Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Digidreams Do Come True! ❯ The Trip Home! ( Chapter 33 )

Chapter 33: “???3????????”

“Are wa…Gennai desuka?”

“Is that…Gennai?!” The Trip Home!

 

After all of the darkness around them had completely vanished, a bright light surrounded them. After the light subsided, they all found themselves in front of a big, beautiful home. Chibimon, as well as Minomon and Upamon, were back to t heir child (rookie) forms, and the children, were back to their regular ages.

 

`Yay! I'm not a shrimp anymore!' Takeru inwardly cheered.

 

To greet them, were Angellina, Swanmon, Meihui, and young, handsome brown-haired man.

 

“Gennai-san!”

 

“Hey there,” the young Gennai heartily greeted the children.

 

The sight of Gennai was reason for discussion, as all of the children were throwing out questions. During all of this, Meihui ran up and practically choked Miyako and Koushirou, hugging the two tightly. She was really glad that they had survived the battle.

 

“I knew you all would do well.”

 

Angellina nodded in agreement as she concurred with Gennai. “I knew that you all would as well. I am also glad to see that you managed to come back here safe and sound, Gennai-san.”

 

“Of course.” He smirked playfully at the shorter woman, which made him even more handsome looking. “You actually thought that I would stay away? You know you'd get bored without me here.”

 

“Gennai-san, you-you…fool!” the normally polite woman scolded, her smile fading. “You could have been killed!! What on earth possessed you to go after Demon and his two partners, all by yourself?!”

 

“Calm down, now.” Gennai, at the moment, looked more so like an innocent schoolboy, trying to get out of a detention. The sight was pretty amusing to Taichi and the others. “It was the only way for you to get those visions.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Well, I knew that we wouldn't be able to defeat them alone, and that we would need help. I spoke with Zhuqiaomon-sama of the Southern Gate, but he insisted that we needed no help from the human world. I explained to him that it would be wise if we did, and even reminded him of the general prophecy, but he was too stubborn to listen.

 

“I knew that we were going to need more help than we currently had, so I sacrificed myself to Demon. By doing so, Zhuqiaomon-sama and the other three Holy Beast Guardians knew that they were going to have to settle for outside help since I was captured. Qinglongmon-sama and the others gave you the powers to enhance your sixth sense. They also shared the power to allow you to open up those gates, and to summon these particular Chosen Children.

 

“Pretty much, all four had to be in agreement before acting, and I was growing frustrated with waiting.”

 

“But why did you go to Zhuqiaomon-sama? Why not go to Qinglongmon-sama at first? This is his jurisdiction.”

 

“That story is even longer, but I'll tell you and Swanmon more about it later,” he looked towards the children, “I'm sure that they all have questions.”

 

“I'm sure you're right.” The woman after hearing the explanation, returned to her nice, calm self. “Besides, we have someone here that I'm sure our newest addition would love to meet.”

 

Eiji pointed to herself, as she noticed both Gennai and Angellina giving her a knowing look. “Me?”

 

The two nodded.

 

“Come on out,” Gennai called.

 

Eiji's eyes lit up as a beautiful, golden butterfly Digimon flew from behind Angellina's mansion, and landed right beside her. “It's the giant butterfly that saved me when I was little.”

 

“Yes it is.”

****

(Digi-Analyzer On)

 

Tailmon: This is *Butterflymon, an insect Digimon who is very good at causing attacks of confusion. Her wings aren't only pretty to look at, but it helps her out in battle whenever she uses her “Sweet Pheremone” attack, tricking her opponent into doing whatever she wants of them. Defeating her will always be a task, and Butterflymon are also some of the most wisest Digimon known here.

 

(Digi-Analyzer Off)

****

“B-but how?” Eiji started. She wasn't sure as to what to say or how to react. She just continued to stutter and point.

 

“It seems that you are speechless.” Angellina found Eiji's reaction quite cute. “Well, as I've said before, you have the qualities of a Chosen Child, which is why you were able to see Butterflymon that day.

 

“She was meant to be your partner.”

 

“I was in the real world to prevent you from receiving a Digivice, like Angellina-san told you earlier. I wasn't sure who the human was, but I then saw a child about to get hit. I zoomed down and got you out of harms way. I realized that you could see me, and determined that you were the one I was to keep from discovering your being a Chosen Child, even though it pained me to do so.

 

“Nearby was a Digivice, so I stuck to my task, even though I wanted to stay with you, and came back here. I've been pretty much an errand-mon for the Holy Beast Guardians since then. It's difficult to believe that I would meet you again, especially since the guardians were trying very hard to keep you from ever finding out about all of this, but I guess that's what you call fate.”

 

“So you're saying that you're my Digimon partner?” Butterflymon nodded. Eiji couldn't help but squeal in excitement. “I have to give you a name, if you don't mind.”

 

“No, not at all. What would you like to address me as?”

 

“Hmm, how about *Chou?”

 

“That's a nice name. I like it very much.”

 

Eiji turned to everyone, grinning broadly as she hugged the golden butterfly. “Hey everyone!! This is my new Digimon friend, Chou!”

 

The others all clapped and gave congratulatory cheers and shouts to the two.

 

“Wow, Eiji-san; you now have yourself a Digimon partner.”

 

“Yep, I sure do, Iori-kun, and I couldn't be happier.”

 

“I was just wondering about something, how did Gennai get back here?”

 

“That's a good question there, Taichi. I was wondering when someone would ask it. It was pretty easy after Demon, Zanbamon, and Sorcerymon left to open up a gate to the human world. I was left in charge of Demon's troops, who were all training for the invasion. After you all defeated Sorcerymon, the control he had over me, pretty much nullified.

 

“As for the troops, the guardians sent in reinforcements to take care of them. Right now, they are all being judged by Qinglongmon-sama and will be taken before the superior above him and the other three, *Huanglongmon (Fanglongmon).

 

“I know you guys don't know of Huanglongmon-sama, since I've never had to really mention him. He's pretty much the head of the Holy Beast Guardians. He's like their boss, just like Qinglongmon-sama is our boss. It's difficult to ever see him, and if he ever has to intervene in anything, you know there's trouble.”

