question is skilled at concealing their actual intentions and abilities. Instead of rushing into situations head-on, Kusakabe is highly resourceful, using his intelligence to protect others in subtle ways. By appearing cowardly, he turns situations to his advantage, protecting others without drawing unwanted attention to himself.

He Never Runs: Despite repeatedly saying he'll run away, Kusakabe never does. He's very good at convincing himself that he's afraid of dying, (L and M) but there is no doubt that he will risk his own life for those he loves, and those who respect him most know that. In Ch 254, Nanami explicitly states that he supports Kusakabe as a Grade 1 because he's reliable. (R)

When he isn't supporting others on the battlefield, Kusakabe takes charge on the sidelines, adjusting strategies and coordinating the next round of attacks. He's not just there to observe; he's there because he wants to be. If he didn't care, he wouldn't stay.

Protecting Civilians in Shibuya: In Ch 83, Kusakabe and Panda are walking just outside the curtain at Jr Shibuya Station, Shin Minami entrance, sometime between 8:14 PM and 9:22 PM. When Panda expresses concern about the safety of civilians, Kusakabe reveals that he's already checked in on them inside the curtain, despite Nitta's instructions to wait. (R)

He also mentions that there are special-grade curses in the basement of the Hikarie building, (L) which means Kusakabe didn't just go inside the curtain; he also went to Hikarie BF5. Before you assume he just abandoned everyone inside, he explicitly states he made sure there were no curses or curse users in the civilian area. He genuinely cares about their safety but downplays it and casually tells Panda to calm down.

Adding to proof: I believe Kusakabe checked into the curtain between 8:31 and 8:40 -- Gojo entered the curtain at 8:31, Hikarie BF1 at at 8:38, and dropped down to BF5 to fight Jogo and Hanami at 8:40. Kusakabe can sense the special-grades, so he can also sense Gojo. In his mind, Gojo has it handled. He didn't know Gojo was even sealed until almost an hour later. (Full timeline [here on reddit])

— KEEP GOING !! —

Even though Kusakabe swore he wouldn't go back to Hikarie, (R) he does. In Ch 114, Team Kusakabe searches the area between 9:40 PM and 11:01 PM. The search isn't a stalling tactic — the two of them cover about 25% more area in total than Ino's team. (You can see the comparison maps [here on Reddit].)

They eventually circle back to their starting point outside Shibuya Stream, directly across the street from the Hikarie building, and enter the station where they began, at the Shin Minami entrance.

Protecting his Kids: [Miwa:] You all know Kusakabe-Dad and Miwa are my favorite thing in this world; THEY ARE PRECIOUS, AND I LOVE THEM. Even in canon, it's obvious that Miwa is his favorite kid. When he talks about the other sorcerers, Miwa's name always comes first.

And he's very, VERY protective. In Ch 244, he may seem callous when he says there's no point in sending someone to the front lines who will only end up dying, like Miwa, referencing her binding vow.

But really, what he's saying is, "If any of you fuckers even think about sending my daughter into battle, I will fight you myself."

The manga shows just how close Miwa is to Maximum Uzumaki (left). Kusakabe was already on his way across the battlefield. And knowing she was the main target of the spell, he reached her first.

After the dust settles, we see that Miwa has been pushed the farthest back. Though he does save all three, he's clearly placing Miwa's safety above all else. (I will be doing a further analysis of this scene down the road when I discuss New Shadow Style)

[Panda]: In Ch 114, as they search around the upper levels of the Hikarie basement, Kusakabe worries that Panda might wander off on his own. With the special-grade curses still lurking on BF5, Kusakabe feels the weight of the responsibility for his student. But again, he hides his concern behind fear and pretends to be lost.

He knows absolutely nothing about the special-grades' power or CTs. Taking his student, a lower-grade sorcerer, into a fight blind — especially knowing that this group has just sealed the most powerful sorcerer he knows — would be a very dangerous decision.

In Chapter 114, he sets Panda free but tells him to keep it a secret. Maybe he's worried about appearing too soft to other sorcerers, but we know they consider his kindness as his most admirable quality.

He claims it's a way to repay Yaga for helping his sister and nephew, but his prior actions show a deep affection for Panda beyond mere obligation. (If you want more on his sister and nephew, you can read my post [here].)

There are plenty of other examples of his love and protection, but I didn't include every example since he has ten kids.

Protecting Higuruma: This is the most obvious example of Kusakabe's courage in word and action. In Ch 254, Kusakabe anticipates Sukuna's attack on Higuruma and rushes in head-on to support his right flank.

He quickly realizes there's no time to draw his katana (L), so he throws himself unarmed in front of Higuruma, (R) bearing the brunt of the damage. It is hard to see in the picture, but he's actually sliding in front of Hiromi to both push him back and shield him with his entire body, not just his arm. By prioritizing Higuruma's safety over his own, Kusaskabe again proves that his actions are fueled by selflessness, not by fear.

He's also very vocal about this protection. He constantly checks in on Higuruma, organizes support for him, and is ultimately willing to lay down his life to protect this man because YOUR HONOR THEY ARE IN LOVE.

Protecting Cursed Users: In Ch 114, two curse users confront Team Kusakabe, just as the Jogo vs Sukuna fight heads their way. Despite being moments away from potential death, Kusakabe alerts them to the impending collapse and urges them to run for safety.

These were the same cursed users who, just seconds before, were ready to kill him. Kusakabe's actions, even in moments of crisis, demonstrate a concern for preserving life and extending compassion (even to those who intend to harm him).

The Fight with Sukuna: Here, I'm going to focus solely on his courage. If you need a serious, in-depth fighting analysis, you can read my previous posts [here] on his adaptability in combat and [here] on his expert swordsmanship. There was a lot of back-and-forth in Ch 253 that Kusakabe would run away from this battle before it even started. But Kusakabe chose to be there. He made it clear before the fight that only those with RCT and those who wanted to die or didn't mind dying should be the only ones going to confront Sukuna. Some sorcerers didn't go, but Kusakabe did. And he stayed.

He'd already been fighting alongside Higuruma and then with the students as they moved onto the battlefield. Again, although he complains about what he has to do, he still goes to meet Sukuna willingly.

Courage isn't always in grand gestures; sometimes, it's small, subtle actions that show true bravery. Before and during the fight, he drops subtle clues about his willingness to risk everything without hesitation. The one I love: how he holds the katana (my KsHg friends know how much I love him with his katana *drool*

On the left: the last panel of 253. Take a look at his draw hand. (L) When drawing a katana, the sheath is positioned at an angle across the body, and the tsuba (handguard) is aligned with the center of the body. The sword is released from the sheath by pushing up on the tsuba with the non-draw hand and pulling it up and out with the draw hand. The index finger is relaxed until the sword reaches a point where it can be rotated for the cut. There's no hesitation. Even as Kusakabe thinks, "Is this really happening?" he's already decided to fight and is drawing his blade.

In the opening panel of 254, he immediately casts New Shadow Style, prepares to draw two-handed (R), and then continues to draw over and over again in order to deflect Sukuna's slashes. And again, with no hesitation, even after his katana breaks, Our King throws hands with the King of Curses. He knows he doesn't have a chance of beating him, but he's absolutely willing to lay down his life to try.

Kusakabe's deep love for those around him (despite his attempts to say otherwise) is a driving force behind his dedication to protect them. These subtle acts of devotion prove that love itself can be one of the greatest forms of bravery.

WE RESPECT KUSAKABE ATSUYA IN THIS HOUSE

[seventeenlovesthree]

So... Through the course of the movie, we see how the different characters are trying to reason with the task at hand.

Should they defeat the enemy and cause the bonds of humans and Digimon to break?

When I had first watched this scene, my heart was torn into two different sides. On one hand, I was proud to see Takeru be the one to bring up the idea that fighting may not be the right choice. This is Takeru we are talking about - the Takeru who had witnessed his own partner die after defeating Devimon, who had to part ways with him several times afterwards, once after the events of Adventure, then again between 02 and Tri... And also when Patamon got infected and lost all his memories. Last but not least... And this is where I was torn, because I wished, oh HOW I had wished, that he had brought up Yamato at this point. His brother, who had lost his partner merely one and a half years ago... And who had been just as hesitant to fight as him...

Not only that... But the way Hikari is responding, prioritizing the needs of others - a huge number of people to be exact - over her own, is not only very in-character for her... It also mirrors her brother's reaction from one and a half years ago. The only difference being that we're talking about much bigger scales now. The Yagami siblings always understood the need to fight, even if they personally didn't like it...

It's a bittersweet parallel between the siblings and yet... If you know me, you also know how hurt I was by the fact that neither Yamato nor Taichi nor any other of the older Chosen Children had been brought up in this context. Sure, Takeru and Hikari had been drinking over talking about how they had not been available before, but it's just all so heartbreaking. Especially because Hikari and Daisuke in particular make it all sound so easy. "If we choose our bond, our friendship, if we believe in it, it will not vanish" just invalidates a lot of the pain that Taichi and Yamato went through in the last movie. And while I am all for a positive outlook, it still hurts not to know what the heck is going on with the others and how they experienced all of this. It makes sense for someone like Hikari, who has witnessed the loss her brother had to endure, wanting to move on, not intending to let the same happen to herself and the others, but it just feels grim without the contextualization of Kizuna's events. I believe it would not have been as bad if Taichi and Yamato had been mentioned at least once - I understand that this was probably to avoid the idea that people would have needed to watch Kizuna before watching this movie, but still.

[daffodildelight]

Enemies (Part One) | Shuntarō Chishiya x Reader

Title: Enemies (Part One) 

Pairing: Shuntarō Chishiya x fem!reader

Summary: You and Chishiya always had a rocky ‘friendship’ if you would even call it that. But feels get revealed under intense pressure

Themes/Warnings: fluff, guns, season 2 spoilers

Word count: 2500sh

A/N: So unedited, will deal with it later. First ever fanfic lol so please be nice, made this in under 3 hours.

You and Chishiya always had a rocky relationship, you had arrived at The Beach after him but slowly made your way up the ranks. Becoming semi-close friends with the Hatter can do that for you. Since you were making your way up the ranks you began getting close with all the high-ranking members, you got along with most of them except for Niragi and Chishiya. Niragi because he saw you as a piece of meat and you would do all your power to get away from him and Chishiya because in you’re eyes he sees you as a weak little girl.

But your relationship with Chishiya started to change leading up to the 10 of hearts games. He would start to act nicer towards you, making sure you had arrived from your game unscathed or even trying to make conversation with you. You had to admit, it was kind of nice. But you also found this rather confusing so you went to the one person who you could get answers from Hikari Kuina.

You found Kuina sitting in the main bar at the beach, wearing her signature blue bathing suit while chewing on her dummy cigarette. ‘’Now look what the cat dragged in, how are you doing (Y/N)’’ she looked genuine when she says this but you can see a little glint in her eye. ‘’I know you and Chishiya have gotten closer in the past few months and I was wondering if I could ask a question?’’ You tried to sound as neutral as possible but Kuina could always see right through you. ‘’Let me guess, it has to do with our mutual friend Chishiya?’’ she smirked, always right on target.

‘’Yeah, why has he been checking up on me lately? It’s getting kind of weird because it’s not in his personality. Is he trying to use my connection with Hatter to get something? I mean it’s the only logical reason’’ Kuina laughed at your comment. ‘’Only logical reason! I’ll tell you this right now but you can’t repeat this to anyone, he totally has the hots for you.’’ Now it’s you bursting into laughter. ‘’Very funny Kuina, tell me the real reason why.’’. Kuina looks stunned ‘’You know I would never lie to you (Y/N)’’. Giving up on your line of question you left with a ‘’yeah whatever.’’

A few days passed, and tensions are rising within The Beach, you can feel it. Ever since Aguni has taken over from the sidelines things are going from bad to worse. Chishiya seems more in his head than usual. You were hanging out in the bar when suddenly the P.A. went off. ‘’We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for staying at Seaside Paradise, Tokyo…’’ A man with a calming voice spoke on the P.A. Everyone at the bar looked around confused as were you, then the man continues ‘’As a token of our appreciation, we will now commence a game with all 59 participants in the venue…’’ All the TV’s around the room flash with one image which gains everyone's interest. The 10 of Hearts. The Beach is a venue and it’s a 10 of hearts game? You were not looking forward to this. ‘’All participants must assemble in the lobby immediately. The rules of the game will be explained.’’ There was a feeling in your stomach that this game was gonna cause massive problems. So you and everyone else in the bar migrated into the lobby and grabbed one of the many phones on the table to register for the game.

While waiting for all the players to arrive you make eye contact with Chishiya from across the room, none of you pulls away and it was probably the first time you never felt a dislike towards him, instead it was something much different. My focus was pulled away when someone yells ‘’Momoka!’’ and there she was living lifeless on the floor with her orange and white striped bikini knife stabbed into her heart. Being a part of the games you had seen lots of death but watching it be someone who lives in the house as you and has been helping you since you arrived sets a horrible gut feeling within you. A ding rings from the phone in your hands which now gains your attention. ‘’Game, witch hunt. The murderous witch who killed this girl is hiding amongst you in plain sight. The witch role is not limited to women. To clear the game you must find the witch and burn him or her in the fire of judgement. Time limit: 2 hours.’’ Massive roars were held within the lobby and you knew things were gonna go south within seconds. As you were trying to think of a plan to do anything Chishiya carefully grabs you by the arm and walks you away from the group in the lobby without raising any suspicion. He leads you through multiple corridors and rooms before placing you in a wardrobe. ‘’Things are going to turn into shit (Y/N), stay in here and don’t the door open for anyone except me, I’ll get you when this is finished.’’ Chishiya gets up to close the door before you ask: ‘’Why are you doing this? How do you know I’m not the witch?’’.Chishiya looks at you carefully. ‘’Because I need to know that your gonna be safe, and I know your not the witch because your not the type to kill a person (Y/N).’’ He then leaves through the door and you stay in the closet. After around 10 minutes you believe this to be a good idea because you can lot of screaming and multiple gunshots.

After what seems like an hour and a half sitting in a closet listening to screams Chishiya opens the door and pulls you out of the closet. The hallways were full of smoke and dead bodies on the floor. Chishiya takes you to Kuina and you guys make your way to god knows where. ‘’Will someone please tell me what's happening? Who’s the witch? Where’s Hatter and Aguni? Where are we even going?’’ you groaned loudly while walking barefoot into the city. ‘’Everything will be explained to you soonly (Y/N)’’.

You make your way through some ground tunnels until you reach a room with loads of dead bodies and computer scenes. Then you finally explode. ‘’What the fuck is happening!? Someone explain everything to me now! I'm so confused… where are we? Where’s hatter?” Chishiya sits me down and gives it to me straight, how hatter died a few days ago and thats why aguni took over. How Asahi told everyone she was the dealer of the game, and why Momoka killed herself because she was the witch. It was very hard to listen but Chishiya sits next to me and comforts me the best way he knows how. By stroking my hair, it was really nice minus the horrible things he was telling but all that stopped when we heard footsteps coming towards the computer scenes.  Arisu and Usagi walk through the darkness and Chishiya make us known to them. “So you actually found this place. I expected no less from you. Thanks to you two, I have all the numbered playing cards right here. Thank you.’’ Chishiya looks as smug as ever, you can’t help but feel a little bit more attracted to him.

