Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shuffle ❯ Without Answers ( Chapter 15 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
The Odaiba Chosen have many questions after their last battle, and no way to easily find answers.
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.27.2010 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 916 | Status: Completed
The Odaiba Chosen have many questions after their last battle, and no way to easily find answers.
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.27.2010 | Pages: 5 | Words: 3.9K | Visits: 916 | Status: Completed
The Shuffle
Chapter Fifteen - Without Answers
The concept and characters of Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit.
Who's who:
While most have been changed back, Taichi is still in Sora's body, Sora is in Taichi's, Iori is Takeru, Takeru is Daisuke, and Daisuke is now Iori.
Reminder, I will be referring to the characters per the body they are in. Sora may be in Taichi's body, but all references to any action Sora does in it will be as a boy. Just as Taichi in Sora's body will be referred to as a girl.
-----------------
Iori groaned as he blearily opened his eyes. He scanned where he was and frowned at the sight of being inside a Lego-built house in Toy Town. He glanced at his small hands and then took a quick look into his pants. "Damn, no pubs. Still Iori."
The boy shambled his way to the door of the toy house he was in. He had stayed here last night with most of the Odaiba Chosen. He was not about to go home, whether it would be to the Motomiya or Hida households. He wanted to exhaust the known possibilities of being cured first before deciding which home he would end up going to.
"Good morning," Hikari greeted the boy.
Iori pouted as he looked up at her. "Morning."
Sora scratched herself between her legs as she emerged from another toy house. "Any word yet?"
Hikari looked half-disturbed, half-relieved at the actions of the older girl. "Not yet."
"Yo!" a man seemingly in his mid-twenties called out. "I'm Benjamin. I'll be your substitute Gennai for today."
"Tell me you've got word from Qinglongmon or know something about undoing this mess!" Sora pleaded.
Benjamin smirked. "Afraid that all I can say is you need to climb that hill." He pointed up at Infinity Mountain.
"'Hill,' you say," Taichi groused, scratching his crotch as he shambled from another toy house. "Is our cure up there?"
"No, but Qinglongmon will meet you up at the temple," Benjamin informed.
Sora shrugged. "Better than nothing."
"More walking? These feet still hurt from yesterday," Iori whined.
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Guess there's still some Mimi in you."
"Shut it," Iori snapped.
"That's enough of this. Let's just wake everyone up, grab something to eat and start moving. The sooner we see Qinglongmon, the sooner we can be cured," Taichi advised.
-----------------
The entire first and second Odaiba teams were gathered as they reached a temple nestled high upon the large mountain. Benjamin stood with them as they waited for the digital god to appear. With a thundering crash of lightning, the enormous serpentine blue dragon appeared.
"Greetings, Chosen," Qinglongmon called out.
"Please tell me you can help us!" Sora cried out.
"Manners," Benjamin hissed.
"How nice it is to see those who do not bow to me for simply being." Qinglongmon chuckled. "Though I'm afraid I can't help you as much as you'd like. I do not possess the power to switch souls. That was a skill Xuanwumon possessed. And as you know he was sealed much as I had been; however no one knows how to break the seal that still binds him."
"Isn't there anyone who knows how to do Piemon's trick? Another Piemon, perhaps?" Taichi pleaded.
"Between my own knowledge and the information Gennai and his clones possess, we know of most, if not all, Ultimate digimon that exist. None of them possess such a skill, nor is there another Piemon that we know of. As for artifacts, none of the ones we know of do what you need," Qinglongmon informed sadly.
"Is there any hope for us?" Iori asked.
"Finding the means to release Xuanwumon is the only option known," Qinglongmon stated firmly. "If you devote all your time to the task, you may find a way to return everyone to their original bodies within weeks."
Daisuke folded his arms. "Or we might not find the means in our lifetime."
"That is sadly correct," Qinglongmon agreed.
"Can't you do anything for us?" Sora questioned.
"I can bond each of you to your digimon partners now, rather than wait for your traits to manifest." Power cackled around the dragon god. "Choose your partners well."
For the ones that were in their real bodies, they immediately walked forward with their partners.
"What about me?" Tanemon asked. "Mimi isn't here."
"Think of her as I bond the others," Qinglongmon answered.
Tanemon quickly moved forward, keeping distance from the others.
Taichi frowned. "Do you think we should switch?"
Sora turned away. "Would it mean anything if we did? It'd probably hurt us more in the long run if we did. We've got access to their Ultimate forms now. If we switched and the means to free Xuanwumon requires power, we'd be hurting ourselves more."
"I'm still not sure you two haven't been switched back," Koromon groused.
Yokomon bounced against the back of the digimon's head before turning toward the humans with her. "Either way, it's not like we won't be apart. I feel both of you are my partners now."