 

“What about Hikari-chan, Takeru-kun, and Daisuke-kun? Why were they in those strange trances?” inquired an interested Sora.

 

“There was a saying going along the lines of light leading to hope, and hope helping to create miracles,” Angellina wisely input.

 

“So that's why the crest shape of miracles stood out so much.”

 

“Yamato-san is right!!” Mimi clapped. “That's how that Nohemon found us! He was technically our miracle! He helped to save us!”

 

“I wonder how he managed to get there in the first place.”

 

“Well, Jou-san, it seems that Nohemon snuck through the gate I had opened to bide you some time.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Demon's dark energy was seeping into your world a little at a time; to try and keep it a bit balanced, I opened up a gate so that some of it would seep here, as well.”

 

“The reason those three were in trances, was due to the fact that their spiritual selves, I guess you could call it, had taken over their physical bodies. Apparently, their spiritual sides, because of their crests and probably from the help of Eiji, are very strong.”

 

“I guess when you look at it, it wasn't wrong after all, that prophecy.”

 

“What do you mean, Ken-kun?” asked Miyako.

 

“Well, it did say that in order to defeat the dark demon lord's predecessor, and the evil that would end up destroying both worlds, could only be defeated by those who have the mindset of a child; Hikari-san, Takeru-san, and Motomiya are three of the younger ones, Iori-kun coming next.”

 

“That plan also seemed to backfire on Demon,” Hawkmon added on. “He made all of you younger, which also made it so that your partners could evolve to higher stages. If he would have kept you at your original ages, it would have been pretty difficult for some of us to reach certain levels, meaning he probably would have won.”

 

“Wait!!” Patamon rested on Takeru's head, as something came to mind. “Didn't Demon say something about coming back, like Vamdemon did?”

 

“You won't have to worry about that. He can't come back, and he most definitely won't.”

 

Michael gave Angellina a quizzical look, and innocently asked, “How do you know?”

 

“When you fought and defeated VenomVamdemon, you never destroyed the data or energy that left his physical body after it was deleted. With Demon, Daisuke-san, Hikari-san, and Takeru-san managed to take care of that. All of the dark energy that left Demon's body, was destroyed as well, so that he can't rest or possess another like the vengeful Vamdemon did.”

 

“That's a relief,” Jou breathed out while wiping his brow. “I don't think I could live through that again.”

 

“Oh yeah, I forgot to ask this when we first got here, but where exactly are we?”

 

“Yeah, I was wondering the same thing as Takeru-kun. How did we get here if we originally started at Ebemon's factory?” Hikari asked.

 

“It's pretty much a mere coincidence,” Angellina told them with a small giggle. “And as for where you are, this is pretty much the new home of Gennai-san and I stay here as well as Swanmon.”

 

Hawkmon nodded, confirming what Angellina had just said. “I mentioned that earlier to you. He no longer resides in his underground facilities.”

 

“I am sorry for being so inhospitable. Please, do come in. I had some snacks and such prepared while anxiously awaiting your return.”

 

Just like before, when Eiji had arrived there the previous night, Angellina, Swanmon, and Gennai led the children into the luxurious looking mansion. They too couldn't help but notice the many photos decorating the hallway. When walking by, Eiji looked a bit perplexed, as she grew curious over the ones that hadn't been explained.

 

At the end of the hallway, was a set of tall, oak doors. Gennai pushed them open, as he stepped aside to let everyone in. The jaws of the kids were on the floor, due to the fanciness of this closed off room. Eiji hadn't seen this area of the mansion, so she too was taken aback by the beauty this room held. When she had breakfast earlier that morning (which consisted of toast and tea, as the girl turned down having a big breakfast; her stomach was too anxious and nervous for anything more than that), Angellina had it brought up to her spacey room by some type of Digimon that resembled a fairy and along with her, was a Digimon that resembled a pixie. The Digimon had referred to herself as “Fairymon” and the other referred to herself as “Lilymon”. Both asked if she wanted anything else, but she politely declined. Eiji felt completely out of place; everything was just too fancy for her liking, especially with the treatment she'd been receiving. These two Digimon even drew a hot bath for her.

 

As for the dining area, it seemed to look like that of a court, with an indoor fountain, and flowers (even out of season ones) set up around the fountain. On top of the fountain, it looked to be a Swanmon statue, its wings elegantly spread and its neck craned majestically.

 

In the center of the room was a dim, candle-lit golden chandelier. Beneath it, there sat a long, rectangular pure oak-wood table. There was room for pretty much everyone; the Digimon included. It seemed that everything decorating the table was of either gold or silver, as the cups (shaped as goblets), had a golden color to them, and so did the silverware, and the plates. The tea cups also at this long table with pretty much every tea imaginable.

 

This was no snack; this was a feast! There were lots different beverages as well as a variety of international foods set up for the heroes: Japanese; Chinese; American; British, Spanish, etc.

 

“Please, everyone, have a seat. Help yourselves to these delectable dishes, which I had prepared prior to your arrival to our world. I am quite certain that you will find most of it to your liking, especially the cakes and sweet treats.”

 

Everyone did just that, and took a seat at the table almost hesitantly. They all felt underdressed for such an occasion. After everyone was comfortable and settled, “Itadakimasu!!” enjoying the meal and drinks, they pretty much remained in constant conversation. Meihui, who wanted to know more about their Digital World adventures, was glad to hear more of the details surrounding Miyako's RPG; after going through such an adventure, she felt bad that she'd actually been the one sabotaging it from the beginning, but she made sure to keep that fact a secret.

 

During the meal, Eiji seemed to space out slightly. Something was eating at her once again, aside from Angellina's impeccable meal preparations. “How exactly did she manage such a thing?” and “Does she have Digimon working in the kitchens here to keep this huge place up?” were the two questions that kept coming to mind for her.

 

“Eiji-san,” Iori was seated to the right of her, and was currently sipping down some nice, hot green tea, “what's wrong?”

 

“Those photos…” She turned her attention towards the head of the table, where Angellina looked to be eating on something she'd called, “Shepard's Pie” and drinking a glass of mead. “Angellina-san, who were those other people in the photos we saw? A lot of those photos looked like you, only younger. The same thing goes for Gennai-san too.”