Conversations were exchanged between the four of them, trying to figure out how each person got to the same place, and what even was this place. You tune yourself out of the conversation and decided to turn and sort out your conflicted feelings. Why did Chishiya save you? You don’t have anything to bring to the table, maybe a few hand-to-hand combat skills but that’s it. Why are you even having feelings for Chishiya? This was starting to get very annoying for you but your train of thought cuts out when all the screens turn on and you see Mira walk into the shot. Everyone exchanged confused glances. She goes on to explain how there are going to be new games and these games will be the ‘face’ card games. But it left all of us wondering, when will we ever get back home?

We all make our way into the centre of Tokyo trying to think about the new information Mira has given us. We look out into the streets of Tokyo and see multiple huge blimps with different kinds of face cards on them. One huge billboard with ‘Next Stage: Start’’ written on it. ‘’None of the games has started yet’’ spoke Arisu standing in the middle of the group looking so tired. ‘’Maybe we still have time’’ Usagi spoke next trying to reassure Arisu. ‘’Or they forgot to push the big red start button’’ Chishiya replied, Arisu and Usagi turned around and gave Chishiya a look, and I couldn’t help but give a chuckle. I noticed Chishiya smirk a little. ‘’They didn’t tell us about the rules for this one.’’ Signs Kuina. Everyone in the group continues to look around confused. Usagi looks like she notices something. ‘’What is it?’’ I ask with Chishiya to my right. ‘’I hear something’’ Usagi replies and looks towards the street. We all turn and watch the street with her. Multiple cars approach us, and I recognise them as Beach people. They all hop out of their cars and Arisu goes to investigate. ‘’What is this? What are you doing here?’’ He asks one of the members. The members of The Beach go on to say ‘’We saw the blimps show up, there are rumours that the next stage is starting’’. Arisu getting a little frustrated says ‘’Right… here's the thing’’ Suddenly the members of The Beach are getting shot down.

‘’A riffle, get moving,’’ Chishiya says in a weirdly calm way when people around him are dying. ‘’That thing is an anti-tank rifle. So I’d forget about hiding behind a car.’’ He tells the group. I decided to take initiative for Chishiya at this moment, I grab his arm and we follow Arisu towards some buildings. Chishiya runs ahead of me and covers me with the rifle. When the group meets behind the building Kuina asks ‘’Does this means the game started?’’ Chishiya quickly replies ‘’I don’t know’’. Kuina continues ‘’Did they give us any rules?’’ We slowly make our way around the building. ‘’Without rules this is just a massacre’’ Shouts Arisu. ‘’That rifle can kill from about a kilometre away,’’ Chishiya tells the group, he goes from covering me to holding my waist if not for the adrenaline I would assume my bodies reacting like this because of him. Different sounds now come from the gun. ‘’And now we’ve got an assault rifle.’’ Chishiya continues. We all huddle as a group and give comments about things we are witnessing and ideas on what could be happening. ‘’Maybe there are different shooters’’ Usagi speaks up, ‘’Other players are grouping up, I didn’t know there were this many players left’’ Kuina adds. ‘’There almost here!’’ Arisu shouts and backs away from the mysterious shooter. ‘’Let's go!’’ Arisu yells while taking the group back into the street. ‘’I don’t think this is a good idea Arisu!’’ I yell in hopes he can hear me but the blast from the rifle is too much. ‘’We need to split up’’ Chishiya yells and grabs me by the hand and pulls me from the group.

Chishiya and I start sprinting down the street, hands holding each other while bodies fall all around us. I trip on a rock and Chishiya is there to scoop me up from the ground and we continue running. Hands still interlocked tugging each other towards different directions. I see Kuina from a distance and drag Chishiya with me to catch up with her. Kuina looked grateful that somebody else was with her and the 3 of us crouched behind a car. Kuina looks down and see’s Chishiya and I’s hands interlocked. She gives me a knowing look and I turn around to focus on more important things like Arisu and Usagi running along the opposite side of the road trying to help somebody. I make eye contact with Arisu: ‘’Are you trying to get killed out there!’’ with that comment the gunman takes fire in our direction. I hide back behind the car. My back is up against Chishiya's torso and I can feel his breath on my neck. Kuina speaks up ‘’Where are they shooting from anyway?’’ we then hear a loud rumbling from above us and see the huge blimp with a kind of spade flag hanging below it. ‘’Huh, he must be the king of spades’’ Chishiya tells us he then turns to me. ‘’Take this it’s a good luck charm’’ He gives me a handmade explosive. ‘’Thank you Chishiya, I don’t know what to say’’ I can’t believe Chishiya would give up an explosive for me. ‘’Just use it if you have to.’’ and he gives me a smile. I turn to look away feeling a bit flustered but then I notice a man dressed in a long dark black cloak. I point towards him and direct Chishiya and Kuina towards what I’m looking at. ‘’That must be the king of spades’’ I whisper lightly. Chishiya whispers back into my ear ‘’I think your right’’ I turn around to say something but got caught looking into his eyes. My concentration on his eyes disappears when Kuina spots Arisu, Usagi and some random dead guy in the car next to us. ‘’Hey! You two okay? You hurt?’’ Kuina pipes up, and Chishiya gives them a wave. Shots continue to fire as we hide behind the car. ‘’We’re pinned down here’’ I say loud enough for us to hear. ‘’If we step out, he’ll get us!’’ Usagi replies. All of us try to figure out a plan to get out of there but nothing seems to be working out and the king of spades is getting closer. My train of thought gets broken when I green car that I’ve noticed from the beach before pulls in front of us honking its horn. ‘’Get in!’’ yells Tatta from the passenger seat. ‘’Tatta!?’’ Arisu and I yell in surprise and relief. ‘’Don’t just stand there!’’ someone yells from the driver's seat. ‘’Ann!’’ Kuina yells. Usagi and Arisu are the first to make their way to the car followed by Kuina, me and Chishiya. Ann opens the passenger seat and Arisu, Usagi and Kuina make it safely. Different story for Chishiya and me. A grenade is thrown towards the car door and Chishiya stops me from walking on it. ‘’That’s bad. Get going!’’ He yells towards Ann.

In a split-second decision, I decided to kick the grenade towards the kings of spades will Chishiya grabs my hand and tugged me the other way. ‘’(Y/N)! Chishiya!’’ I hear Kuina yell from the car. Chishiya pulls me behind a car and uses his body to shield me from the blast. At that moment I’m glad that I was stuck with Chishiya because I know that if I had to pick anyone out of the group to survive with it would be him and unfortunately for us, we won’t be seeing the group in a while.

[jhynka]

hobbies/quirks in your relationships - !pre borderlands SUGURU NIRAGI, SHUNTAROU CHISHIYA, HIKARI KUINA

CW: mentions of arguments, intoxication, alcohol consumption

AN: hello to my new and old readers!! since a lot of ppl are reading my fics again since s2 came out here's a lil thingy to celebrate!. Niragi's portion was written for a multi-part fic, but i decided why not make it into a scenario thingy instead of another series i know i wont continue HAHAH, anyway that explains why its longer than chisiyas and kuinas, anwayy happy reading!

SUGURU NIRAGI - never talking about each other romantically unless tipsy enough.

You and Niragi were best friends in the ordinary world. After your office hours together you both often went out to drink or have late dinner together, talking about all the stresses your office jobs offered. Oftentimes, when one of you gets drunk enough, you or he would elaborate on the things you loved the most about the other.

Niragi would boast on and on about how kind and considerate you are, how admirable you are with even such a stressful job and a questionable workplace environment, you never gave up solely on the reason that you just couldn't leave your best friend behind (Possibly also because putting little easter eggs for each other in the games you created was fun. Especially when you see game theorists become mind-boggled on why ‘igarin’ and ‘n/y’ were always written in the corner of some wall in the game). He would talk about how elegant your features were even if it was so late to the point your eyes were fighting to not fall asleep. You on the other hand would disregard these ramblings while you helped him walk home since, knowing him, he would just fall asleep on the street while continuing to talk about you even if you just left him there. However, when you have taken one too many drinks, Niragi wouldn't hesitate to get closer to you just to protect you from the prying eyes and hands of the other men in the bar you both are in. You would just stare at him, simply stating that he was beautiful and that you were in love with him. Of course, he would just attempt to hide the red tint collecting on his face while the bartender present may or may not have given him a signal that you were telling the truth. Just like you, he would help you get home, this time having an arm around your waist to make sure no one tries anything with you. He would grab your keys from your pockets and help you get to bed. If in a certain occasion, have instantly fallen asleep, he would place a kiss on your forehead and sprint out of your home in embarrassment while he locked your door, and hid your keys in a potted plant for you to find in the morning.

SHUNTAROU CHISHIYA - always making lunch for each other

Med school isn't easy for anyone. Internships, tests, lessons, lectures, everything you both had to do always made the days blur together. Your relationship with the Cheshire was getting complicated. Meaningless and unsincere arguments visited and left, leaving you both with tired eyes and frustrated faces. Even with these ups and downs in your relationship, one thing never left and was never forgotten. Food!

With every evening spent restless, there would always be an afternoon after spent with each other, sharing and exchanging Bentos you made for each other the morning before. Though most lunches were spent with the both of you in silence, it was a type of silence where no words were needed since your minds spoke for themselves. Warm mutual understandings of forgiveness, even with no mellow apologies spoken, telepathic i-love-you’s exchanged, all topped off with you-mean-so-much-to-me glances after you both had finished.

The both of you were always tired of the multiple things you had to do, but on days where getting angry was also too tiring, Chishiya would always just let you speak your mind, not even listening to what you have to say since he himself has to fight just to re assure you that he was awake and present (white lies are never wrong in his book).

HIKARI KUINA - teenage-styled sleepovers

Being a high-end fashion designer, dating a casual apparel clerk was never what anyone thought you would end up being in the future, yet here you are with her, having green clay masks on your faces, wearing bathrobes after a ‘spa’ in your bathtub.

With the both of you on your king-sized bed, with snacks cluttering the side tables, and a telephone in the middle of the bed, there was only one thing left for the both of you to do: PRANK CALLLSSS. Though the both of you knew how immature this was, it never bothered the both of you much since it was a nice way to have fun and act as if the both of you were two girls in high school again. Be that as it may, the prank calling was always a 30-minute journey, with most ending with the receiver hanging up as soon as they registered an unfamiliar voice. The two of you always end up on top of one another, not in a sexual manner, but as if you both just want to gaze into each other’s eyes to enjoy the moment with each other.

As you sit on top of her lap, cupping both sides of her face, you lay soft kisses on her lips as she keeps her eyes on yours. Giggles echo around the room as the two of you enjoy the comfort and aura of each other. The fact that you both were at the stage where you are collectively comfortable with each other, was enough to send her to a feeling of bliss.

[hikaritakaishi]

Takari Week 2024 - Day 2: Second Year

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Title: Invisible [Prologue II] (Second Year)

Characters: Hikari Yagami, Takeru Takaishi, Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida.

Summary: It takes time to find our place. And sometimes that place isn't a place, it's someone. And even if the castle falls, we can always put the pieces back together and build it again.

Note: A collection of stories that gives us an insight into Takeru and Hikari's relationship over the years. It was really hard to put all the prompts explicitly in the story, so I tried to metaphorize some of them, in order for them to make sense at the end.

It is composed of two prologues, one for Takeru and one for Hikari, exposing events before 1999. And a final epilogue, summarizing all the feelings exposed in the previous chapters. In the intermediate chapters, we follow all the challenges that a long-term friendship has to face when it becomes a romantic relationship, and how we form solid and permanent bonds with the ones we love the most.

・。。・゜゜・。。・

She waved goodbye to her classmates from the bottom of the street and continued alone to the cluster of buildings where her house was located. It was Friday, finally.

She felt exhausted. Not physically, but emotionally. I mean, physically too, but not as much as emotionally. Her legs felt heavy, but her heart was feeling even heavier. What a suffocating week.

Several trips to the doctor later, and successive hospitalizations over the years made that physical weakness something customary to her. Casual almost. She was breathing heavily. Each step felt like a different kind of torture. And the worst of all, no one could tell her if she is ever going to be perfectly recovered.

Would she ever be healthy?

All of that caused her an almost constant absence at school. Treatments, days she could barely get out of bed, leaving classes earlier because she felt dizzy, tired, exhausted. Was impossible for her to make real friends. She barely knew anyone in her class. It's not like they ignored her, but they simply had no time to create a bond with her. A real connection. It was not something that was allowed to her.

She had no idea what they liked to talk about. What kind of games they liked to play. She felt out of place. Constantly. Most of them had good intentions, they were good kids, and they cared about her. But time. Nothing pays for the time we spend creating something with someone. It is rarely spontaneous. 

Time was cruel. And ironic. Hikari felt that no amount of time would be enough to heal that wound.

“I am home. “

She tried to sound as normal as she could.

“How was school, dear?” Asked her mother as she saw her cross the hallway.

“Great!” She faked a weak smile. “I just have a lot of homework to do.”

“I see. You must catch up the rest of the class. “

“I am trying my best…”

She went to the bedroom she still shared with her older brother and closed the door. She placed her backpack on her desk and sighed. Another day has passed, and no progress has been made. She took three steps back and fell back onto the bed.

Would it ever get better?

・。。・゜゜・。。・

“Hikari! I have a surprise for you!”

Taichi’s voice sounded like an alarm clock to her.

She was at the dinner table finishing some schoolwork when he approached her. He came near her and stood by her side, irradiating confidence.

It was a sweet and warm Sunday morning, and she didn't expect her brother to wake up so early. He had football training on Saturday and usually rested until lunchtime on Sunday.

Today was not the case.

Taichi had woken up early and she had heard him on the phone with someone shortly after waking up. He wasn't exactly… careful with the noise he made or the tone of voice he used, so he ended up waking her up unintentionally.

“Guess who's coming to visit!”

She blinked. No idea, she thought. Taichi had so many friends that it was impossible to predict. School friends, football mates, neighbours… unlike her, he had unbelievable social skills.

“Sora?”  She finally guessed. He loved spending time with Sora, so it sounded like a plausible possibility.

“Oh, no, not Sora. Do you have a second guess?”

“Ah… not really.” She looked back at what she was previously doing.

“Yamato!”

“Oh, I see. “She said unsurprisingly.

 Yamato was a regular visit as well; he often came to play with Taichi or do some homework. Although they had some conflicts in the past, it seems that now they have learned to be best friends and support each other in every possible conceivable way.

“…and… Takeru is coming along!” 