"Shouldn't we switch?" Iori asked.
"He's 'Daisuke' enough for me," Chibimon huffed.
Iori flinched as if slapped.
Daisuke frowned at the tiny dragon. "Patamon has always been my best friend."
"And Armadimon has been mine," Takeru asserted.
Chibimon frowned. "Does this mean I'll lose Perfection level?"
"For a time, but you'll still be able to go to that level again," Benjamin encouraged.
Chibimon sighed. "Well, if we move into Hida's place, at least I won't have to deal with Jun anymore."
Seeing that the choices have been made, Qinglongmon sent forth his power. Lightning arced between the Chosen and their selected partners. While the baby digimon evolved to child level, Plotmon evolved to Tailmon.
"I wish I could be of more help. I will continue to look into ways of correcting the evil Piemon has done to you." Qinglongmon disappeared with a crash of thunder and lightning.
Tailmon flexed her paws. "Well, this is better than nothing."
"Not enough for me," Iori growled. "I can't go back to fifth grade. Three more years of school. This sucks!"
-----------------
A light erupted from the computer and Hikari appeared in her bedroom and nervously made her way to the door. She sighed and then stiffened before she left the room and saw her mother cooking. "Hi, Mom."
"Is that really you, Hikari?" Mrs. Yagami asked almost desperately.
Hikari nodded. "I have been cured."
Mrs. Yagami frowned as she could almost hear the stress on the 'I.' "What about Taichi?"
Hikari looked down. "He's still in Sora's body." She swallowed hard. "And with Piemon... defeated, we don't know how to cure him or the others who are still in the wrong body. We have a few leads, but nothing that is likely to resolve this any time soon."
Mrs. Yagami covered her mouth. "It could be permanent?"
Hikari reluctantly answered, "Yes."
"How is Taichi dealing with this?" Mrs. Yagami wondered.
"Not very well." Hikari looked away. "We should talk with Mrs. Takenouchi about living arrangements. Whether Taichi or Sora will be living with us."
Mrs. Yagami nodded slowly.
-----------------
"Hello, mother. I'm home," Jyou announced, his words having more meaning than just being at his family's apartment.
"Is that really you? You've been cured?" Mrs. Kido questioned.
Jyou nodded. "No more dresses and periods for me."
"Congratulations," Mrs. Kido didn't seem to mean her words.
Jyou frowned. "Did you want me to fail?"
"Of course not," Mrs. Kido denied. "I just like having a daughter."
"Then you should be more accepting of Kasumi," Jyou retorted.
"Dear, she's really not suitable for marriage," Mrs. Kido told him firmly.
"And if she makes you a grandmother?" Jyou asked seriously.
"Then I might finally have my daughter, as you two certainly wouldn't be able to raise a baby properly," Mrs. Kido told him neutrally.
"I'm beginning to wonder if you could raise a girl properly," Jyou muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Mrs. Kido demanded.
Jyou's bedroom door slammed shut.
-----------------
"While there is no easy solution to this problem..." Mr. Hida sighed. "It still holds true that custody of my eleven-year-old grandson still belongs to my family."
"Father, he's not really Iori," Mrs. Hida protested.
"He is and he isn't," Hikari voiced in. "In a few weeks Daisuke will gain aspects of Iori's personality."
"There will be an issue of adjustment regardless of living arrangements," Jyou added.
Mrs. Takenouchi nodded slowly. "And it holds true that I have a daughter. I've already had to field some questions as to why I was housing a pair of boys for the past two weeks. It would raise more questions if that became permanent."
"Just because the soul of our children might not be able to live under our roofs, it doesn't mean we'll never see them," Mrs. Yagami put in optimistically. "They are all friends with each other and can visit often. My door will always be open for Taichi and Sora, regardless of the body they wear. They are both my children now."
Daisuke folded his arms. "The answer is simple, living with it will be difficult. Whether I like it or not, I'm now Motomiya Daisuke. As far as all his legal records go, they're now mine, bad grades and all."
"Hopefully you'll do better than he was." Mr. Motomiya ruffled the boy's hair.
Iori glared at the man. "We shouldn't be debating this crap. We should be hunting to unseal Xuanwumon."
Sora shook her head. "I want to switch back more than you, but there's nothing we can do. Koushiro is organizing the search with hundreds of Chosen from around the world. There's still no leads, only half-remembered legends."
Iori huffed irritably.
"Are we in agreement that living arrangements are by the body they are in?" Mr. Hida questioned.
Almost everyone gave some form of agreement, but none were firm with that answer.
"As Yagami-san said, you might be Daisuke now, son, but my door is open to you," Mrs. Takaishi added.
Mr. Hida nodded. "I'm sure that can be said for all the children."
This time there was firm agreement.