 

Swanmon looked up from her meal and up towards her partner and Gennai, who were seated next to one another. “Why not tell them of your pasts?”

 

“I don't see any harm in that. Do you, Angellina?”

 

“No, I suppose not,” she answered slowly.

 

“Now, as soon as everyone is quiet, I'll begin.” Everyone grew silent, as Gennai cleared his throat. “There. Now, as you all may already know, you guys aren't the first set of Chosen Children.”

 

“Yes, I remember that,” Sora recalled before sipping down more of her cola. “You explained that to us right before we fought Apocalymon.”

 

“First set? You mean, before the friends of Izumi-sama, there were more?” Meihui asked.

 

The two nodded. Eiji grew excited, as she came to a realization. “You two, you were Chosen Children at one point, weren't you!”

 

“Calm down,” Swanmon urged with a sweat drop. `The last thing this child needs is sugar and she has a plate filled with cakes.'

 

Taichi looked at the two, purely astonished. “Is this true Gennai? Are you really one of the five original Chosen Children?”

 

“Yes, and so is Angellina.”

 

“Our adventures were nothing compared to yours.”

 

“Why are you guys here in the Digital World anyway?” Koushirou asked. `Gennai-san would always say that he was neither human nor Digimon data wise. He's now saying he's one of the original five, who, to my knowledge, were all quite human; this doesn't compute at all.'

 

“These two were the only ones granted out of the five, to help keep peace here in the Digital World, as well as immortality, just like myself, since I am her partner. They were also technically granted adulthood at the age they wanted, to help maintain this and before you ask, yes, we can die, even if we are technically immortal. Just because they are, doesn't mean that we can't die. We just can't die based on old age.”

 

“I shall always remain the tender, young age of 25.” Angellina looked towards Gennai, and smiled offhandedly at him. “It's a grand age.”

 

“But how come when we first met Gennai-san, he was…older looking,” Mimi queried before gulping down some of her Taiwanese bubble tea. The girl loved the delicacy, and it had been ages since she'd had it last. Her friends, on the other hand, never cared for the tapioca tea, then again, she loved *natto with her eggs, so they figured if she enjoyed something like that, then bubble tea was nothing in comparison.

 

“Qinglongmon used powers from the Digicore to keep both of us looking young and also to help us to feel young. By the time I met up with you all, the power from the Digicore had pretty much worn off, due mainly to the entrapment of the guardians by the Dark Masters.

 

“I was starting to show my true age without it, and before you all defeated Apocalymon, 1 minute in your world was equivalent to 1 day in the Digital World. I came across as very old, because time went by faster here and we're both literally connected with it and its ways.

 

“Thinking about it, you first set of children were here a long time. If you had stayed here a bit longer at that time, I'm sure you all would've aged by at least a year.”

 

“So where are you two really from?” Miyako took a bite out of her slice of strawberry crème cake. It was absolutely delicious and heavenly to the girl. `I'm going on a crash diet when I get home! This bite alone has to be loaded with a ton of fat calories!'

 

“I used to reside in Kyoto with my paternal grandfather, aunt, uncle, and their daughter. They ran a shrine there,” Angellina explained bleakly. A part of her didn't really want to discuss her family life. “I never really felt I belonged there, especially since I never felt I fit in there. I was the foreigner, and it was taking me a while to get accustomed to their ways. It took a while to get used to my mother's country and home, even though I lived there for many years.

 

“My father was from England. My father passed away when I was very young from an illness, so my mother moved back to Japan and lived with her father (my grandfather) and her sister and her family. I didn't particularly get along with my cousin, who was about the same age as I was.

 

“Even though it was beautiful there, I never really enjoyed my time living with my grandfather, especially after my mother passed away when I was about eight. I always felt like a burden on them.

 

“I was an outsider to them, and after my mother's passing, my aunt and her family, really treated me as such. No matter how hard I would try, I could never get the approval of my aunt and her family. The only reason it was bearable, was because of my grandfather, who seemed to genuinely love me regardless of my slight cultural difference.

 

“When I became of age at about 14, I moved out, and took on my role as Digimon Empress of the Digital World of this hemisphere, but it's a different area, as you can see, than you all know of. I was nowhere near File Island or the Continent of Server where you older children first had your adventure.”

 

Gennai stared up at the chandelier, the candles flickering and crackling. “I didn't really come from anyplace,” he sighed depressingly. “I was pretty much a wanderer; always getting into trouble; not really fitting in anyplace.”

 

“What do you mean, Gennai-san?” asked Sora.

 

“Well, I always took care of myself. I've always been alone, and I grew up that way. When I was ten, I ended up in Kyoto for some reason; the last place I'd been, I didn't like it, so I just ran away. I just wandered there, pretty much, caused a bit of trouble, but miraculously, I came across the shrine that Angellina's family ran.

 

“It was one of the prettiest places I'd ever seen in my life. The shrine had a beautiful garden nearby. I would drop by all the time, just to play with Angellina. She seemed to understand me and I understood her, since neither of us could find a place to belong or to fit in. We always felt isolated.

 

“I'd say that she did have a bit of a good influence on me. After meeting her, and making a genuine friend, I felt that I should change a bit. Angellina helped to get me a job at her grandfather's shrine and he even took me in; you could only imagine how her family reacted to that. The old man was okay, but his other daughter and her family…terrible. It was fun and I ended up going to school too with Angellina and her irritating cousin. One day, while both of us were cleaning up, we were brought here to the Digital World in the craziest way.

 

“When I got a bit older, I was asked if I wanted to remain here in the Digital World and to take on the role of helping to maintain peace within it, and the human world. I chose it, of course. I had lots of fun in the Digital World, and I didn't mind staying here. It's not like I had anything to go back home to, aside from Angellina, and since she was staying here - since her grandfather had passed away, and her aunt was being rude over Angellina's place in the family - I had even more of a reason not to return home.”

 

“Gennai-san and I knew each other prior to our adventures here, but that's not the case with the others.”

 

“If only two people were needed to run things around here, then what happened to the other three out of you five?”

 

The look on Angellina's face seemed to fall, while Gennai suddenly seemed more interested in the slice of cake on his place than what Michael had asked, which is what the other kids had been thinking themselves anyway. Michael was just the first to ask it.