“Really?” She got up from the chair where she was sitting. “Is he really coming?” Her eyes were like stars, bright and clear.

“Now I captured your attention!” Taichi let out a genuine laugh of delight before continuing. “They are coming after lunch. Me and Yamato have some homework to do together, and since Takeru is in Odaiba, we thought that it would be nice for you two to see each other again.”

“I don’t see him since… “

“Yes, I know. I am glad you still remember him. And I can see your enthusiasm!”

She never told anyone about it, but Taichi knew how hard it was for her, not to be able to make friends. He knew how wonderful his sister was, and he knew how cruel life had been to her. She was kind, honest, and caring, she just needed an opportunity. She just needed to be seen for who she really was.

And how could she forget about Takeru?

Everything that happened was still fresh in her memory.

The laughter, all the tears, the fear.

The way they had to act like a team to survive. The way he did not let her down and cared for her, even though he barely knew her at the time. They clicked so naturally. It had never happened to her before. Time did not mean a thing for them. 

But did he remember her, the way she remembers him?

・。。・゜゜・。。・

“So…” She said shyly “Do you want to solve a puzzle or build a castle with some blocks?” 

“Oh, I love building blocks!”

“Great, me too!”

Despite everything that happened, they were still kids. They were still nine-year-olds. Who wanted to play, to laugh together and to forget their problems that seemed bigger than them.

“So, you decided to build a castle!”

Taichi’s voice sounded loudly in the living room. He looked like he had come to get something to drink from the fridge. He was in their parent’s small home office with Yamato doing schoolwork.

“Do you want something to drink as well, or to eat? It will not take us too long to finish but you can have something now if you want.”

They shared a look.

“We can wait for you!” Takeru said.

“Yes, we can wait!” 

Taichi smiled and went inside the room again.

He felt very content. Hikari never brought a friend home to play. And he was overjoyed by that little achievement of hers. It finally seemed like she was enjoying sharing a moment with someone.

Some time had passed, and they had made a lot of progress on that castle. It was almost as tall as them.

“Oh…”

Takeru couldn't say anything more; after touching one of the blocks at the top of the castle and seeing them all fall to the ground, one by one.

He blinked nervously and looked at her in the eyes. He had screwed up, he thought.

“I… am sorry, Hikari.”

She smiled.

He couldn’t believe it, but she just smiled sincerely and started to collect the blocks again.  Wasn’t she even a little upset? After all the effort they put into building that castle.

“It’s ok.” She said after a few seconds. “The base was fragile, you see. If we want to build one that would not tremble so easily, we must focus more on the base next time!”

“Ah… sure.” He answered a little insecure. “But… It was my fault that…”

“Oh no!” She stopped him. “If anything, it was OUR fault. Because we built it together. And we can always re-build it again and again…” She continued collecting the blocks.” Until it’s perfect!”

“You are… right. We can always build it again…”

“That’s the spirit!”

Their brothers, who had heard the blocks castle falling moments before, were near the door listening to the conversation, exchanging the most genuine sights of pride.

They knew that those two kids would grow up to be wonderful adults if they maintained and cultivated that empathetic and caring attitude.

“You know what Yamato… can you please bring Takeru more often?”

“Yes… definitely I will.”

・。。・゜゜・。。・

You can also find it at: Fanfiction.net & Wattpad

[genork-the-fandork]

Resolve

Word Count: 623 Prompt: Fifth Adventure A/N: Local Tri apologist here. (Listen, high school me REALLY loved new Digimon content coming out while she was aware of it.) Anyyyyyyway. There was (1) aspect of Tri that I always took umbrage with, and it was that Homeostasis kinda went "actually, we don't need you." Like what? So Takari is my vessel for standing up to that! LOOK AT THEM GO! @takariweek

"This is weird, right?"

Hikari looked up and over at Takeru, who was sitting on the floor a little ways away. She had been petting Tailmon's hair for… she'd lost track. A while. How long had they been sitting here in silence? A few minutes? Hours? Days? Months? No. It had only been about twenty minutes. Calm down, Hikari.

Her voice was a bit hoarse as she said, "Very."

"I mean. They picked us, right? We're the Chosen, and now they—they don't want us anymore? What kind of sick joke is that?" Takeru had been bent over Patamon, clutching his Digimon partner tightly like a stuffed animal. The poor creature looked so forlorn to see Takeru in such a state. But now, the blond sat up, locking his gaze with Hikari's, blue eyes desperate and widened. "Are they going to do this to all the Chosen? Wallace? The kids in New York? Russia? Mexico? What's fair about that?"

"It's not fair." Hikari's words came out bitter enough that even Tailmon looked surprised. "They can't change our lives forever and then try to reverse it. It's too late. We've been in this for years."

"What can we do? They already don't want us involved."

"We got involved the moment we met Meiko. Whether they like it or not, we're as much a part of this as she is." Hikari glanced out the window. "And we can't just leave one of our own behind."

"Of course we can't." A sly grin appeared on his face. "Daisuke would have our heads if we did."

"Do you think they're okay?" Hikari whispered. "I… I don't like that we don't know where they are."

"I wish we could've been there to help them. We should've been. If we'd been there, maybe we could have used Jogress evolution…" Takeru shook his head. "We're going to help Meiko, and we're going to find them. That's all we can hope for right now."

Hikari couldn't help it—she raised an eyebrow. "Really leaning into that, are you?"

"Hey, it's worked before. Surely it will work this time." Takeru made to stand up, holding out a hand for her. "Shall we?"

"Let's. Maybe by now the 'adults' have stopped going in circles." Hikari took his hand and stood with him, and they smiled at each other. Even more than their brothers, they had always been able to strengthen the other's resolve with minimal effort. Such was the way of being Hikari and Takeru.

"We always need to save them, don't we?"

"I think we always will." 

Hikari let Takeru pull her out of her apartment and toward where the others had surely gathered by now. Their hands remained joined, clasped tightly. She was his anchor, and he was hers. Even as the world, their lives, crumbled around them, they still had each other. As it always had been. As it always would be, Homeostasis be damned.

[leafyaa]

Chapter 8.

"You know Y/n, that Kunikuzushi gives off a weird vibe." Heizou says as he lays on your couch while staring at the ceiling.

"Why?" You question with a confused look on your face. 

"No but seriously I agree with Heizou. You're telling us that that Kunikuzushi guy brought you home after you passed out and then took you on a date but you ran away because you were nervous and then ended up in the hospital because some Fatui attacked you? Your story doesn't really make sense." Sara says, crossing her arms.

"How not? Kunikuzushi brought me home after I fell asleep and he knew where I lived because we've been friends before-"

"Before?" Sara raises an eyebrow.

"Before- Hikari went missing.. You know how I cut off contact with a lot of people because of the fact my mind wasn't in the right state.." It hurts to bring Hikari up but you had to make up something for them to not distrust Kunikuzushi. After all, he did nothing but help you, right? 

Sara and Heizou visibly tense as you bring up your missing daughter again.

"Sorry.." Sara mumbles an apology as she sees your expression sadden.

"It's fine.. Besides, Gorou's team has now picked up the case so I'm hopeful there will be a breakthrough.." You say and smile.

"Yes, let's hope for the best." Heizou says as he puts his hand on your shoulder.

Suddenly someone knocks at your door and you stand up to see who's knocking.

Through the glass window you see a familiar indigo haired man, Kunikuzushi.

He has a bouquet of flowers- wait, those aren't flowers?? You weren't so sure because the glass panel wasn't translucent. 

You open the door with a smile and let him in. He smirks at heizou as you turn around to close the door.

Kunikuzushi plays it off as if nothing happened and hands you the bouquet with not only flowers but also cute Kuromi plushies.

You gasp in surprise and look at the cute bouquet. Sure it was somewhat childish and you were already in your twenties but still, who could stop your love for Sanrio characters? 

While you are silently squealing about your cute bouquet, Sara looks at Kunikuzushi. 

Both of them make eye contact and Kunikuzushi's expression changes into a rather threatening one. Sara cuts off the eye contact and looks back only to see a sweet and caring face. 

"What the fuck was that.." She mutters quietly and gets up from the couch. 

"Oh wait fuck, the curry is ready I'll get it- Everyone sit at the dinner table please!" You put the bouquet on your kitchen counter and run towards the stove to turn the fire off. 

You open the lid and a smell of Curry and potatoes starts coming out. 

"Smells amazing Y/n!" Heizou says as he stares at the pot with curry that is brought by you at the table. 

You open the rice cooker and put rice in everyone's bowl. Then you put some curry in everyone's bowl and  sat down. 

"Thank you for the meal."

Everyone dug in and enjoyed the temporarily peaceful atmosphere. 

That was until Heizou started talking. 

"So Kunikuzushi, how did you and Y/n meet?" Heizou says in an interrogating way, somewhat aggressively mushing his potatoes with a smiling face. 

"Well her friend Kazuha first introduced me to her when she was a first year in middle school while Kazuha and I were second years. But before that I always saw her outside of her house dancing."

"Wait really?" You look up in surprise. 

"Yeah, you were dancing ballet in your front yard and ever since I've seen you I always made excuses to stop by Konda village to watch you dance." Kunikuzushi admits with a cheeky smile. 

"So you were a stalker when you were a kid??" Heizou exclaims, pointing at Kunikuzushi. 

"No I wasn't. I just happened to stop by Konda village when  my mother's car broke down on the way to Taratsuna. I decided to walk around on my own and saw Y/n dance in her front yard... I was mesmerized but then called back by my sister because the car was fixed... Since then I always had an excuse to stop by Konda village... Back then I used to be called Kabukimono... However I changed my name to Kunikuzushi later."

"So where's your sister now?" Sara questions, not noticing how you both tense at the question. 

"She took her own life 9 years ago." Kunikuzushi coldly says as he looks down making his bangs cover his eyes. 

Sara and Heizou look speechless while you try not to cry. 

Kunikuzushi's sister, Shogun, was one of your somewhat close friends back in High school. 

However you still liked her because she was always interested in whatever you were doing. Whether it would be making paper stars, dancing or painting. 

You met her through Kunikuzushi who at first reluctantly introduced you to his older twin sister. She was 14 at the time while you were 13. He did it because the two of you were close to each other so he wanted you to meet his family (except for his moms). 

You can still remember how she was really quiet and didn't utter a word to you. But she observed you and through her facial expression you could see she enjoyed spending time with you. 

But then one day something happened. She committed suicide without leaving any word or note behind. She just did it. 

Oh how heartbroken you were that she just left. But Kunikuzushi was more affected by it than anyone. For the first time his innocent expression changed. It changed into anger. He was furious that she was the 3rd one to leave him. 

It was the year 2046 by then. A lot of shit happened in the year. Eleazar broke out in Sumeru causing lockdowns everywhere (some just for a short period, but others for years), protests were held against the Tenryou police force that seemed to be corrupted and of course the death of Raiden Shogun, daughter of the president Raiden Ei. 

Because of the suicide Ei's mental state took a turn for the worse, causing her to take several bad political choices for her country. 

Firstly, she let the Tenryou commission (which The Tenryou police force were led under) take control of the Government temporarily while she had to step down for a bit, instead of the Kanjou commission or Yashiro commission. 

Secondly Watatsumi prefecture that Raiden Ei has been negotiating with, were forced to become one with Inazuma again as the Tenryou commission had control. But of course the people of Watatsumi didn't let that slide so they stood up and fought against the Tenryou commission, causing a lot of blood to be shed on both ends. 

And lastly Inazuma became a strict and sheltered country for 2 long years as it was let under a 'dictatorship'. Or well that's what you found out when you moved over to Liyue to study. Because Inazuma opened up again in 2048 and just a year later you were accepted in the international university of Teyvat.

In short it was just a big mess at the time.

"I'm going outside for a bit, excuse me." Kunikuzushi says suddenly and stands up to walk outside to your garden. He slams the glass door shut while Sara, Heizou and you watch him leave.

You stand up and gently push your chair against the table.

"I'll go talk to him.."

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Notes:

Yay lore

Anyways, might update less in the coming next few weeks because I got a bunch of test I have to study for as well as 2 exams 😔😔

Summary:

You've dated Scaramouche in your high school and college years but just as you wanted to announce your pregnancy to him he broke up with you without any reason. He left you to be a single mom for 7 years. But now that your daughter has been missing and abducted for a year and you've not been doing well and out of a sudden he showed up into your life again trying to apologize for his past mistakes..?

Taglist:

@swivy123 @kichiyoshi @wwwrizchan @k1t0 @killumeo @pinkdreamerbailifflawyer-blog @samarill @xiaotopia @aqualesha @eattingshits @omoriaddict @mave-in @sketcheeee @xiaossocksniffer @elernity @ohmyfinggod @izukusshuu @divinechicha @arrowximpack @kaoriee @scaramochies @ekriis @rizakari @ahseya

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x31 - Raremon! Assault on Tokyo Bay / The Eight(sic) Digivice

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Chosen Children set course for Odaiba! After much consideration, they promptly went the wrong way and got lost in Shinjuku. There, they made multiple public spectacles, threw all their money at McDonalds, pooped in a child predator's car, and then jumped off a bridge. Thus proving once and for all that children are feral and Jou cannot be trusted to rein them in.

Now, at long last, we're home. Welcome to Odaiba.

We open basically where we left off. After spotting the Chosen Children on Ikkakumon, PicoDevimon reports his finding to Vamdemon using these cellphone gadgets they stole from the Batcave.

Vamdemon: What did you say? Mammon and Gesomon have been killed? PicoDevimon: Yes, sir! The troops that Tailmon brought with her are practically useless! Hehehe-- Vamdemon: WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?!? PicoDevimon: N-Nothing, sir! Vamdemon: In any case, keep searching. Find the Eighth Child! PicoDevimon: Y-Yes, sir! Understood!

The dub is the same, but spicy.

Myotismon: Defeated!? You say those little punks beat Mammothmon and Gesomon!? DemiDevimon: Right! Gatomon really bungled it when she hooked up with those nincompoops. I guess she's no better than the rest of us! Hehehe-- Myotismon: THINK THAT'S FUNNY!?!? DemiDevimon: Of course not, boss! Myotismon: Then knock off the chatter and find the Eighth Child before i lose my patience! DemiDevimon: Aye-aye! Myotismon rules! You'll see!

Most of this works but "Myotismon rules! You'll see!" is a weird thing to say to Myotismon. Don't know what was going on with that line.

I guess the kids split up and headed home after arriving in Odaiba, because we join Taichi and Koromon headed home alone.

Koromon: I wonder if Hikari-chan's over her cold yet? Taichi: When we came back earlier, Hikari remembered what happened four years ago. You don't think she's the Eighth Child, do you?

A valid concern. Showing that this has crossed Taichi's mind; He just didn't want to bring it up in front of the others. You can see the nervousness on his face as he speaks; He doesn't want his sister wrapped up in all this.