-----------------
Mrs. Tachikawa knew something was wrong. Her picture perfect world wasn't so perfect. She knew Mimi was keeping something from her. Trouble happened during her daughter's trip to Odaiba, that much she could figure out. But what could've happened that left her daughter a crying mass?
Knocking softly on the door, Mrs. Tachikawa called out, "Mimi-chan, I have breakfast ready. It's your favorite, strawberry waffles."
"I don't deserve it!" Mimi sobbed.
Mrs. Tachikawa frowned and pushed her way into the room. "Dear, what's the matter? What happened?"
"I'm... I'm a horrible person. Mama... I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't live with it. I had to win. I killed him, Mama. With my own hands, I choked him to death." Mimi's sobs wracked her body. "He wasn't even evil. He thought he was doing what was right. He was wrong, but he wasn't evil, and I killed him."
Mrs. Tachikawa pulled her daughter into her lap and cradled her gently. "It's okay, dear. I'm sure you did what you had to do. You'll never stop being my wonderful and beautiful daughter."
"I had stopped being your daughter! That was the problem!" Mimi choked on her tears. "I was switched into the body of Ichijouji, the Digimon Kaiser. It wasn't just being a boy that was the problem, it was his memories. He killed so many, Mama, and I still remember them. He butchered so many innocent digimon, and I remember how much he LIKED it. His taint won't go away, Mama. I don't want to know what it's like to kill, but I did it. I did it on my own, with my own hands. Mama, help me!"
"I will always be here for you," Mrs. Tachikawa promised. And so will a psychologist, she mentally added; just needed to make sure that he believed that Mimi wasn't delusional. Her daughter was troubled, not insane.
-----------------
Jun gazed up from the television and raised an eyebrow at the boy with a giant bat-eared hamster sitting on his head that entered her home after her parents. "Are you Daisuke?"
"Not quite. I was Takeru, but for now I'll be Daisuke," the boy replied.
Jun paled. "What about my brother? Is he still a girl?"
Daisuke smirked. "To hear him gripe, you'd think he would be happier if he was. He's now in Iori's body. And he's not liking that he'll be going back to fifth grade."
Jun let out a long sigh of relief. "At least I won't have to worry about him getting a boyfriend."
Daisuke shrugged. "Don't think that'll be an issue. Iori already has two girls vying for his attention."
Jun let out a laugh. "He won't mind that."
"I think it's more ironic. He's been following Hikari for so long, and now he'll have two girls after him," Patamon put in with a chuckle.
Daisuke made his way into his new room. He smirked seeing that it was a lot cleaner than he remembered. The air freshener was certainly new. Still, he set himself to going over the room, organizing it to his tastes.
"The room," Patamon piped in.
Daisuke shook his head and put the game in his hands away. "Thanks, bud." He shook his head. "This may be harder than I thought."
"Straightening the room?" Patamon wondered.
"Dealing with this lack of attention span," Daisuke answered.
"Likely no harder than your faulty memory," Patamon reminded. "You had found tricks around that."
Daisuke nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately I can't just ignore the problem anymore. Though it was fun to goof off for the past two weeks. After all, not doing something was 'Daisuke's fault.'"
"But now you are Daisuke," Patamon stated.
"Right. And I can't let this problem hurt me," Daisuke replied.
"The room," Patamon told him again.
"Right, right." Daisuke went back to going through the room.
-----------------
Sora tossed and turned as she tried to get some sleep, but each time she came close, unbidden memories came to her. She left her bedroom and wandered into the living only to find she was not alone.
"Trouble sleeping?" Mrs. Takenouchi questioned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sora returned. "Ah... worried about this situation?"
Mrs. Takenouchi smiled sadly. "Sorry, but it's more to do with the flower shop."
"Ah." Sora nodded.
"And what is keeping you awake? Afraid you'll never be a boy again?" Mrs. Takenouchi wondered.
Sora looked away. "It's not being a girl that's so bothersome. I can't shut off Sora's mind. I keep remembering stuff I don't want too."
"The numerous times she sat by the phone waiting for you to call or her being in compromising positions with Ishida?" Mrs. Takenouchi guessed.
Sora stiffened and then shuddered. She then pouted. "Yeah..."
"Both, huh?" Mrs. Takenouchi shook her head. "Not easy is it? Seeing the mistakes you both made, and learning the full consequences of it."
Sora looked away.
"I know this is a confusing situation for you." Mrs. Takenouchi walked over and embraced the girl. "For a time I thought you might become a full son to me. That you're now my daughter isn't easy for me to reconcile, and you have it worse."
"I don't know what to think anymore," Sora muttered.
"The only one who could possibly help you now is, well, Taichi." Mrs. Takenouchi's face quirked. "Hard to think of my daughter being a boy as well."
Sora let out a short laugh. "I don't know what to say to... him. Because of me, everything is messed up."