 

“Uh oh, I think you upset them, Michael,” Betamon whispered to him.

 

“No no, it-it's nothing. It's just that---”

 

“We'll talk about her last,” Gennai sympathetically interjected.

 

“Oh-okay,” she nodded. After taking a deep breath, to regain some of her composure, she began. “Along with the both of us, was a 12-year-old boy by the name of Fujiwara Nanaho. He was from the town of Kaibara.”

 

“Kaibara…Kaibara…that name sounds familiar,” Jou muttered while racking his brain.

 

“*Kaibara was a part of the Hikami district of Hyogo, Japan; quite a ways off from all of us. If I'm not mistaken, recently, from what I viewed on the news from your world, all of the towns which made up the district of Hikami, including Kaibara, will merge to become the new, though small, city of Tamba,” Gennai explained. “Maybe that's why the name was familiar to you.”

 

“Oh yeah! I do remember seeing something about that on the news a good while back! I think it's almost complete.”

 

“Hyogo was a very nice place to visit. Nanaho-san grew up to become a very successful business man, and now has a family of his own,” Angellina continued, her voice quiet and gentle. “The other person was an 11-year-old boy named Fumitake Kazuko. He, too, was from Kaibara. Nanaho-san and Kazuko-san were cousins.”

 

“Those two were incredibly annoying!! All they did was bicker, and would always compete with one another,” Swanmon sighed in annoyance. “They were nothing but a headache source when like that.”

 

“The Digimon partner of Nanaho was Kunemon, and the partner of Kazuko was Elecmon,” Gennai continued. “Just as Swanmon said, those two were always bickering and fighting, but, you knew that they loved each other like they were brothers, since they probably would do anything for each other, but to an outsider, I'm sure one wouldn't have thought so. The main downside, though, was that their bickering and fighting left a bad effect on their two Digimon partners.”

 

“A bad effect? What do you mean?”

 

“Well, Meihui, *both of those Digimon grew to become rivals and natural enemies. In their adult (champion) forms, which they had naturally evolved to after our adventures here were over, they would always try battling one another. Too bad neither of them are with us, but he should be getting back to that stage pretty soon since he was reformatted after his death.

 

“Also, if you all are wondering, Kazuko now lives in America. He lives in the Washington, D.C. area. He has a wife and three children. He grew up to become a Biochemist.”

 

“What about the third person?”

 

Wormmon's question, caused both to react indifferently, just like earlier, when Michael had asked. Heaving out a heavy, sorrowful sigh, Angellina quietly replied, “She is no longer with us.”

 

“I'll tell this story.”

 

The woman shook her head, as she tried her best to hold back tears. “No no, Gennai-san, I will.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“I'm sure, Swanmon.” A tear escaped her blue eyes, which she wiped away quickly. She took another swallow of her mead to help ease her nerves, and began to tell the story of the third Chosen Child.

 

“The third person was a shy, nine-year-old girl from the Nerima ward of Tokyo, and lived in the district of Hikarigaoka. Her name was Tomoko Miki. She was very nice, a bookworm, and was pretty smart. She was a redhead too, just as I, but I envied her a bit for having such pretty hair.

 

“She wasn't one for fashion or anything like that. She was very alone in the world, just as Gennai-san was. She had no family and no parents. She pretty much grew up in an orphanage, but, she seemed to always remain optimistic about her situation.

 

“She became practically my best friend, and we kept in touch; even after our purposes had been served here in the Digital World. It was granted for Gennai-san and I to go back and forth to the human world, when the guardians permitted it, but only with the approval of Huanglongmon-sama, though.

 

“Her Digimon partner was, ironically,” she glanced over at Koushirou, “a Tentomon.”

 

“A Tentomon? Amazing. I actually have a Digimon that one of the Original Five had.”

 

“That wasn't me, Koushirou-han.”

 

“You know what I mean, Tentomon.”

 

“After our adventures here in the Digital World, she went back to her lonely life in Hikarigaoka, and stuck with school, but would always visit occasionally. She continued on to university. I think she ended up attending Nihon University.

 

“While attending there, she met up with a nice gentleman who was very interested in programming and analytical-based work, if I recall correctly. Maybe he was majoring in engineering. I can't remember if he ever managed to reach his ultimate goal or not. He became a worker of a Chemical Industry, and ended up marrying Miki-san. Miki-san became a housewife. I was under the impression that she was truly happy to have a husband and was quite anxious to start up a family.”

 

“Yes, she did seem quite happy after that. More than I'd ever seen her, but of course with all that newfound responsibility, we didn't get to see her as much after that, and as for us, our duties began to increase, so our traveling grew limited.”

 

“O-one n-n-night, one tr-tragic night, she and her husband…they were both killed in a t-t-terrible…” She broke off, and began to cry uncontrollably, unable to continue. Both Gennai and Swanmon tried their bests to console her. “I'm sorry.”

 

Koushirou stared from Angellina to Gennai, even more questions plaguing his ever intriguing mind. He felt he understood what Gennai had meant when saying that he was neither a human nor a Digimon through this story. Gennai had been attached to the Digital World for so long, he technically became a part of it, therefore, making him no longer a typical human (where the human world was concerned), but, since he was attached, he could be considered data, like a Digimon, but since he wasn't born to the world, he's not like one's typical Digimon, either. He kind of wanted some confirmation on his theory.

 

He was also curious about the final member of the Original Five. The story about her, left him feeling unresolved, and he had no idea why he wanted to try and make some sort of a connection. He would've asked more about her, but due to the woman's breakdown, he didn't have the heart to.

 

“Angellina-san, please, don't overdo it,” Hikari told her sympathetically. “That is very sad about the couple.”

 

“I think we should probably stop asking questions now.”

 

“I agree with Takeru-kun,” Jou nodded. “That would probably be best for now.”

 

“We should probably leave them,” Meihui stated. “I guess this means we can all finally go home now.”

 

“Yes, it does,” Swanmon stretched as she and the others rose from their seats. Gennai and Angellina, though, remained seated. “Before you do, you must say goodbye to your Digimon partners first.”

 

“No!! I don't want to!!” they all cried indignantly.