In the dub:

Koromon: Gee, Tai. I sure hope that your sister Kari's over her nasty cold! Tai: Me too! You know, it's really weird. The last time we were here, she remembered what happened four years ago. Oh, wow! Do you think it's possible that Kari's the Eighth Child!?

Well, she should be over that cold given that the dub cut that plot point. Kari very specifically did not have a cold when Tai was here last.

In contrast to his Japanese counterpart, Tai sounds excited at the prospect that Kari will be joining us.

Back home, we find Hikari in her bedroom putting out a saucer of milk for the family's pet cat.

Hikari: Here you go, Meeko!

Suddenly, the door opens out in the living room. Her mother Yuuko and father Susumu have returned.

Yuuko: We're home! Susumu: We're back! Hikari: Welcome back, Mom and Dad!

Hikari goes out to greet her parents, leaving Meeko alone in the bedroom. From her low vantage, Meeko is able to spot Hikari's Digivice lying under the bed.

(Did Hikari move it? It was on the living room table last we saw it.)

An interesting note: This is the first time we ever see Yuuko and Susumu's heads. The OVA is shot from a child's perspective, and used the classic perspective trick of only showing the lower bodies of adults.

Hikari: How was Grandma? Susumu: It was nothing serious. She said she fell while walking down a slope and sprained her ankle. She went to the hospital to have it checked out. She'll be out in two or three days.

We know from the OVA that Susumu's an alcoholic. We see him come home late at night, drunk as shit and loudly screaming for his children - Not in a mean or abusive way, he's a jolly drunk, but it's still not good behavior when the kids should be asleep so it turns into a tiff with Yuuko.

True to character, he goes straight to the fridge and pops open a beer first thing when he gets in. While he's talking, Hikari gets him out a glass, which she hands off to him. Meanwhile, Meeko takes Hikari's Digivice and slips outside onto the balcony.

Hikari: That's great! (hands Susumu a glass) Here you go! Susumu: Thank you! (takes a drink and vibrates gleefully as the burning hits his chest) Yuuko: Your grandmother was more worried about your cold, Hikari. Hikari: I think my cold is gone now. Susumu: Oh? Let's see!

Susumu feels Hikari's forehead to test her temperature.

Susumu: Your fever's gone down!

Great news for the Yagami family! And also Meeko is outside making bad choices.

Farewell, Hikari's Digivice. We are at least five stories up. Why are cats like this? Sincerely, affectionate cat owner.

Fun fact about Meeko. So, as Hikari starts to be part of this story, we're going to see more and more about how she's... Hikari has a touch of destiny and holiness about her, even moreso than the other Chosen Children.

We've already seen a bit of it. Hikari, whose name literally means 'light', was the first to receive a Digimon. That Digimon was involved in the event that connects all eight Chosen Children. Hikari's Digimon participated in the event that called them all at... Hikarigaoka, or "The Light on the Hill".

Hikari is a very special child.

Meeko's name is spelled out as ミーコ. It's "Miko" but with a vowel extender in the middle. That's what that horizontal bar is; It's the letter "Vowel of the last letter but longer". ミコ is the katakana spelling for "miko", a shrine maiden who tends to Shinto shrines.

It should probably be translated Miiko for literalness, but that looks super weird. Maybe it's just me.

Also, because Japanese is so gender-neutral with its language, she's never explicitly identified by a gender. However, she has a pink collar, is named after shrine maidens, and has a -ko on the end of her name which is a common naming convention for girls. So there's a lot of signifiers that she's a female kitty-cat.

In any case, Hikari is the light, born to a special destiny, and that cat is her miko. It's a cute little name pun.

Alright, enough about nominal priestesses. The dub continues committing to the retcon that Kari was sick.

Kari: Here, Meeko! (milk bowl) Yuuko: (coming in) Hello, Kari! We're back! Susumu: Is everything alright, sweetie? Kari: Hi! Everything's just fine! (Kari goes out to the living room) Kari: What was wrong with Grandma? Susumu: She took a bit of a fall, that's all. She sprained her ankle when she was out for a walk, but it's not serious. She has to stay in the hospital for a day and she's HOPPING mad 'cause it cuts into her dancing lesson! Kari: That's Grandma! (hands Susumu a glass) Here! Susumu: Thanks, Sweet Pea! (takes a drink and vibrates gleefully as the burning hits his chest) Yuuko: Grandma was worried about your cold and said Daddy should remember your sweater next time. Kari: I feel back to normal now! Susumu: Oh? You look much better, but let's just check to make sure. (puts his hand on Kari's forehead) You feel about as cool as a cucumber!

Again, this is really good. They hit all the important points and also add a bit of spice. Grandma passive-aggressively blaming Susumu for Kari's cold got me. XD

I was totally expecting Susumu to pull out that beer and be like, "Ahh, nothing like a tasty Coca-Cola!" but nope, he gets to drink a beer. I guess alcohol is fine for adults, just not for Adult-stage Digimon.

They also choose Meeko watching helplessly as the Digivice plunges to the earth as the spot for their commercial break cliffhanger, which is hilarious and I approve.

Taichi returns home.

Nobody pays any attention to Meeko sprinting out the front door in a panic.

Taichi: I'm home! Yuuko: Taichi!? Shouldn't you be at camp? Taichi: O-Oh, it got cancelled because of the snow. Yuuko: Snow? Huh, I wonder what's been going on with the weather lately? (notices Koromon) What's that? Taichi: I-It's a souvenir for Hikari! Yuuko: That's very thoughtful of yo--

Suddenly and without warning, Taichi throws himself into his mother's arms and cries. She doesn't understand. She doesn't know what he's been through "at camp today". But we do.

And he got to go home for an afternoon/several months of it, so Taichi got off light. Imagine how the other kids are feeling.

Koromon is seen sitting on the ground while Taichi's hugging his mom, so I think he fucking dropped him.

In the dub, Meeko's dialogue is different. In that she has dialogue. When Meeko races out the door in the original, we hear the bell on her collar ringing frantically. There is no bell in the dub, but she lets out a frantic "MROWR!!!"

Dub Yuuko is much less interested in Koromon.

Tai: I'M BAAAACK! Hi! Yuuko: Tai? Why are you here? Meeko: (whips past) MROWR!!! Tai: Camp was cancelled because it snowed. Yuuko: Snow? Who would have thought at this time of year? The weather's getting so unpredictable these days. (notices Koromon) EUGH, what's that!? Tai: I brought Kari home a present! Yuuko: ...great. Give me your dirty clothes so I can wash them-- (Lost Child Hug Attack)

Poor Koromon. Nobody likes Tai's bunny cabbage.

Taichi throws himself into his mom's arms and cries.

Taichi: Mom.... Yuuko: Huh? What's this all of a sudden? Susumu: What's wrong? Taichi: Dad!

Susumu and Hikari approach. Taichi, seeing his father, lets go of Yuuko and hugs Susumu next. His voice breaking as he says their names.

Susumu looks to Yuuko for explanation but she has no idea.

Yuuko's a little more inquisitive in the dub.

Tai: Mom! Yuuko: Tai!? Did something happen!? Tai: I'm glad you're here. Yuuko: Of course I am. What's this all about, son? Susumu: Oh, is something wrong? Tai: Dad! (switches hugs)

Not a substantial change but still enough to be worth noting. As usual, the dub is more verbose in the quiet emotional moments. It doesn't detract from the scene, however.

Outside, the misadventures of Meeko continue. Another cat makes off with the Digivice, forcing Meeko to give chase.

At the Izumi household, Koushiro's mom is on the phone with a friend or neighbor.

Kae: Yes, that's true. Neighbor: In any case, your Koushiro is such a smart and polite kid. I'm so jealous of you. Kae: Aww! Neighbor: Next to him, my little brats just look picky and selfish! Child: THAT'S MINE!!! (hard smack, followed by another kid screaming and crying) Neighbor: HEY!!! Mizuki, do not hit your little brother! (another hard smack and now Mizuki starts screaming and crying too)

Gee, I wonder where Mizuki learned to be violent. Truly, it is a mystery. This woman has three lines of dialogue over a phone and I already hate her.

Koushiro enters through the front door, announcing himself.

Koushiro: I'm home! Kae: Oh! Koushiro: Camp was cancelled. Kae: Oh, was it?

Koushiro suddenly realizes something and wipes his gloves on his shorts. Or frantically checks his pockets? I'm not entirely sure what he's doing here, to be honest. But he concludes the action by bowing respectfully to Kae.

Kae: What is it? Koushiro: (bows; politely) I'm sorry for worrying you. Kae: (struck speechless)

Then he turns around and goes into his room. As he leaves, we can hear the woman on the other end again, as well as the sounds of even more smacking and more screaming and crying from the two children.

Neighbor: BE QUIET!!! Ahem. (into phone) I'm sorry, hello? Izumi-san? Hello? Kae: Ah, I'm here!

Truly, Kae's son is a model child compared to those two. I can't possibly imagine why.

So, obviously, the dub wasn't going to let the implied child abuse fly, right?

Kae: Really? I'm sure your kids aren't that bad. Neighbor: I'm telling you, you're so lucky to have a boy like Izzy! He's a perfect example of a gentleman, and so smart! Kae: (embarrassed) Ahahaha.... Neighbor: You know, my little rascals are always fighting all the time and never listen to a word I say! Male Child: Mom, tell Billy to give me back my truck! NYEEEEEEEH!!! Neighbor: Franky, don't stick your tongue out at your brother!

Mizuki got gender-flipped in this version. One of the two kids starts crying after their mom yells here but it's not clear which. It's possible she smacked one of them, but there's no hitting sound so probably not.

Then, as Izzy enters, we hear screaming sounds of exertion, like the boys are tug-of-warring over the truck.

Izzy: I'm home! Kae: Izzy? Izzy: Hi, Mom! I came home ahead of schedule. Kae: Didn't you like camp? Izzy: Huh? (ambiguous glove motion) The food was inferior. Kae: That's all? Izzy: (bows) And then it snowed so they cancelled everything. Kae: (struck speechless, shocked Pikachu face; Izzy leaves)

Over the phone, we can clearly hear both boys crying now. Their mom is just... ignoring them now, I guess?

Neighbor: (into phone) They never think about how I feel! I just wish they were as considerate as your Izzy! Kae: Sometimes he's too considerate.

Without the explicit sounds of child abuse happening, it's super ambiguous as to what exactly the boys are now screaming and crying about.

Meanwhile, Izzy and Kae's parts suffer from that thing that happens sometimes in dubs, where the blocking of a scene doesn't fit with the new dialogue. Izzy bows to Kae for seemingly no reason at all, and then she does her stunned face over... the fact that it snowed, I guess?

I have no idea what part of this exchange was "too considerate". This scene is a mess in the dub.

Once he's in his room, Koushiro opens the window to let Tentomon fly in.

Kae: (from outside the door) Koushiro! Koushiro: (panics and ushers Tentomon into the closet) Y-Yes!? Kae: Is anything wrong? Koushiro: Nothing at all! Kae: ...okay....

Kae doesn't enter, but instead uncertainly takes Koushiro's answer. She leaves, going to the kitchen and beginning to boil a pot of water for cooking. Koushiro rifles through his desk for coins then tries to head out the front door, leaving Tentomon in the room.

Koushiro: I'm going to Taichi-san's place for a bit! Kae: !!! (goes back to the hall) Now? Koushiro: I need one of his reference books. I'll be right back!

Koushiro leaves without another word. Kae returns to the kitchen to resume cooking while Koushiro goes to the KaKuetsu Supermart. Not quite what he told his mom he'd be doing.

Kae continues cooking dinner while a TV news report talks about the mysterious events happening around Tokyo, showing footage of Ikkakumon's fight with Gesomon.

Anchor: It certainly does appear to show two kaiju, but are these creatures really kaiju? We're very interested to learn whether they're related to the giant elephant and firebird that rampaged in Hikarigaoka. And now sports! Koushiro: (from the hall, opening and closing front door) I'm home! Kae: Welcome back!

XD TV news is like that though.

In the dub, the convenient fact that Tentomon doesn't have lip flaps when he speaks allows for some extra dialogue from him.

Tentomon: So why can't I use the door? Kae: (from outside the door) Izzy? Is something wrong? Izzy: (panics and ushers Tentomon into the closet) Hide! Tentomon: What am I, a Molemon!? Kae: Izzy, are you alright? Izzy: I'M FINE, MOM!!! Kae: Huh? (walks away uncertainly) Huh.... (Izzy grabs coins and heads to the door) Izzy: Seeya, Mom! I'm going to Tai's house for a while! Kae: Huh!? (goes back to the hall) Right now!? Izzy: Yeah, I'm borrowing one of his reference books. I'll be back in a nanosecond! (Izzy goes to the supermarket while Kae cooks) Anchor: A suspicious lifeform has been spotted in the bay. There's speculation that it is some kind of monster. It's possible that it could be a whale, but it seems very unlikely. There may be some connection between this monster and the giant elephant and bird that attacked a nearby town. Time for sports, starting with baseball! Izzy: I'M BAAAAACK!!! Kae: Dinner's almost ready!

The anchor begins with baseball because, in the footage, a baseball player appears over the word "SPORTS" on the news screen. The dub plays the Major League Baseball theme over it, which on the one hand is a perfect reference but on the other hand we're in Japan. So that's another point of Washingtokyo.

The weird part is that the Anchor describes Ikkakumon and Gesomon as a suspicious lifeform, singular. Given previous extremely visible errors caused by the animation and script teams seeming to do their own thing, I actually wonder if the dub writer was trying to foreshadow Raremon, rather than talking about Ikkakumon and Gesomon.

I mean. It's weird to describe either of those two (and especially those two together) as a whale. But it kinda makes sense to say "A strange whale-like creature has been spotted in the bay" if you're talking about Raremon.

Cut to Koushiro's room, where we see just what he got from the Supermart.

Koushiro installs a deadbolt lock on his door, then sighs.

Koushiro: I really didn't want to do this. Tentomon: Then why did you? Koushiro: We'll have trouble if my parents come in and find you while I'm gone. Tentomon: (resigned) That's true. Oh! By the way! Koushiro: What? Tentomon: Some amazing smells have been coming in since we got here. Your mother must be cooking something delicious! She must a very nice mother! Koushiro: :) Mhm! She's a really good mom, but....

Koushiro flashes back on that conversation he overheard, when he learned he was adopted.

Kae: Dear, when are we going to tell him the truth? Masami: Let's wait a little longer. Just a little longer. It would be too much of a shock to Koushiro right now. Kae: But what if he already knows that he's not our real son. That he's adopted.... Masami: Did something happen? Kae: Nothing specific. It's just my intuition....

Kae's intuition is a self-fulfilling prophecy. She should return it and get a refund.

Cut back to the present, where Koushiro just sort of zoned out mid-sentence.

Tentomon: But what? Koushiro: ...no, it's nothing. (Knock at the door) Kae: Koushiro? Koushiro: Eep! Y-Yes!? Kae: Dinner time! Koushiro: I'll be right there! Kae: By the way, do you have a friend over?

Koushiro and Tentomon both freeze up, their eyes bugging out in panic.

Kae: Maybe I'm hearing things, but I thought I heard someone else's voice in your room. Koushiro: I-I WAS PRACTICING MANZAI!!! THERE'S A TALENT SHOW COMING UP AT SCHOOL!!! Kae: ...Manzai?

Manzai is basically the Japanese equivalent of your classic theatrical comedy duo, with a straight man befuddled by a wacky loon, spitting out puns and misunderstandings and lots of fun wordplay. Basically, he's saying that Kae heard two voices because he's in there reciting Who's On First by himself.

In the dub:

Izzy: My parents won't appreciate this but I think it's imperative. Tentomon: Why? What's the big deal, Izzy? Izzy: We'd be in big trouble if my Mom and Dad came in here and discovered you. I'm positive that they'd never comprehend our situation. Tentomon: I guess you have a point there. Oh, by the way! Izzy: What? Tentomon: I don't know too much about humans, me being a Digimon and all, but I can tell you one thing for sure: Your mom is a really kind lady and, if you don't mind me saying so, she's not bad looking for a human! Izzy: Mhm! I have to say, I completely agree. She's cool!

Tentomon's last line up there is written so badly that Izzy ends up agreeing that his mom is hot. Thanks, dub team! We started with a beetle boy hitting on Izzy's mom and then it got worse!

Tentomon hasn't even seen Izzy's mom. The original line is about the great smell wafting through the door crack! Why the fuck is he talking about her rockin' bod?

Additionally, Izzy's final line fails to present a transition into the flashback. He suddenly starts thinking about his adoption unprompted.

Izzy's flashback has no changes in the dub. Then he returns to the present.

Tentomon: Yoohoo, Digimon to Izzy! Izzy: Huh? I'm sorry, pal, I guess I kinda zoned out. Kae: Izzy? Are you in there? Izzy: GUH!!! What is it!? Kae: Dinner's ready! Izzy: JUST A MINUTE!!! Kae: If you have a friend over, he can join us too! (Izzy and Tentomon freeze up and bug out) Kae: I thought I heard someone speaking to you in a funny-sounding voice. Is that what I heard? Izzy? Izzy: OH NO NO NO, MOM!!! That was me! I'm practicing my new comedy act! Uh-huh! They're having a talent show at the children's center and the winner could win a new computer! Kae: YOU TELL JOKES!?!?

The punchline to this version is amazing. XD Izzy's mom fucking roasted him in three words.

Outside, Meeko continues her pursuit of the cat who snatched away Hikari's Digivice. Back in the Izumi apartment, Koushiro now has to put his comedy where his mouth is over dinner.

Koushiro (Goofball): When I scared the old man at the fish store, guess what he shouted? Koushiro (Straight Man): Oh, what did he say? Koushiro (Goofball): GYO!!! Koushiro (Straight Man): Cut that out!

Koushiro's joke here is a bit of basic wordplay. "Gyotsu!" is a Japanese exclamation of shock or startlement. However, gyo by itself means "fish". Thus, the man at the fish market shouted "GYO!!!"

Koushiro's joke gets no laughs from his mom and dad, the latter of whom has arrived home.

Koushiro: I'm sorry it wasn't funny. Masami: Th-That's not true at all! Kae: It was very funny! Masami: (claps) The best ever! The best! Kae: It's true! Hahaha! Masami: Hahaha the best! I never would have thought you'd take up manzai! Kae: You sure surprised me. Koushiro: Sorry about that. Masami: No no, there's no need to apologize. Kae: Yeah, it's a happy surprise! Koushiro: O-Okay!

They are absolutely humoring him. But offering encouragement to your kid even when they're just starting out at something and are kinda shit at it is a parent's job.

Suddenly, Koushiro remembers that poor Tentomon is starving in the closet.

Koushiro: Um, could I eat the rest of my dinner in my room? Kae: I won't mind if you leave whatever you don't like on your plate. Koushiro: N-No, I don't dislike any of it! I love everything you make, Mom! Kae: Oh....

Kae falls silent, unsure how to Koushiro's sentiment. Then Koushiro continues.

Koushiro: Thank you, Mom! I'm really grateful for everything you do!

At first, Kae seems touched by Koushiro's words. But then, as he says that final sentence, her expression breaks. She looks wounded and confused.

In the dub, that pun isn't going to work, so they rewrite the joke.

Izzy (Einstein): Why was Newton surprised when he was hit on the head by an apple? (sudden straight man voice without moving positions) Gee, I dunno. Why? Izzy (Einstein): (over on the other side now) He was sitting under a pear tree! Izzy (Straight Man): DOHHHHHH!!! Izzy (Einstein): What's black and white and green? Two skunks fighting over a pickle!

This is a bit janky in terms of blocking. They want to use the "GYO!!!" with shocked face exclamation for the straight man's reaction to the bad joke, but that means he has to start the joke in his inexplicable Einstein impression for the gooofball then change characters without moving spots, then continue the joke as Einstein in the position that the Straight Man was in from the original.

Then he still has one more line to go, so they turn that into a new joke, extending his line into what was supposed to be his parents' stunned silence.

Fortunately, his parents remain as encouraging in the dub.

Izzy: I'm sorry. I guess I'm not very funny. Masami: What do you mean? You were hysterical! Kae: I can't believe it's my son! Masami: My boy, the comedian! Who would have known? You're a chip off the ol' block. Kae: You were wonderful, dear! Masami: And all this time, I never knew you had a sense of humor! Bravo, Izzy! Kae: That was a great performance for your first time. Izzy: You really think so? Masami: Sure thing! Don't quit your day job, but you were really very good! Kae: That's right! We're absolutely thrilled for you, darling. Izzy: Well, thanks! ...oh! (Izzy remembers Tentomon in the closet) Izzy: Eugh... Uhh, mom, would you mind if I ate the rest of my dinner in my room? Kae: Don't worry, I won't make you eat anything that you don't want to. Izzy: No, Mom, it's nothing like that! Really! The way you cook is gastronomically outstanding! Kae: Thanks! Izzy: I appreciate everything you do. In fact, I believe you're the most extraordinary mom there is!

Masami's a little backhanded with some of his encouragement, but they still shower Izzy in support.

Meanwhile, at the Yagami home.

The whole family's having a good time. Taichi ravenously devours a bowl of rice and some tempura while his mother Yuuko watches her son carefully, scrutinizing the pace at which he's eating. Hikari's watching TV with their father Susumu.

Yuuko: Oh! I left the bathwater running!

Yuuko gets up to go shut that off. The second she leaves, Taichi empties his entire bowl of rice and one tempura directly into the mouth of Koromon, sitting on a chair next to him. Upon Yuuko's return, Taichi hands her his bowl.

Taichi: More, please! Yuuko: What's going on here? This is three times as much as you usually eat. Taichi: I haven't eaten anything this good in so long! Yuuko: Enough with the flattery! Don't think I'll raise your allowance just because of a few compliments.

The Chosen Children's homecoming continues to be heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. Taichi hasn't had anything this good in forever, but Yuuko doesn't have the knowledge to understand what he means.

No change in the dub.

Back at the Izumi home, the aftermath of Koushiro's speech is having very different effects in very different rooms.

Koushiro is smiling from ear to ear while he watches Tentomon eat the rest of his dinner. Tentomon stops suddenly, noticing that weird look on Koushiro's face.

Tentomon: Koushiro-han, you look really happy about something. Koushiro: Do I?

While, out in the dining room, Kae is breaking down over what happened at dinner.

Kae: Koushiro thanked me... (covers her eyes and cries, voice breaking) He said, "Thank you, Mom." Masami: Isn't that a good thing?

Kae doesn't answer that. Her heart is breaking in half and she's having trouble articulating why.

In the dub, Tentomon continues hitting on Kae for some fucking reason.

Tentomon: Not only is your mom nice AND pretty, but she's an awesome cook! Izzy: Sure is! (Out in the dining room) Kae: Did you hear him? He said that he appreciated us. (covers her eyes but continues speaking in the same voice) I never thought we'd be so lucky as to have a son like him. Masami: You're right about that, honey.

No adoption drama over here! Kae's just very affected by how good a boy Izzy is.

As night falls, Meeko is still chasing the cat with the Digivice. She chases them into the back of a shipping truck, ultimately reclaiming the Digivice in a brief cat scuffle. The other cat flees the truck, but Meeko doesn't get out in time before a man closes it up and drives off.

Cut back to the Yagami apartment once more. Taichi and Koromon have retired to the children's bedroom.

Koromon: Why were you crying back there? Taichi: I'm not telling!

Hikari enters the room. Now, away from the ears of their parents, they can talk about what's really going on.

Hikari: Onii-chan, did you get everything taken care of? Taichi: No, not yet. Say, Hikari, do you remember what happened at Hikarigaoka four years ago? Hikari: Koromon got bigger and fought with a huge bird, right? Taichi: Right, that's it! Hikari: Did you forget? Taichi: Ah! Uhhh.... Koromon: Hey, Hikari-chan! You don't happen to have a Digivice, do you? Hikari: Digivice?

Taichi takes out his Digivice and shows it to Hikari.

Taichi: This. Hikari: Oh? (studies it for a second) No, I don't. Taichi: (relieved) I see. Haha, of course not! Koromon: (yawn) Taichi, I'm sleepy. Taichi: (big ol' smile) Me too! Let's get some sleep! Seeya, Hikari! Good night! Koromon: Good night.... (asleep) Hikari: Good night!

The boys fall fast asleep. Then, a couple seconds later, Hikari suddenly realizes that she's missing someone.

Hikari: Huh? Meeko? Meeko!

In the dub, they don't talk about Taichi crying. He's just down for some reason.

Koromon: What is it, Tai? You seem bummed. Tai: Oh, I don't know. Kari: (enters) I'm glad you're back. I missed you when you were gone. Tai: I missed you too!

Kari, you last saw him this afternoon. Chill.

Tai: By the way, Kari, do you remember something that happened about four years ago in Highton View Terrace? Tell me everything you know. Kari: I remember that Koromon got really huge and fought with a big bird monster! Tai: And he beat him! Kari: That's something I'll never forget! Koromon: This may sound strange but do you have something called a Digivice, Kari? Kari: No, what's that? Tai: (pulls out Digivice) Like this. Kari: (inspects it for a second) Don't think so. Tai: Ah. Well, forget about it. Koromon: (yawn) Well, I'm so sleepy! Tai: (big ol' smile) Yeah, I am too! Good night! Sleep tight, sleepyhead. Koromon: Sweet dreams. Kari: You're party poopers! (They go to sleep) Aww. Meeko, where are you?

Again, there's a tonal shift in Tai's approach to Kari being the Eighth Child. Where Taichi was visibly and audibly relieved when Hikari said she didn't have a Digivice, Tai sounds disappointed.

Meanwhile, in the shipping truck, Hikari's Digivice starts reacting to something. That's probably a good thing, right? I mean, what could it be reacting to other than something good?

Oh yeah. That's happening.

Drawn by the shimmering of Vamdemon's Cosplay Crest, this massive aquatic Digimon comes to the bridge that the shipping truck is currently passing over. The creature surfaces in front of a Coast Guard ship, just under the same bridge; The woman driving it has just enough time to scream before the Digimon slams into her boat and capsizes it.

Wrong target but their heart is in the right place.

Fun fact: The dub edited out the Japanese writing on the side of the truck, which gave the name of the shipping company: Mach bin! It's spelled out as マッハ便. The first part, マッハ, is "Mach" spelled out phonetically in Katakana. The last part, 便, is bin, which means postal service.

The reason I bring it up is because the dub edits out the lettering, but they did a sloppy fucking job of it. In this scene on the bridge, the lettering is visible for just a frame or two before suddenly vanishing.

After the Digimon capsizes the Coast Guard boat, both versions take a commercial break here. Then someone else takes notice of the moving Digivice.

The shipping truck passes by a nightclub called Club Poseidon. Hanging out outside of it, PicoDevimon bemoans this shitty job they're on.

PicoDevimon: How can I find the Eighth Child when I don't even know where--

Before he can finish, the Cosplay Crest under his wing begins to glow.

PicoDevimon: Huh? (takes it out) They're nearby! Here's my chance to prove myself!

In the dub:

DemiDevimon: Talk about finding a needle in a haystack! Sheesh! (The fake Crest begins to glow) DemiDevimon: What's that? (takes it out) He's nearby! The Eighth Child had better watch out! 'Cause he's a sitting duck!

Finally, the shipping truck pulls into the loading dock of its destination. But, y'know, it's late. The driver gets out and leaves. They can unload the truck in the morning.

Back in Koushiro's room, we find Tentomon curled up and snoozing beside Koushiro's desk. Koushiro is taking this opportunity to check out all those new programs Gennai loaded on his computer.

The questionable new programs.

Tentomon: (snoozing) I'm stuffed.... Koushiro: Gennai-san added a lot of new programs to this.

The new programs are all named in English.

Kankan

Balloon

Radar

Pafu Pafu

Syogi

Koji

Love

Analyzer

Good

Attention

Some of those might need some explaining. Kankan is the one you see in the screenshot up there. It's can-can dancing, a type of old cabaret performance where women would perform a dance in these huge frilled skirts on stage, often utilizing high kicks, cartwheels, and other movements to show off their frills.

Syogi is shogi. a Japanese board game often equated to chess.

Koji has the icon of a calligraphy brush writing on a piece of paper, so I assume it's some kind of calligraphy program. But I admit, that one's new to me.

And then there's... ugh... pafu pafu. Pafu Pafu or "Puff Puff" is the act of placing your face between a woman's breasts and motorboating them, which is an incredibly inappropriate thing to load onto a ten-year-old's computer.

I am so sorry to have to tell you that the icon is probably not a pair of eyes. That is, however, so subtle that it made it unedited into the dub.

The lazy old man who drafted a bunch of child soldiers continues to be the worst mentor in history.

Koushiro: Let's see. I wonder what this one does?

Koushiro tries out Kankan first, getting an animation of Monzaemon, Yukidarumon, and Numemon can-can dancing. The purpose of this is unclear.

Koushiro: Th-That's it? Okay, how about this?

Going in sequence, he clicks the next icon: Balloon. It's another silly animation, this time of Chuumon blowing up a balloon until it bursts.

Koushiro: (groan) I don't need this! What else?

Next is Radar, which I want us all to be very happy comes before Pafu Pafu because it's the plot relevant one and we can stop clicking icons now.

Radar shows a map of the surrounding Tokyo, along with a blinking red light. A little Gennai figure shows up to explain.

Chibi Gennai: Trouble! An unidentified Digimon has arrived at Shibaura! Koushiro: WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?

In the dub, Izzy puts the cart before the horse and compliments Gennai before trying out the shit he installed.