 

“I just got my partner!! Now I have to say goodbye?! Everyone else had years to get to know their partners; I never had the chance because you all kept it secret!”

 

“Isn't there a way for us to not have to say good bye again,” Michael pleaded.

 

“I'm afraid not.” Gennai rose, Angellina at his side, nodded.

 

“Gennai-san, let's go out into the garden; it makes for a better atmosphere and the clearing makes it easier to send them back.”

 

“Yeah, it does. Follow us all; you Digimon too.”

 

Everyone gloomily followed the two out of the mansion, into the back of the house. The garden was spectacular, as it seemed to be filled with every flower known to man. There was even wild tea growing there.

 

“Now everyone, as Swanmon said earlier, if you're going home, it's time to say goodbye to your partners.”

 

Grudgingly, the kids did as they were instructed; there wasn't a dry eye there.

 

“Why can't they take their Digimon along with them? Izumi-sama, Inoue, and the others seem really attached to them.”

 

“We've lived here in the Digital World for far too long,” Gomamon explained after hearing the ninja girl. “We've grown too accustomed to living here and the energy from our world, keeps us energized to fight in case something happens. We probably wouldn't be able to keep our energy up if we went back with you.”

 

Gennai smirked at the group, and then broke out into a fit of laughter.

 

“What's so funny,” snapped Taichi.

 

“Just because you all are going home, doesn't mean that you can't come back.”

 

“Yes.” Angellina was now a bit more collected than what she was earlier. “Now that there are no more threats, currently, it has been arranged by Gennai-san, so that you all can open up a limited-accessed gate to travel back and forth. It shall be more accessible for you now.”

 

“Does this mean that I can see my friends from Odaiba more, and that I can see Palmon anytime that I want!!”

 

“That's right.”

 

Mimi's eyes lit up, as she grabbed Palmon's vines. The two began to dance happily. “Did you hear that Palmon!!! I get to see you all more now!! This is great!!”

 

“Yay!! I get to spend time with Mimi-chan again!!”

 

“I'm glad that it was granted for you to be allowed to. Now, you guys should probably hurry home; your families are probably worried, and I'm sure that Koushirou and Miyako will both find a way so that you all can visit.”

 

“Hmm, do you mean for us to set up a gateway for each of us that only that child will know about?” Miyako asked. `I guess that's what he meant by `limited access'.'

 

“That would mean no D-3s will be needed for us to open a gate to go back and forth to the Digital World, meaning that we older kids won't have to rely on you younger ones anymore,” Koushirou stated.

 

Gennai did Miyako's victory pose with a wink. “Bingo!!” Everyone sweat dropped at the man's bad impression. “A-anyway,” he coughed embarrassedly, “any kind of a Digivice should be able to open it; you just have to set up everything on your end. It's already been allowed on this one and for extra precaution, whenever you do use the gates, it will always lock. It won't always remain open, like Miyako theorized.”

 

“It was nice seeing you all, but we really should get home. I have to come up with something to explain to Malissa-kun!” groaned Jou, while holding his head.

 

“But where will we end up if we go through a gate?” Taichi asked. `I wonder where the gates are in general…'

 

“You will all end up in Kasumigaseki.”

 

“Kasumigaseki!?!”

 

“Why are we going to end up there?” Jou slightly panicked. “That district is in the Chiyoda ward! I don't have any money to catch a ferry or taxi home!!! And what about Mimi-kun and Michael-san?”

 

“Mimi and Michael, using the Digicore's power, will send them right back exactly from where Angellina summoned them. The reason the rest of you, including your friend, Meihui, here, are going to end up in Kasumigaseki is because the gate is set up right in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.

 

“Now, continue onward to get to the gates which will take you home.”

 

Gennai and Angellina walked along, heading towards the back of the garden where there was a clearing.

 

“To get back, just hold out your Digivices and concentrate like you did before when going after Demon.”

 

“But I don't have a---”

 

“Eiji, check your pocket.”

 

The young girl took in the words of her new partner, and went through her jeans pocket. She pulled out a D-3, which had a color for each crest trait she possessed. “A Digivice!”

 

“It seems to have changed on its own, Gennai-san,” Angellina pointed out. “It's not a regular model Digivice anymore.”

 

“I hope to see you again very soon, Eiji,” Chou told her new human partner. “It was a pleasure to have properly met you.”

 

“Same here, Chou.” She hugged her friend tightly. “But don't worry. I plan on coming back as much as possible!”

 

“Hey, Gennai, why are we going to end up at the police station?” asked Yamato.

 

“You all will see when arriving there.”

 

“It looks like this is goodbye again, you guys. It was really nice seeing you all again, even if we were all very young for a good portion of it; pretty much reliving our old adventures.”

 

“It was nice seeing you guy too.” Michael turned to his friend, and replied, in English, “Hey, Mimi, we better get back before your parents find out that we were gone.”

 

“Yeah, you're right,” she retorted, also in English, “but I wouldn't mind talking for a bit longer. How about you go on ahead of me?”

 

“I dunno…”

 

“I can take care of myself. I proved that when you came over this afternoon, remember?”

 

“Yeah, that's right,” the taller boy heartily laughed. “You sure can be vicious when you want to be.”

 

“I'll see you later, Michael.”

 

“Sure thing, Mims, but if you don't mind my asking, where did you get that green blazer from?”

 

“Oh, I'm still wearing it,” she laughed. “I never took it off. Koushirou lent it to me earlier since my clothes were too big.” She decided to take the jacket off later. She was still topless underneath the jacket.

 

“Betamon,” Michael picked up the tadpole like creature, and hugged him, “I'm going to miss you, but I promise to come back and see you soon.”

 

“Right, Michael. I don't mind this type of goodbye, since we're guaranteed to see each other again!”

 

Michael nodded, and set him down. “Okay, Gennai; I'm ready.”

 

“Just do as I said earlier.”

 

“Right.” He pulled out his Digivice, and looked to be concentrating very hard. A set appeared behind him, the screen showing a gate that was unlocked and accessible. He walked through the bright light that emitted from it. When Michael opened his eyes, he saw he was sprawled out on the floor of Mimi's room…'cept it was in the girl's walk-in closet. On the other end, the set had vanished from sight.