Izzy: Gennai made some modifications to my computer that are truly awesome! Ooh, now this looks intriguing. I wonder what it does? (Kankan) Izzy: Eugh. Too bizarre. How about another? (Balloon) Izzy: That's very demented! Here's something! (Radar) Izzy: It's a map of Tokyo! What's that indicator? Chibi Gennai: There's an unidentified Digimon lurking in the bay! You're the only one that's still awake! Izzy: AGH! TENTOMON!!!

Chibi Gennai in the original sounds like a pre-recorded alert message associated with the blinking indicator, though it could also be Gennai communicating directly. In the dub, it's clearly Gennai talking to Koushiro through the computer. The message is being sent in real-time as evidenced by the "you're the only one still awake" bit.

"Demented" is a bit harsh for the balloon animation. It's a weird thing to install, I have no idea what Gennai thought the point of it would be, but I wouldn't go that far. ...well, not for Balloon specifically.

Because of the phrasing, I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I do like Izzy's pre-emptive compliment because it creates a hilarious comedy back-and-forth.

Izzy: Oh boy I can't wait to see all the awesome stuff Gennai gave me! (seconds later) What the fuck is this shit.

I think the part of the internet Gennai was formed from is Newgrounds.

While the attacking Digimon emerges from the bay onto the harbor, Koushiro frantically tries to call around.

Koushiro: Is this the Yagami residence? This is Izumi. Is Taichi-san home? Yuuko: He is, but... (shot of Taichi and Koromon fast asleep) Would you like me to wake him up? Koushiro: No, that's okay. I'm sorry for bothering you. (Koushiro hangs up and dials another number) Koushiro: I'm sorry for calling so late. Is Sora-san there? (shot of Sora and Pyokomon asleep) Koushiro: Is Yamato-san home? (shot of Yamato and Tsunomon asleep) Koushiro: Thank you. (hangs up) Tentomon: Is something wrong? Koushiro: An unknown Digimon has surfaced in Shibaura. I tried calling Taichi-san and the others, but everyone is asleep. Tentomon: They're all tired from what happened earlier.

Every single person he called is still on Baby Cooldown. Really don't know how much help he thought Koromon, Tsunomon, and Pyokomon were going to be. But he's not thinking straight; He's freaking out and trying to lean on the older kids for support.

He noticeably does not try to call Mimi or Takeru. He's looking for guidance, moreso than reinforcement. Though he also doesn't try calling Jou-senpai. Koushiro and Jou have never been particularly close, but Taichi and Sora are his soccer club senpais and Yamato looked out for him in the Digimon World. He looks up to them.

But he's also too fucking polite to wake them the hell up. So now he's going to go try and solo one of Tailmon's mercenaries instead. He would rather be mauled to death than disturb someone who's sleeping. We gave the Radar to the wrong kid; Mimi would be sounding an All Hands On Deck emergency by now.

We get a glimpse of the attacking Digimon now emerging from the bay, approaching Club Poseidon. Their claw smashes through the building, interrupting the rave inside, and the kaiju attack begins.

Koushiro: We'll just have to go ourselves! Tentomon: Right! No matter who we're fighting, I'm sure we can handle them alone!

This is a bad plan. They are going to die.

(Honestly, they're probably fine. It's a bad plan because they don't know what they're walking into, but what they're walking into is an Adult-stage junk evolution and Tentomon can go Perfect if he must. This is basically a fistfight with Scumon. They can probably handle this by themselves, barring any complications.)

In the dub, Izzy's calls get off to a bad start when he mispronounces Tai's family name.

Izzy: Hello Mrs. Kamaya (like papaya), this is Izzy? I was wondering if Tai might be available to come to the phone. Yuuko: He's sleeping. (shot of Taichi and Koromon fast asleep) So, would you like me to wake him up? Izzy: No, I'm sorry to bother you. (Izzy hangs up and dials another number) Izzy: I know it's late, but is Sora awake? (shot of Sora and Yokomon asleep) Izzy: Is Matt home? ...I'll call back tomorrow. (shot of Matt and Tsunomon asleep) Izzy: Gee, I guess everyone's asleep. Tentomon: You should go to bed too, Izzy. Izzy: No way! Gennai just told me that there's an unidentified Digimon in the bay! With everyone sound asleep, we may have to tackle this Digimon by ourselves! Tentomon: And I was having such a nice dream! (Sludge Digimon attacks Club Poseidon) Izzy: So, are you up for a challenge? Tentomon: I'm with you, Izzy! But may I suggest I wear a disguise so I don't attract any unwanted attention? Izzy: Mhm!

This segues poorly out of the previous scene. Chibi Gennai told Izzy that everyone's asleep, but I guess he had to check for himself anyway. Still, he shouldn't sound so surprised and/or disappointed when it turns out Chibi Gennai wasn't bullshitting him.

Tentomon's final line there in the dub is meant to set up the next shot. He and Koushiro jump in a taxi, with Tentomon concealed under a green cloak to disguise the fact that he's obviously a ladybug monster.

Izzy's also quicker than Koushiro to jump to "We'll just have to handle this ourselves." Koushiro has a noticeable reluctance, which is enhanced by his soft and sensitive voice. Izzy's on-mission and ready to go.

It doesn't take the attacking Digimon long to find their target. They smash open the delivery truck. Meeko spills out, Digivice clutched in her mouth. Then she sees what's after her and runs like hell.

(Go, little kitty-cat! The fate of two worlds rests in your jaw!)

Koushiro and Tentomon catch up, and Koushiro's able to ID this creature on his Digimon Analyzer.

Tentomon: W-Who is that!? Koushiro: They're called Raremon.

Raremon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Undead Digimon. They're the final junk evolution for the original V-Pet line to appear, joining the likes of Numemon, Scumon, Gekomon, Nanimon, and Vegiemon. A melting down glop of flesh, bone, and failed attempts at mechanization. A Gazimon who dreamt of being MetalGreymon and instead turned themselves into the thing from the end of Akira.

Even their name, "Raremon" is a reference to barely cooked meat.

Narrator: Raremon. An Undead Digimon who failed trying to reinforce its decaying body with metal. Its special attack is Hedoro.

Raremon is one of the few Digimon whose attack name isn't given in English for exotic coolness points. Hedoro means sludge. They probably left it in Japanese because Raremon's visual design is based on the kaiju Hedorah, and they wanted that reference in there.

In the dub, Tentomon handles the rundown, oddly.

Tentomon: Whoa! He's about as repulsive as they come! Izzy: That Digimon is Raremon. Tentomon: (rundown) Raremon smells like rotting fish, looks like the inside of a trash can, and is someone you never want to meet in a very dark alley.

Weird choice. Izzy's reading off the Digimon Analyzer, so why doesn't he explain Raremon?

Meeko suddenly sprints past Koushiro and Tentomon. Her proximity to Koushiro sets off the Digivice tracker on Koushiro's Digivice.

Koushiro: Ah!? Tentomon: What's wrong? Koushiro: The Eighth Child is around here! Tentomon: THAT'S HUGE!!! If we lose them now, there's no way to tell where they'll turn up next! (Tentomon dramatically sheds his cloak) Tentomon: I'll handle Raremon. Go find the Eighth Child, Koushiro-han! Koushiro: Are you sure? Tentomon: We have no other choice! Koushiro: Okay. I'm counting on you! Tentomon: Understood!

The boys agree to split up, tragically unaware that they, like Raremon, are chasing a housecat. Dramatic irony is when--

In the dub:

Izzy: Huh!? Tentomon: What's wrong? Izzy: It's the Eighth Child! He's very close! Tentomon: WHOA, talk about bad timing! If we lose that signal, we'll be DOOMED!!! (Tentomon dramatically sheds his cloak) Tentomon: You search for the missing child while I take care of old Sewer Breath. I just hope his stink isn't contagious! Izzy: You can do it! Tentomon: Do I have any other choice? Izzy: Are you ready to Digivolve? Tentomon: Yep.

Again, we see Koushiro's hesitancy replaced by Izzy's mission-focused resolve. Tentomon has to convince Koushiro to split up, while Izzy's gung-ho about it the moment the idea comes up.

Tentomon evolves into Kabuterimon, and everybody launches inexorably towards confrontation.

Koushiro: (watching Kabuterimon fly) Right! (turns to chase the signal) Me too!

A funny note: What Koushiro says when he chases the signal is "Boku mo!" Boku is one of the Japanese first-person pronouns and mo is a particle that signifies mutual activity or involvement with the rest of the sentence. The implied statement being "I will also go do my part."

But because of the way the words sound and how fast he says it, to a native English-speaker, it sounds like "Yes! Fuck him up!"

Boku mo, Kabuterimon. Boku mo.

Meanwhile, Yuuko wakes Taichi from his sleep, despite what Koushiro said. She doesn't know what's going on but still knows better.

Yuuko: (shaking Taichi's shoulder) Taichi. Taichi. Taichi: Nnn... what? (wakes up) Yuuko: I just took a call from Koushiro-kun. He sounded strange. Taichi: (gasp, suddenly alert) What did he say!?

In the dub:

Izzy: Good luck! It's my turn now!

You can kinda hear "Fuck him up" in Izzy's "Good luck" if you're specifically listening for it but it's not the same. :P

Yuuko: (shaking Tai's shoulder) Tai? Sweetheart, wake up. Tai: Nnn... huh? (wakes up) What is it, Mom? Yuuko: I didn't want to wake you but Izzy called on the phone and he seemed to be nervous about something. Tai: (gasp, suddenly alert) Huh? I wonder what's up?

Tai doesn't snap into Oh Shit mode the way Taichi does, which is unfortunate.

While Kabuterimon dukes it out with Raremon, Koushiro and PicoDevimon separately chase the signal from Hikari's Digivice. Meanwhile, Taichi does the only reasonable thing to do in this situation.

Kae: (answering phone) Hello, Izumi residence. ... Oh, Taichi-kun! Thank you for looking out for Koushiro at camp. Also, thank you for lending him your reference book. ...eh!? (shocked face)

We don't get to hear the other side of this conversation. But we can probably guess what he said, and why Kae's freaked out by it.

Very minor change in the dub.

Kae: Hello, can I help you? ... Oh, hello, Tai! I hope you had fun at camp; It's a shame it was cut short. And thank you for loaning Izzy that reference book. ... (sharp gasp)

Keeping with the anime's general downplaying of the age differences between the cast, Kae doesn't mention Tai looking after Izzy, as an older kid does for a younger one. Instead, she uses that time to lament the closure.

The fight's not going so well for Raremon. They return to the bay to evade Kabuterimon's Mega Blaster.

Back at home, Kae's got some concerns now. She knocks on Koushiro's door.

Kae: Koushiro? Are you asleep, Koushiro? Masami: He must be tired from camp. We should let him sleep. Kae: You're right. I'll just grab his dishes so I can wash them.

Then she turns the handle. Her calm concern shoots up to alarm when the deadbolt stops her from opening the door.

Kae: (turning to her husband) Honey!

Again, minor change in the dub.

Kae: Izzy? We'd like to talk to you. Are you asleep? Masami: I'm sure he's very tired out from camp. We should let him get a couple of z's. Kae: You're right. I'll just tiptoe in and check up on him. (Kae tries to turn the handle but the deadbolt stops her) Kae: (turning to her husband) The door's locked!

Original Kae was going in to retrieve the dishes he took to his room, when he secretly split his dinner with Tentomon. Dub Kae wants to just peek in and see that he's alright, I guess.

Kabuterimon pursues Raremon out over the bay. This proves to be a terrible mistake. Raremon uses the water to conceal themselves, popping out only to sucker-punch Kabuterimon with their Hedoro. The sludge its its mark, knocking Kabuterimon out of the air and into the waves below.

Meeko is finally forced to abandon the Digivice when a growling dog scares her away. The dog briefly sniffs the Digivice, but doesn't want it. The dog runs off, leaving the Digivice sitting there on the ground.

Raremon pulls Kabuterimon deeper into the bay, seemingly set on drowning him.

Kae and Masami go out to the living room to talk about their son's eerie behavior.

Masami: It's probably nothing. Koushiro's entering puberty. Kae: But he said he was grateful. Is that the kind of thing a child his age would normally say to his parents? Masami: You're overthinking this. Kae: Maybe... But isn't it strange that spending half a day at camp would have such a drastic effect on his personality?

She knows something is wrong. She can't put her finger on it but she can feel how different Koushiro is now. He didn't used to be this little ball of grace and decorum, but now he's changed for no adequately explained reason.

She brings up camp as the only explanation, but she's also still obsessing over that "I'm grateful" bit earlier. She's more upset by that than the deadbolt, which plays into the real conflict between Koushiro and his parents. The problem isn't that he locked the door. The problem is that he's shutting them out.

Dub Kae is more upset by the deadbolt.

Masami: Oh, don't worry. I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about. Kae: I know you're right, but he's acting peculiar! Izzy's never locked the door before. Masami: He is getting older now. Kae: I guess so. But he was only at camp for half a day; I wonder what happened to make him change so much.

She is also incorrectly upset about the deadbolt. Izzy could not lock the door before. He had to go to Japanese Home Depot and buy shit to install that lock. Since she's focusing on the lock, you'd think she'd bring up the fact that his door doesn't have one.

Down at the harbor, a crow picks up the abandoned Digivice and flies away with it moments before Koushiro and PicoDevimon both converge on the spot where it was lying.

Koushiro: The Child should be around here.... PicoDevimon: Huh!? YOU!!! Koushiro: Ah!

Kabuterimon turns this shit right around, attacking Raremon in their vulnerable bulging eyeballs. The attack forces Raremon to lose their grip, freeing Kabuterimon to escape the bay.

Raremon chases Kabuterimon back up, breaching the water's surface. But Kabuterimon's ready for them this time and lets off another Mega Blaster. This shot hits home, striking Raremon directly in their goddamn face and blowing them to hell.

PicoDevimon may have lost out in the Eighth Child but he'll settle for one of the seven. He lets loose a volley of Pico Darts, which Koushiro narrowly dodges.

Kabuterimon: Koushiro-han! PicoDevimon: WHAT!? (Kabuterimon flies in) PicoDevimon: WAUGH!!! Shit! You lucky bastard! (flies off) Koushiro: Thank you, Kabuterimon!

Of course, PicoDevimon would rather flee for his life than fistfight Kabuterimon, so he does just that.

This scene is heavily cut down in the dub. They censor out the Pico Darts as usual. Since the Darts are sticking out of the warehouse door in the foreground of his shots, they also have to cut shots of Koushiro with the Darts in them.

DemiDevimon leans back and prepares to throw his attack but then Kabuterimon shows up.

DemiDevimon: Oh no, it's Bug Face! I'm gonna get you next time! (flies away)

To dance around the Pico Darts, that is the only line anyone gets to deliver.

Koushiro and Kabuterimon depart the harbor, but they don't get away clean.

Live on the air, a reporter is on the scene as emergency responders cart away human casualties from tonight's violence. At the very least, Raremon's uninterrupted attack on Club Poseidon probably left some folk badly injured.

Reporter: Reporting live from Shibaura. We have yet to confirm the existence of a kaiju. Does it truly exist? ...huh? WAIT!!! (points to the sky) LOOK UP THERE!!!

The cameraman follows where he's pointing and sure enough, they catch Kabuterimon flying away into the distance. Live on the air.

Up in the sky, oblivious to the fact that they're giving Japan its first unmistakable glimpse of monsters among us, Koushiro and Kabuterimon unpack.

Kabuterimon: It's a shame we couldn't find the Eighth Child. Koushiro: But at least we know that the Eighth Child is around here, not in Hikarigaoka. This is a great find. Taichi-san was right. We should tell Taichi-san and the rest about it first thing tomorrow!

Unfortunately, he's not the only one reporting in.

Vamdemon: (into the Batphone) I see. So that's where the Eighth Child is located. We have no further business here!

Vamdemon's haunted carriage rolls out, leaving Hikarigaoka behind.

In the dub, the reporter has a bit more to say.

Reporter: I'm here at the scene of the monster sighting but the predator in question seems to have disappeared. One wonders if there really was a monster at all. ...hmm? WAIT A MINUTE, FOLKS!!! LOOK UP THERE!!! It looks like a giant flying cockroach and I don't think it's friendly.

You'd lose that bet.

The dub chooses here of all places to start playing its battle theme Hey Digimon. Uh, okay, you do you.

Kabuterimon: Sorry you weren't able to find the Eighth Child but at least we got rid of that stinking mass of blubber. Izzy: Right! I've been doing some extensive calculations! My theory is that the Eighth Child is located here in this city! It seems Tai had the right idea in the first place! We have to get back to his house right now and give him an update! Kabuterimon: Okay!

They. Go. Straight home after this. I don't know why the dub has him say they're going to Tai's place right now.

Also, uh, Izzy considers noticing the Digivice in this area and concluding that it must be here to be an "extensive calculation". Hell, if we want to be mean about it, he says "this city" which means he's assessed that the Eighth Child is somewhere in Tokyo. But I won't be that pedantic. I just think it's funny that he's trying so hard to sound smart about a discovery he tripped over.

Myotismon's scene is completely changed.

Myotismon: UNTHINKABLE!!! Is there no Digimon strong enough to defeat these children!? I will have to deal with them myself!

My dude, Raremon is the weakest of the three they've fought thus far. I don't know why you're so startled about this.

You're not even. Fighting the seven Chosen Children is not what we're doing here. You're trying to kill the Eighth Child. That's the goal here. Myotismon has completely lost the plot.

Koushiro and Tentomon creep back into his room through the window.

Koushiro: It's late, so let's get some sleep. Tentomon: Uhh... Koushiro-han? I'm sorry. I used up all my energy in that fight. Could I have something to eat? Koushiro: Of course. I'll go find something. Tentomon: Thank you.

Koushiro goes to the kitchen and fills up a plate with fruit. However, on his way back to his room, he overhears his parents talking in the living room. Once again he stops to listen in while they're talking about him.

Kae: Ever since he came back, it's like he's hiding something from us. Maybe he's doing something in secret. Masami: Even if he is, we can't blame him. We're keeping something from him too. Koushiro: (thinking) Dad, Mom... I'm sorry for worrying you. Masami: I'll try and get Koushiro to tell me what he's up to. Kae: I'm sorry. Masami: What's wrong? Kae: To be honest, I wish Koushiro would act out more often, instead of being so well behaved. I want him to tell me what he likes and what he hates! That's how children should act! Am I wrong?

It's a little complicated, but what Kae's upset about, what this has all been about, is that there's a disquieting distance between Koushiro and his parents that suddenly developed. He's behaving as if he's a guest in their home, not their child.

And, y'know, also keeping secrets and shutting them out of his room.

Something happened to Koushiro and Kae doesn't understand. She earlier tried to pin it on what happened at camp. But it's not that. Well, it's kinda that; The secret-keeping and all is that.

But the distance between them is because of the adoption. He's behaving like a guest in their home because that's how he feels. He feels like a lost child they took in out of the kindness of their hearts, and he's trying to express his gratitude for that.

She doesn't know he knows, and he doesn't know what to do with the knowledge he's cursed with. So there's a distance between them that's now growing.

In the dub, Izzy waits until they get all the way home to change plans from that bad dubbing choice earlier.

Izzy: It's very late. Maybe we should wait until morning, Tentomon! Tentomon: All that exercise made me ultra-hungry. I hate to be a pig but you wouldn't happen to have anything to munch on, would you, Izzy? Izzy: I guess you do deserve a nutrition break. I'll go look in the fridge. Tentomon: Gee, thanks! (Izzy goes and prepares a plate of fruit, but then overhears his parents talking) Kae: Ever since he got back, he seems like he's been hiding something. I just can't put my finger on it. He's keeping something inside and he doesn't want to tell us what's wrong. Masami: Even if he is, you can't blame him. After all, we're hiding something from him. It's probably just a phase he's going through. Izzy: (thinking) Oh, I didn't mean to make them so worried. I hope they'll forgive me. Masami: I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine, but I'll try to talk some sense into him. Kae: No, don't. (sigh) Masami: What do you mean, hon? Kae: Everybody thinks that he's always perfect! But that's too much to expect of him. We've got to give him some freedom to become his own man, you know? He's got to make mistakes! That's part of what it is to be a kid, don't you think so?

Dub Kae's conclusion is very different from the original's. She's glad he's keeping secrets from her because that means he's experiencing childhood correctly. I guess the problem's solved.

Over at the Yagami household, Taichi and Hikari take a moment out on the balcony.

Taichi: I wonder why Koushiro called? Hikari: I wonder where Meeko went? Taichi: She'll be back by morning. Hikari: Okay....

Suddenly, Taichi's Digivice alerts him. A second radar blip is on it and moving towards him; It's going to pass by!

Taichi: Is the Eighth Child passing by here!? (Taichi bolts inside) Hikari: Onii-chan?

Suddenly, Hikari catches a glimpse of a pink light glistening in the sky, moving by overhead.

Hikari: A shooting star?

We close out the episode on a closeup of the crow above, still carrying her Digivice in their talons.

In the dub:

Tai: I wonder what Izzy was all hyped up about when he called tonight? Kari: What happened to Meeko? He disappeared. Tai: Oh, he'll be back. (Radar blips) Tai: IT'S THE EIGHTH CHILD!!! GOTTA GO!!! (Tai bolts inside) Kari: The Eighth WHAT!? (Kari notices the pink light) Kari: Ohhh... What a pretty star!

Kari's confused "Eighth WHAT?" exclamation got me. XD Yeah, Taichi really did just say shit without explaining, huh?

Assessment: Gonna be honest, I had a bit of trouble following what Kae was so upset about in this episode up until the very end when she spelled it out. At first, I thought she felt guilty about the secret they were keeping from Koushiro. But no, she's weirded out by his ultra-polite behavior and unwillingness to childishly misbehave, which she implies is a recent development.

This is probably intentional, as I think they were playing Kae's scenes for intrigue. They wanted the audience guessing what she's on about until the end.

The dub tries to wrap it up with a happy conclusion but this isn't meant to have one. It's setup for Koushiro's arc to come. There's a wedge now between him and his family, which will be further explored in later episodes.

Nonetheless, the dub is pretty good for this one. They missed some of the nuances of Kae's scenes but they do hit most of the important stuff, and they have a couple of really good laugh lines to boot.

[coralinnii]

Thanks for answering my ask.... If you don't mind me asking (again), who are your favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/manhwa/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon)? And why you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks.

Hmm it’s been a while since I care much about romantic relationships (yes, I see the irony of me, a primarily fluff writer, saying that) but there are some memorable ones that I still love for their dynamic. These are the 5 that I can really remember at the top of my head, I’m sure there’s are many iconic ones but these are just my personal “couple goals” people

1. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist/Fullmetal Alchemist Brother (manga, anime)

Soulmates, More than Lovers

Yes, there is Edward and Winry and they’re great too but Roy and Riza, even when they weren’t officially canon? Oh wow, I absolutely idolised their dynamic growing up. They have to maintain a professional relationship as officer and superior but everyone can tell that they care so much about each other. It’s the trust between, it’s the way they understood each other so much and the faith they have of their partner’s competence. They bicker and annoy each other like old comrades but their bond goes beyond being brothers-in-arms, it’s the way they support each other knowing that they both wish for a world where no one has to go through what they did again. Riza believed in Roy not just because she cared about him but also because she truly believes in him making good on his word in building a better government, and Roy believed in Riza because of her integrity, that he knew she will never be swayed and keep him in track of his dream because that’s just the amazing person she was.

2. Sawako Kuronuma and Shota Kazehaya from Kimi ni Todoke (manga, anime, live-action film)

Friends to Lovers

While romcoms aren’t really my thing, this series was my favorite romcom growing up that I still remember it pretty well after all these years. No hate to the other shoujo animes but Kazehaya was the greenest flag and I can’t be convinced otherwise. He was genuinely kind to everyone, didn’t believe in the crazy rumours and saw Sawako as the sweet person she was, and be that supporting friend to her even when he could tell he had feelings for her. Kazehaya had better emotional awareness and understood how he felt pretty early in the series but never pushed the topic on Sawako when she was still new to a lot of social experiences. Sawako was aware of all the support he has given her and in response, worked hard to make sure his efforts weren’t wasted. It was cute, supportive, and the results felt so deserved and not abrupt.

3. Takeru Takahashi and Hikari Yagami from Digimon (anime)

Will they, won’t they, Childhood friends

I’ve been shipping even before I knew what shipping was. I didn’t know why I love them so much growing. Maybe because I really like the aesthetics, maybe because I’m a sucker for childhood friends, maybe because of all the connections of the crest of hope and light. I thought I grew out of this shipping phrase but nope! I went crazy over the crumbs we get from Digimon Tri. They are such a “Will they, won’t they” duo. I can see them work so well as friends as they do as a couple. They tease each other and are so comfortable together but they are always there for each other when either one of them goes through something.

4. Nomoto and Kasuga from She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat

Neighbours to ???

This is a fairly new series in comparison to everything else on the list, but I do love the characters of this series. Not only are the main duo relatable as individuals, they found support in each other. This is a personal plus, but watching Nomoto learning she’s an ace lesbian growing these sweet, wholesome feelings for her neighbour makes the dynamic stand out to me more since this helps show to whatever naysayers that believes that the feeding food part of the story is a kink play of theirs. Like dudes…what? It’s really nice to watch two realistic individuals in a grounded relationship (whatever it is at this point), while going through some heavy topics about societal standards.

5. Seo Dan and Seung Jun from Crash Landing on You (Kdrama)

Villainess x Conman

Seeing that Seo Dan was in the position to be the villainess because she was the second female lead and the male lead’s arranged fiance, everyone would think that she would be evil like all the other second leads in Kdramas, but NO! Seo Dan never outright harm the female lead but instead tried to spend time and win over the man that was her fiance. When she realized she couldn’t and her love is turning toxic, she chose not to continue the path of unrequited love and move on, even though it hurt her because she truly loved the male lead, her first love. Seung Jun was in a somewhat similar villain position being a close-hearted conman who’s not the type to stay for anyone. But he starts to fall for Seo Dan, and hated seeing her break because of a man who couldn’t see how amazing she was. This made me tear up to see that Seo Dan found someone that truly love her, and that Seung Jun found someone who he could truly cherish with all his heart. They got to be the realest and best versions of themselves with each other and were a couple that met the right person, there were just some mistakes to realize it.

[atsoraasayoma]

Hi! I just found your page, and as a Takari shipper, I really appreciate what you do!

I bring you a topic to analyze! Recently I've been thinking about something that I haven't seen discussed anywhere, and that is that if you look at the children of the chosen ones in the epilogue, the oldest ones are Yolei's and Ken's, and then Hikari's (???).

Taking into account that the epilogue takes place in 2027 and her daughter (or son?) looks about 10 years old maybe, then let's say she only has about 5 years left between '02 The Beginning' and the birth of her child to meet someone, fall in love, date and perhaps get married (I mean, it's not necessary to get married to have a child). That's a long time I know, and she could still meet someone between that time, date and then get married in a space of 3 years or so, but it sounds a bit accelerated. Could it be that by the time of the last movie, she's already meeting someone, going out to bars and fooling around? See where I'm going?

I would like to know what you think about it? :)

Hi there! Thanks for consulting with me about this topic friend. For one, I don’t really see Hikari going to bars by herself. She is very cautious unless going through emotional distress, but if one of her friends were there specifically Takeru or Miyako I think she would allow herself to get a little buzzed but not full on wasted and make those kinds of decisions.

To be perfectly honest I have a hard time seeing Hikari dating anyone because it takes a long time for her to feel comfortable. She’s great with children of course, but when it comes to romance I think that would prove to be difficult. She has to learn to confide in people. So if she has close friends and went to a mixer or something, maybe but she would have to have the approval of her friends first. She may be timid at times, but she is smart. With Takeru’s training I’m sure she could talk her way out of trouble what with how she seemed to learn how to tease from him.

Due to her past I think she’s better than before about making personal choices but this is usually in a group setting when it comes to decisions. I am sure she has learned from both Takeru and Miyako and the hearts of the kidnapped children in zero two. Oh, and Tailmon as well.

A part of me strongly believes that she would end up with Takeru and we are being played until the end of this. I spent quite sometime trying to analyze eye colors and heritage and how their kids could have blue eyes and the other has brown eyes which was disheartening…

…but then I remembered, hey this is anime. Does everything absolutely have to be in alignment for it to work? I don’t think so with a hint of salt.

We have to be realistic, but omission is neither evidence nor falsehood.

I try to look at trends, yet since we don’t know the names of most of the Digidestined spouses or seen them we’re not getting the full picture. So, we need to focus on what we can see.

That was just the introduction. So here are my thoughts.

Whoever Hikari dates would need some kind of approval from her brother. He’s still protective of her. He would also need to be approved by her other friends -especially Miyako who is her confidante. She would also like to know Takeru’s reaction since they were childhood friends.

So she would control her environment before she takes any hasty emotional decisions.

I think you’re right timing wise as far as the canonicity of the children being born.

Yet, even after considering what is highly likely I want to give proper credence to omission in the Takari case.

What’s fascinating about this pairing is what we can draw from their constantly being around each other. They grow, they support each other, they start to have feelings in Tri, and by the time we get to Kizuna they are in sync literally lockstep (from the limited time we see them.)

All of this is hammered down even further when we get to the 2nd dialogue script in 02 to the Beginning Movie where they literally are making up stories together on the spot with their Digimon and just literally leading Ken on with their wild stories.

(This also got me thinking maybe Hikari gave Takeru idea to write about for future novels)

Then in that same movie Hikari seems to have front passenger seat privileges, is extremely calm about Takeru’s erractic driving which tells me she is used to it, and lastly, and this is the most important point:

They are still extremely close. Even more so than their DNA digivolving partners. I can’t say the same for Ken and Daisuke.