 

After Michael left, the others didn't seem to want to leave just yet and randomly scattered about the garden, breaking into separate groups just to talk, and take in the beauty of the garden just one last time before their departure. Mimi took that opportunity to walk over to Koushirou and Tentomon, who was pretty quiet at the time. The only ones who didn't seem to go off by themselves, were Jou and Meihui, whom were discussing something with Gennai, Angellina, and Gomamon in great detail. Miyako was with the other Junior High attendees, Sora was with Yamato and Taichi, and Iori was talking with Eiji.

 

“I think this is the best adventure I ever had here, since I like the fact that we'll be able to come back, but I'm sorry it ruined your get together,” Miyako told the younger ones.

 

“I think it made it better, Miyako-san,” Ken shyly spoke. “It was nice being able to spend time with you for a change.”

 

“Yeah, it was nice.” A gentle breeze blew some of her hair into her face, which she promptly removed. “I don't get the chance to see you all too much since I'm usually busy with Izumi-senpai.”

 

Ken felt his face growing hot and sweat rolling down his trim face. His heart was also beginning to beat erratically. He then started to mess with his shoulder-lengthened dark hair, while urging his stomach to stop with the gymnastics competition currently going on within it. “May-maybe we, meaning you….a-and me, should-should spend some time together when we get back home, or-or something.”

 

“I would like that.” She smiled to the younger boy. “It'll make up for missing out on hanging around with you and the others this evening.”

 

“Leave it up to a Digital World crisis to bring us all together,” Hikari laughed.

 

Takeru laughed along. “You got that right!”

 

The boy of hope began to weave a tale pertaining to something dealing with the Digital World when both he and Hikari were younger, which resulted in Hikari and Tailmon laughing along with Takeru and Patamon over said incident. The four of them (Miyako; Ken; Hikari; Takeru) and their Digimon remained in animated discussion, but the conversation would always seem to involve something from Hikari and Takeru's pasts together. Daisuke, on the other hand, felt awkward standing around them, and drifted away from the group. After he was a good distance away, he sat under one of the many trees that occupied the garden, and sighed. “I don't even know why I bother…”

 

“Bother with what?”

 

Startled, Daisuke looked to see a small, blue Digimon by his side. He hadn't noticed him earlier, due to his gloomy demeanor. “Oh, V-mon, you scared me.”

 

“You didn't seem very happy, so I decided to follow you to see what was wrong.”

 

Daisuke decided to let his friend in on all that had been bothering him. V-mon couldn't understand it completely since he wasn't in the situation, but he tried his best to cheer Daisuke up, by telling jokes.

 

The boy forced out a laugh over the attempt. “Have you been getting joke lessons from Gomamon? Those were awful!”

 

V-mon grinned. “It was worth a try.”

 

“Thanks for trying, V-mon.”

 

“So, what are you going to do about Hikari-chan?”

 

“What can I do? I'm just going to go home and think things over, that's all,” he said while staring up in the sky, watching the clouds slowly go by. “Besides, I'm just glad to know that I can come visit you anytime that I want; that definitely made my day...”

****

In another part of the garden, a good distance away from pretty much everyone, Mimi and Palmon stood with Tentomon and Koushirou. Mimi had asked to speak with her redheaded friend alone.

 

“I forgot to give this back to you.” Mimi held the uniform jacket out for him. She'd already changed back into her sweater.

 

“You can keep it; I have another one at home.” He paused, as his mind seemed to be preparing himself for the worse case scenario. “So why did you want to talk with me alone? Is something wrong?”

 

“I was just wondering about something.”

 

“Wondering about what?”

 

“I was just wondering…did you really mean what you said?”

 

“Huh, wha? What did I say?”

 

“You were ready and willing to get yourself killed for us today,” she reminded him. “When that girl…Meihui-san…was under Sorcerymon's control.”

 

“I guess I did.” He felt himself growing a bit tense as he continued on. “I didn't want one of my pretty er, um, good friends to get hurt. I also figured that she would listen to me, since she knew me best compared to Miyako-kun, and seemed to have always had a high respect for me.”

 

“That was really sweet of you to do that for Miyako-chan and for me.” She gave the boy a furtive look, as something else came to mind. “Did you really mean what you said about me; the stuff about my being `a wonderful person'?” Koushirou nodded slowly, his cheeks growing a light shade of pink. He couldn't understand why Mimi's inquiry of him was making him so anxious. “But why did you make that statement about no one caring if something were to happen to you?”

 

“Oh that? That was nothing.”

 

“It sounded much too serious for it to be nothing, and it's been bothering me ever since you said it! It sounded like a death wish to me!”

 

“Honest, Mimi-san, it was nothing at all.”

 

“Izumi Koushirou,” the girl firmly cried while putting her hands on her hips, “you don't sound convincing, sincere, or pure with your feelings right now! I can tell that you're lying!”

 

Koushirou, realizing that the girl had pretty much hit the nail on the head, sighed in defeat. “I'm sorry. My mind was elsewhere. I was just thinking about some people that were never close to me, because I never had the opportunity to, and neither did they, and then that story dealing with Tomoko-san…I'm just so curious to know more about it and her. I don't even understand why I'm finding her story so interesting…”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“Never mind,” he answered quickly. He really didn't want to discuss anything else dealing with himself or of Tomoko; not with her, anyway. “Shouldn't you be going now? You'll get into trouble if your family finds you missing. It's very late there now, isn't it?”

 

“I'm not sure; what time is it?”

 

Koushirou looked down at his digital watch. “Our time, it's…17:35 (5:35), Saturday evening. Sora-san missed her tennis match and there's a chance that Yamato-san will miss his concert at the rate we're going. In New York, that would make it about…4:35, Saturday morning. You've been away from home for nearly a day and a half, just as we have.”

 

“I guess I should go, then.” Mimi couldn't help but feel that her friend was holding something back, and purposely changed the subject to avoid it. The two remained quiet, both Palmon and Tentomon looking from one to the other. Mimi broke the unusual, awkward silence. “I-I want to thank you again for talking down Meihui-san when she was going to shoot me.”