If we take a step back and look at this from Digimon Adventure all the way through this new movie we can see a steady progression in the building of their relationship.

In the next movie then, I believe, so close to the ordained time of meeting their spouses, one of two things will happen.

They will be in good communication of course. But, what I can see is either Takeru will meet someone, introduce them to the group and Hikari will be supportive but heartbroken and then move on.

Or two, and this is my hope, that, they will finally cross that line to actually become lovers. It would have to be a truly desperate moment for them to see each other that way. They are both terrific at hiding their own feelings.

If we approach this canon wise the first option seems more likely.

But I have approached their relationship differently because so much of their relationship is based off those little details of expression, emotion, and proximity.

This is the last scene I have seen of them from the new movie that I remember. They still seem quite close.

In my opinion after such an emotional travail from the previous conflict it seems that each Digidestined ended up playing with the ones they are closest to.

Hikari could have chosen Miyako.Takeru could have not prepared himself and taken a hit from Iori but he was ready to take it from her.

In response to the last part of your question, I think, should Hikari have been dating Takeru would have made some reaction or comment about it. The same with Takeru. Like in Tri?

But, they didn’t. It wasn’t even brought up. And even if it was possible do you think another girl or guy would like their girl/boyfriend hanging out with their childhood friend in their car alone or at a restaurant?

Maybe it’s a cultural thing but you have to admit that can prompt all kind of misunderstandings.

So in summary I agree they could meet someone else by the time the last movie comes out and dash the hopes of the Takari faithful.

However, like in one of my previous posts I submit this picture as a reservation for Takari to be canon much as the vacant spot conspicuously behind Tentomon in front that seemed reserved for someone:

Mirrored Daisuke appears to have mirrored the missing spot between Sora and Yamato. Yet Takeru seems to have stepped forward as if he was meant to have been in that hidden spot besides Hikari in the first picture.

My hopes for Takaridom are banked on such observations. There is a constant ‘why’ when it comes to these two and their relationship.

One of my biggest ones is why that gap? And as this final movie comes across our path hopefully in the next five years we’ll get some kind of final answer just how far their relationship goes.

I just know that if they are still that close which I believe they will be one or the other will somehow have the other in the back of their minds when it comes to any romance. Which, is a most curious thing, isn’t it?

Would that not lead to, ‘If I’m always considering you/confiding in you does that mean we are the best of friends or could we be more than that?

…

And I am eagerly waiting for those emerging of emotions to manifest that both of them will realize.

(For further understanding of how Takari can be canon I recommend to read my fanfiction series The Digital Record Series on fanfiction.net or archiveofourown.com under Atsoraasayoma.)

I know this has been quite the long response but to me I can’t give a short answer or even a medium one. Much like their relationship you might need to take my opinion with a grain of salt or go back through the series and read between the lines.)

[bagerfluff]

Closet Kiss

Older Takaishi Takeru x Male Reader

Prompt - First Kiss

This was not how Takeru thought he would spend his weekend.

It had started out fine. Daisuke wanted everyone to hang out and everyone agreed. So you all gathered at Daisuke’s house for a sleepover.

It started fine, eating, talking, games, yelling, until Daisuke wanted to play a game. The game, truth or dare, nothing out of the ordinary. It was fun too.

Daisuke had to shower with his clothes on, Miyako had to drink hot sauce, Hikari had to do a handstand for as long as possible.

So it was all fun and games till Takeru got picked.

He picked dare and Miyako had dared Takeru to spend seven minutes with you in a closet. Takeru glared at Miyako and she looked back with a knowing and teasing look.

She knew Takeru had a crush on you, and she was milking it.

At first Takeru declined, but somehow he still ended up in a closet with you. It was small and clothes were everywhere so you and Takeru were pressed against each other.

Takeru tried to keep your gaze away from you, but that was hard. Takeru could see you though the light coming in through the crack in the door.

You had showered about an hour ago, so your hair looked perfect. Your eyes reflected the small amount of light. “Why did Miyako look at you like that?” You asked and Takeru looked away from you.

A slight blush forming on his face, Takeru hoped you couldn’t see it. Takeru knew why, Miyako, and maybe a few others, were trying to help Takeru confess to you.

Takeru was a bit too scared to, what if you didn’t like him. Did you even like guys? Takeru knew he was gay, but did you like guys, did you like him?

Takeru might have flirted with you a bit, but nothing ever came from it. So now your friends have taken things into their hands. “I don’t know”, Takeru said quietly.

You made a noise and leaned back.

You couldn’t go far, but Takeru felt his heart hurt a bit at the action. Were you angry that you were here? It was quiet for the next few minutes till you leaned closer to Takeru.

“You know, you're really pretty”, you said, making Takeru blush and turn his head to you. “I’ve never noticed before, but now that I’m seeing you close, you look good”, you leaned back forward and never took your eyes off Takeru.

Takeru didn’t really know what to say, but his palms got sweaty and his heart beat got faster. “You look good too”, Takeru said with a dry throat. You smirked, “really”, you asked in a teasing tone

Takeru nodded, which made your smirk turn to a smile. “I think I know why Miyako looked at you like that”, you said and that made Takeru nervous.

“I thought it was true, but now I’m sure”, this confused Takeru. You moved forward, your face was closer to Takeru. Your nose brushed against Takeru’s and you both shared the air in the closet.

“You like me”, you said, your breath ghosting over Takeru’s lips. Takeru blushed, his heart beat going even faster. You stared into Takeru's eyes and he started back.

Takeru noticed your eyes glance at his lips and Takeru would be lying if his eyes didn’t glance at your lips. You smirked and leaned forward, still staring at Takeru's lips.

"Can I kiss you?" You asked.

Takeru flushed and started to stutter. "but where friends", Takeru stuttered out, making you lean closer. "Come on", your breathe ghosted over Takeru's lips.

"A kiss won't ruin our friendship", you said, your breathe still ghosting Takeru's lips. Takeru whined at the feeling of your breath on his lips. "Okay', Takeru said.

"Please kiss me", Takeru whined out.

You smiled and pressed your lips on Takeru's. Takeru let out a moan as you kissed him, his arms going to wrap around your neck. Your arms went to Takeru’s waist, you pulled him closer to you.

The kiss was soft and quick. You lead the kiss with care a passion. Takeru loved it. You and Takeru kissed till Takeru pulled away, breathing heavily from the kiss. You still held Takeru, your thumb rubbing circles on Takeru’s waist.

Takeru kept his eyes closed for a few seconds before he opened them. Takeru looked up at you to see that you were already looking at him. Takeru could tell that you were happy, your eyes showed it.

“Do you like me?” Takeru asked breathlessly. You let out a little laugh, “of course, why do you think I kissed you”, you said. Making Takeru realize how stupid of a question that was.

“How did you know I liked you?” Takeru asked, his voice quiet. You looked up, “I mean, you flirt with me almost every day, plus, Hikari said somethings that helped me realize that I liked you”, Takeru was going to have to thank Hikari.

Takeru nodded and looked back down. Takeru smiled and hugged you. You hugged Takeru back, placing a kiss on Takeru’s head. Takeru wanted to stay like that forever but the doors to the closest open.

“Times up!” Miyako yelled. When Takeru looked around he saw that everyone had a smile on their face. Like they knew that happened. Except for Daisuke, he was pouting while Ken tried to cheer him up.

You let go of Takeru and walked out of the closet. But not before whispering something in Takeru’s ear. “We’ll finish this later”, you said with a wink and a smirk.

Takeru blushed, well, now everyone knows what happened in the closet.

[amethyst-geek]

What school clubs the Digidestined partook in

Since Japanese children are expected to join a school club in their time as students, I thought it would be fun the speculate about the school club participation (or lack thereof) of the main characters from Adventure, 02, Tamers, and Frontier. I was going to speculate on the others well, but that sounded exhausting (plus in the case of Savers, I think it's obvious that none of the main characters were participating in school clubs, at least not during the events of the show).

First, I will list the characters whose club participation has been canonically

Taichi, Daisuke, Ken, and Takuya all play soccer. Sora used to play soccer, but switched to tennis in middle school. Koushiro and Miyako are both in the computer club. Iori is on his school's Kendo team

Now that we've went over those characters, let's speculate on the club participation (or lack thereof) of rest. And since joining more than 1 club is frowned upon in Japan, I will be writing this under the assumption that the kids only do 1 club with a few exceptions .

Adventure

Yamato- I got the vibe he was part of the 'go-home' club

Mimi- Mimi is probably 1 of the few characters I can see participating in more than 1 club. But if she had to only do 1 club, I say she'd be in the drama club, or perhaps a fashion club or cooking club.

Jou- I can see him joining a literature club or perhaps he could be part of a library committee like Komachi from Yes Pretty Cure 5.

Takeru- either basketball or some kind of literature club. I'm leaning towards the latter.

Hikari- Probably photography club.

Tamers- quick note, while I don't think any of them were already in clubs during the events of Tamers, I can see most of them joining clubs in junior high.

Takato- probably art club

Ruki- maybe some sort of sports team or mechanics club

Jian- probably computer club like Koshirou and Miyako.

Juri- home ec club? band? gardening? animal caretaking?

Ryo- I'm just gonna assume he's a member of the go home club

Kenta- upon entering middle school, Kenta considered joining the Chorus club, but much to the relief of everyone's ears, some of his friends out of it, and he instead winds up joining Drama club or literature club.

Hirokazu- drama club

Suzie- she's a little young for me to able to pinpoint what her interests in middle and high school would be, but maybe an animal caretaking like Kotaro in Ghost Game (Hopefully by this point, she's learned to be more gentle with living creatures).

Frontier

Kouji- I can see him joining his school's Kendo or Bōjutsu team.

Izumi- maybe literature club, as she's seen reading in at least 1 flashback

Junpei- one of the CD drama revealed that he took up Opera, so maybe a club relating to music

Tomoki- Once he's old enough to join a school club, I kinda like the idea of him joining cooking club or a home economics club.

Kouichi- maybe a literature club (then again the only time we ever saw him reading a book was in Takuya's imagination). Or maybe soccer, since one of the CD drama reveals that he apparently likes soccer.

[aihoshiino]

hello!!! you have no idea how hard it is (for me at least haha) to find a blog that talks about ai even semi consistently let alone analyze her this closely so i enjoy ur blog very much! thank you for feeding my ai brainrot :D

anyways any thoughts on ai and hikaru’s relationship? or just speculation since theres not much on it rn? its pretty fascinating to me, they were both children who were abused and exploited as a whole (that and their own respective fucked up relationship and idea of sexual intimacy which might be one of the catalysts for them jumping to sex so quickly despite both (i think?) being aware of the consequences with them being relatively active in the entertainment industry and what not) so its not too hard to imagine them potentially bonding even if it never quite reached genuine love romantic or otherwise

HAPPY TO PROVIDE, ANON! <3 I fully admit that my ramblings are mostly for my own benefit because if I don't talk about Hoshino Ai at least twice a day I will turn into the Oshi no Joker but it's always so nice to hear folks are glad to be along for the ride.

Hikaru and Ai's relationship has always been really fascinating to me, though! It's kind of an interesting subversion on some of our and Aqua's ingrained assumptions about the kind of person the twins' father would be – there's this sort of implicit, unspoken understanding based on the way Aqua focuses primarily on men who were already adults when Ai got pregnant that Ai was victimized in some way which resulted in the twins. Finding out who Hikaru is and the fact that he and Ai were peers immediately casts all of Ai's decisions regarding him in a hugely different light and raises a lot of questions about things that we otherwise assumed went without saying.

That said, given that we know so little about both their relationship and Hikari himself as a person, it's kind of hard to make solid guesses! I sort of have a rough shape of what I imagine it was like in my head just based on Hikaru's emotional function in the story VS what we know about him specifically as a person – Hikaru is very clearly intended to be a sort of bad end/dark mirror of Aqua, so I like to think that his and Ai's relationship probably contained echoes of the two main Aqua romances we see play out in the present. I had like a huge and honestly kind of incomprehensible ramble here originally while I tried to define what I meant by that but then I realized the series itself already lays it out...

In Hikaru, Ai found someone she thought would finally understand and accept her.

In Ai, Hikaru saw light.

Ai is tied to stars and light constantly through the series while also being tied to Kana pretty strongly as well, so I think it makes sense for her to be the Kana/light equivalent in this relationship. Uh, of course, I think I have accidentally implied that this means Akane is paralleling Hikari, so let's move on................................

It's also interesting to take into account 45510 when trying to pick up some info about how this relationship went. The stream at the center of this story is dated just after Ai came back from her hiatus following the birth of the twins, so around when she was 16/17 years old -- closer to the latter and so likely two or three years after her relationship with Hikaru fell apart. With that in mind, Ai's words here feel kind of... I guess, accidentally revealing? In some interesting ways.

When asked to describe her ideal type for a lover, Ai says: ""I guess I'd like to be with someone who doesn't lose their cool with me when I mess things up, ‘cause that happens a lot! Someone who gets all worked up over every little thing would probably get tired of me pretty quick. It’d be unfair for them, so I'd rather be with someone who's not like that.""

And unprompted, she continues from there with this: ""Love is all about trust, isn't it? They call it... 'recipricity', I think? Like, if someone showed me they love me, I'd feel the same way about them. But, I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat. It's tough for me to really believe in words like 'love' and 'like.' I've never actually fallen in love with someone before, so I'm not even sure what it means, you know?""

This is FASCINATING knowing this is Ai on the other side of her relationship with Hikaru. We know that this is Ai's true feelings because even the 45510 narrator, who calls her a liar every time she so much as breathes, admits that she knows Ai is probably telling the truth here. If this is the case, then this basically confirms that however intense the HikaAi relationship was, she didn't feel as though she loved him, which matches with the snippets we've gotten from the DVD and the movie where Ai's parting/break up with Hikaru was centered on Ai admitting that she couldn't love him.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that their bond wasn't genuine or that they didn't have real feelings for each other – I totally agree with your take that they probably gravitated towards each other as victims of abuse generally and CSA specifically and found a sort of comfort and solidarity in recognizing and licking each others' wounds. But obviously, things didn't work out and I think we have a lot of clues already what this fundamental misunderstanding was.

When Ai tells Hikaru "I can't love you" this is an apology, an admission of weakness and self-blame. What Ai is saying is I can't love you, because I'm broken and I can't love anyone.

What Hikaru likely hears is I can't love you because you're broken and nobody could.

That sense of rejection, combined with the trauma he already carried from his abuse would have been bad enough but that Ai got pregnant and broke up with him was likely hugely retraumatizing for him, ripping open the scars of his abuse at Airi Himekawa's hands. He may have even misconstrued Ai's actions as an act of abuse similar to Airi's and everything went spiralling from there.

I don't have any really solid shots to call, unfortunately! So much about Hikaru is up in the air right now, but I think he's a super interesting character and his and Ai's relationship is something I really, really want to eventually see more of.