 

“D-don't mention it. You're a good person. You're like a, a---”

 

“`A Japanese Mary Tyler Moore, who can turn the world on with a smile'.”

 

“Where did that come from?”

 

“That's what Michael says about me. Pretty silly, huh?” He shrugged. “Can you do me a small favor?”

 

“Sure, what is it? Do you need help with some school work?”

 

“No, it's nothing like that. All I want is to meet back up with you really soon to just talk.”

 

“Sure, I'll send you an e-mail when I get back.”

 

“No; I'm not talking about conversing through computers or messengers. I want us to literally and physically talk to one another.”

 

“But international calls are expensive.”

 

Mimi shook her head at the boy's obvious naivety to the situation. “Koushirou-kun, did you forget what Gennai-san said? I want to meet back with you here in the Digital World so that we can talk.”

 

“OH!!! I understand now.”

 

“Maybe you can talk about those people you were thinking about.”

 

“Um, okay,” he shrugged.

 

“And the only e-mail I want to see from you, is when you figure out that gate-traveling business in detail with Miyako-chan,” she winked with a smile.

 

“I wouldn't mind that, but what about the time difference? It's a 13-hour difference between Tokyo and New York.”

 

“We'll find a way to make it work.”

 

“Sure, okay.”

 

“Well, I guess I should finally get going now.”

 

Mimi walked closer to Koushirou, and leaned up, giving him a quick peck on the cheek, which left the computer whiz flabbergasted, yet, unusually warm and happy. “Um…I…er…”

 

“Koushirou-han!!”

 

“Thanks again; I can literally call you my hero,” she giggled.

 

“Y-y-yeah…hero…” he uttered distractedly, his face glowing red.

****

“I'm not very happy with you two,” a certain goggle-headed boy complained loudly.

 

“Taichi,” Agumon urged, “calm down.”

 

“Don't get upset.”

 

“Please, don't start fighting,” Gabumon begged.

 

“Agumon, Piyomon, Gabumon, stay out of this,” Taichi ordered as he held his hand up to the three. He then turned his attention to the two humans before him. “This is between me, Yamato & Sora, and I really feel that they have the right to know that I'm not very happy with them right now.”

 

“Look, Sora and I just weren't ready to tell you yet.” This was partially true. All long, Yamato was ready to announce it to the whole world, but for some reason, Sora was hesitant, and he was now beginning to understand why, somewhat. He really didn't get why Taichi was having a problem with it.

 

“When were you going to tell me? I had to hear it from your brother,” he emphasized intensely. “Your brother!! I thought we were all better friends than that!”

 

“Taichi, we're sorry!” Sora apologized, who looked about ready to cry. She really hated to see him in such a state. “I-I didn't realize that you would feel so strongly about it.”

 

“Well, think about how I feel,” he snapped selfishly.

 

“I knew I should've taken her advice…”

 

“Whose advice?” asked Yamato.

 

“Mimi-chan.”

 

“OH, so she knew about this too?!” Taichi threw his hands up into the air and started to pace back and forth. “Who else knows? Does anyone at school know?” Yamato and Sora just stood there; neither knew how to respond to the question, without giving away that it was pretty much true. Yamato's band members knew about them, just as Mimi and Takeru did. “You know what, it doesn't matter. I don't care if the whole world knew; I just wish you two had told me instead of me having to hear it from somebody else! Two of my best friends are sneaking around behind my back! When were you going to tell me; when you two got married?”

 

“It's a little early for that, don't you think?” Sora mumbled, a nervous quirk to her light voice. “Besides, we just started dating Taichi; you're over-exaggerating.”

 

“It makes me feel as if you don't trust me, since you didn't tell me.” Taichi walked up to his childhood friend, and looked her right in the eyes. Sora wanted to look away; it was filled with hurt, and it broke her heart that she had been the one to put it there. “Sora, you're my best friend, and you've known me for years! You ought to know me better than that! I wouldn't have over-reacted! I wouldn't have hated you! It'll take a whole lot more than something like this, to break up my friendship with either of you!”

 

“I didn't think that it would've bothered you so much. It was getting more and more difficult for Sora and me to keep this from you.”

 

Sora bowed, which caught Taichi off guard. She'd never been that polite and such towards him. “Please forgive us.”

 

Taichi crossed his arms, frowning sourly, but the look softened a bit. Sora's bowing to him was just too overwhelming for him. “You know I can't stay mad at you; you're my pals. Of course I forgive you,” he forcefully grinned. `Why me? Why couldn't I be in the place of Yamato right now? What's so good about him, that Sora likes so much?'

 

Happy to hear this, Sora jumped up and hugged her life-long friend. “Taichi, you don't how happy I am to hear you say that! You're definitely a true friend, and I'm sorry about all of this; I really am!”

 

“Yep, good ole me,” he laughed forcefully.

 

Yamato studied the display curiously. He wasn't sure if Sora was apologizing for the fact that she'd hooked up with him, or if she was sorry for not sharing the news with Taichi and sneaking around. As for Taichi, he had a broad, goofy grin on his face, as if enjoying the hug Sora was giving him. He shrugged it off, dismissing it as nothing, and clapped Taichi on the shoulder. “Thanks man. I'm glad you're okay with this.”

 

“What makes you think that I wouldn't be?”

****

“I'm glad they're not upset anymore,” Piyomon whispered to Agumon and Gabumon.

 

“So am I,” Agumon responded. “I hate when Taichi is upset.”

 

“The last thing I wanted was a fight to break out,” Gabumon said.

****

Sora was extremely grateful that Taichi had taken this a bit better than even she hoped and figured that her suspicions were all moot. She was very worried that he would go completely ballistic for keeping such a secret. She was also glad that Yamato had pretty much covered for her, as she was the one who really wanted to keep the relationship secret since she wasn't ready to let Taichi know about it. She really couldn't explain why she felt the need to do this entirely, though.

 

“Thanks man,” Yamato told Taichi again.

 

“Yeah, you're welcome, now let's go.” His voice grew unintentionally dark, as he walked off, Agumon trailing behind. “I'm sure you guys want to finish your date in the park.”

 

The two, along with their Digimon, walked behind him, Sora wondering if Taichi really was okay with her and Yamato's dating one another….

****

“So this is what you all do for a living, eh, Iori-kun?”

 

“I wouldn't exactly say that.”

 

“Sure, but I wanted to thank you anyway.”

 

“Thank me? Thank me for what?”

 

“For trying to save me from Nohemon.”

 

He looked at the ground, ashamed with himself. “But I failed.”

 

“No you didn't,” the small girl insisted. “You tried your best, and then you tried to find me after getting here. I really appreciate it.”

 

Eiji gave the boy a quick hug, who awkwardly hugged her back. “I didn't mind at all,” he responded nervously after they broke. “I'm just glad that you are all right and safe.”

 

“How about we spend some time together sometime? I don't think we ever have outside of school.”

 

“S-sure thing, Eiji-san.”

 

“How about tomorrow,” she laughed, “if I'm not punished for not being home in almost two days, that is.”

 

He nodded. “It shall be an honor to accompany you.”

 

“You sure are polite.”

 

“He sure is,” Upamon chimed in energetically. “He's very nice too, and he never loses his temper.”

 

Eiji giggled, while Iori turned pink. “Upamon…”

 

“Oh, I've been meaning to ask you something.”

 

“What?” He was trying to rid himself of his obvious blush.

 

“What was your other problem?”

 

“Problem? I didn't have any other problem; besides, whatever it was, is fine now. Nothing is the matter, I assure you.” Iori thought for a moment, as he tried to recall what it was the girl could've possibly been referring to. It was obviously his “girl problem”. Right now, it didn't seem to be a problem anymore, not since he'd spent so much time with Eiji. He actually enjoyed being around her.

 

“Well, if you say so. We should probably head back; maybe the others are finally ready to go now.”

 

“Right.”

****

Gennai and Angellina waved to everyone, as they held out their Digivices. Meihui made sure to stay with Koushirou, so that she'd manage to get home. This whole traveling through a television set was pretty weird to her, and made sure to let Gennai and Angellina know this.

 

Right before the departures, Miyako rushed up to Koushirou, and gave him a bright, grateful smile. She, just as Mimi had, thanked him for his chivalrous act of protecting her from the mind-controlled Meihui. Instead of a kiss, like Mimi, she'd given him a hug. After that, she rushed back, almost immediately, to Ken, to talk to him about something. Koushirou couldn't help but sigh some as he saw this, but, wondered why it didn't seem to bother him as much as it usually always had. It was a bit bothersome that Miyako had seemed to get so close to Ken during this trip, but at the same time, he felt a bit content over it, because she seemed to be happy. He didn't understand this at all.

 

Mimi had left earlier, and because of this, Koushirou had spent the rest of his time with Jou, Meihui, Gennai, and Angellina, who was soon joined by Iori and Eiji. All were taking turns explaining the Digital World to both Meihui and Eiji.

 

At one point during the conversation, Gennai even took Eiji aside, and questioned her. From the tale told by Koushirou, Jou, and Iori, it left him incredibly curious, and was wondering if she had any side effects from using it; he knew that the guardians would definitely want to know this. She admitted to being tired and that at some points, her chest hurt really badly, but insisted that she was fine. Gennai told the girl to come back if she ever felt peculiar or awkward, as a precaution.

 

It was now time for the Odaiba residents to get back home. The Digimon all waved and shouted out goodbyes to the kids. Gabumon still had Yamato's harmonica, which he decided to play. He played the song Yamato had taught him years earlier, Run with the Wind.

 

Doing just as Michael had, Meihui's hand clasped tightly with Koushirou's (which caused her ears to grow hot), they all went through a gate, a bright light shining…

****

Shin had just arrived at the police station from Narita, and was talking to his brother, as well as introducing his girlfriend to him. As it was pointed out, by Shuu, who had gone out to greet them, the sky wasn't as dark as it was earlier.

 

Malissa had joined the Kido brothers as well. She'd never met Shin, and had heard lots of good things about him from Jou. Right when Shuu was about to introduce her, a gate opened up out front, which was causing an uproar and lots of commotion. A bright light shined around the area, and when it cleared, all of the children were finally back home…

 

Author's Notes

 

Note 1: Butterflymon is what Tailmon would evolve to if you use the Digimental of Knowledge. That's why I had her do the analyzer.

***

Note 2: Huanglongmon (Fanglongmon) is a guardian as well. As you know, the other four represent the north, south, east, and west. Huanglongmon represents the center, and is the superior (for the most part) of the other four guardians.

***

Note 3: Chou is another way of saying “butterfly”.

***

Note 4: Bubble Tea and natto. I just thought I'd make a note on these two things. Bubble tea is pretty much a tapioca tea. It's called “bubble tea” because of the tapioca balls (I guess you could call them that) found in it. In Japan, if I'm not mistaken, it's called “tapioca tea”.

 

As for natto, that's definitely an acquired taste. The texture is very slimy (like snot, imo) and it has a strong smell. Anyway, natto is made from fermented soybeans. Natto is actually a favorite food for Mimi's character. If I'm not mistaken, for movie 4, when on her way back to Japan, she was asking for natto on the flight (I could be wrong here; it's been years since I've seen movie 4).

 

I do know that she likes her eggs prepared with natto. In Adventure (01) when all of the children were talking about what they like with their eggs, and how they like them prepared, Mimi went on about how she loved her eggs with natto, and everyone seemed to think she was nuts. For the dub version they changed this, and said she liked it topped with maple syrup.

 

Koushirou's was weird too. For the dub, he said he liked his eggs with mustard and jellybeans. For the original, he said he liked it prepared with white wine vinegar. I'm going to assume that this is a weird combination for there, since they made it so weird for the dub.

***

Note 5: Yes, Kaibara is a real place, everyone, and all said by Gennai regarding this place is true. At the time this fic was originally written, Kaibara, and the five other towns, were still just that; towns, which made up the Hikami district. For when this story actually takes place, the merging and formation of Tamba-shi, would have been in the process of occurring.

***

Note 6: This isn't particularly a note, but more so a “trivia” type thing. Do you all think you can figure out who the two adult (champion) leveled Digimon are that Gennai is talking about? How well do you all know your Digimon? I really want you all to try and guess. I'll give the answer to it next chapter.