Mrs. Takenouchi shook her head. "I believe you're thinking too much about everything. You were the great leader of eight children who saved the world, and you did so by focusing on what needed to be done and not worry about the things you couldn't change."
Sora smirked. "If only there was something to focus on. Without a threat to deal with, there's nothing to distract me."
"Then find something to distract yourself. Whether it's tennis, soccer, or some sort of project." Mrs. Takenouchi brushed Sora's hair with her hand. "You may not be Sora, but you're not exactly Taichi either. Find out who you are now and focus on the future, and don't worry about the things you can't change in the past."
Sora gave the woman a hug. "Thanks...." She almost said 'Mom' but for some reason couldn't say it.
-----------------
"Trouble sleeping?" Taichi questioned.
"A little," Hikari replied tiredly.
"What's got you awake?" Taichi wondered.
Hikari took a moment to ponder her answer. "Readjustment issues, I guess. I still feel frustrated for some reason, but at least it's not the same way it's been the past two weeks. At least I don't want to jump his girlfriend now."
Taichi's head peaked over the edge of the top bunk. "You wanted to do stuff with Jyou's girlfriend?"
"It was all his hormones. Guys really do think from below their waist, even Jyou," Hikari muttered in embarrassment.
"If only Taichi did, then I might not have the issues I do now," the boy replied. "If he had let me know he was interested, I wouldn't have dated Yamato."
"I don't think he realized it until then," Hikari returned.
"Yeah. I was 'one of the guys' to him for too long." Taichi sighed. "If I had made the point that I was a _girl_ interested in him, he might've realized before I moved on."
"Yeah, we all make mistakes." Hikari rolled over. "Though it might've been a good thing I didn't get involved with Daisuke or Takeru yet. It would've put me in Yamato's position. Who do you date?"
Taichi's face quirked. "Yeah, that is complicated. I don't know if I could go out with him as I am now. Remembering what I did with Yamato turns my stomach a little and I don't think it's because of Taichi's feelings for me."
Hikari let out a shallow laugh. "Don't I know it. It was hard suddenly being a very straight guy. It really rattled my mind. Especially as Jyou had interest in you. Nothing serious, just attraction. But, well, you know how modest Taichi is."
Taichi smirked. "All too well. I knew what he looked like long before the switch. I suppose I should be upset at showing 'me' off, especially as Jyou might remember. I'll be sure to slap him once we get this fixed."
"If we can get it corrected," Hikari put in sadly.
"I have hopes we'll get it figured out before school starts back up," Taichi encouraged.
"I'm sure Daisuke is wishing the same thing," Hikari added.
There was a loud thud from outside.
Hikari frowned. "Dad's home."
Taichi shook his head. "He's going to have a bad morning."
Hikari nodded in agreement. "We'd better try to get some sleep or we will too."
"Goodnight, sis." Taichi retreated to the bottom bunk.
"Goodnight, big brother," Hikari returned.
-----------------
Author's Notes:
I said it would it take a while. Just didn't think it'd take this long.
Finally got past the meeting with Qinglongmon. I got hung up on things to do and reactions everyone had to the aftermath of Piemon's battle. There is a reason why I didn't do scenes for the others. In the initial reactions, they hold little to add to the story. Yamato and Koushiro at least will have scenes in the next chapter.
Chapter Fifteen - Without Answers
The concept and characters of Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit.
Who's who:
While most have been changed back, Taichi is still in Sora's body, Sora is in Taichi's, Iori is Takeru, Takeru is Daisuke, and Daisuke is now Iori.
Reminder, I will be referring to the characters per the body they are in. Sora may be in Taichi's body, but all references to any action Sora does in it will be as a boy. Just as Taichi in Sora's body will be referred to as a girl.
-----------------
Iori groaned as he blearily opened his eyes. He scanned where he was and frowned at the sight of being inside a Lego-built house in Toy Town. He glanced at his small hands and then took a quick look into his pants. "Damn, no pubs. Still Iori."
The boy shambled his way to the door of the toy house he was in. He had stayed here last night with most of the Odaiba Chosen. He was not about to go home, whether it would be to the Motomiya or Hida households. He wanted to exhaust the known possibilities of being cured first before deciding which home he would end up going to.
"Good morning," Hikari greeted the boy.
Iori pouted as he looked up at her. "Morning."
Sora scratched herself between her legs as she emerged from another toy house. "Any word yet?"
Hikari looked half-disturbed, half-relieved at the actions of the older girl. "Not yet."
"Yo!" a man seemingly in his mid-twenties called out. "I'm Benjamin. I'll be your substitute Gennai for today."
"Tell me you've got word from Qinglongmon or know something about undoing this mess!" Sora pleaded.
Benjamin smirked. "Afraid that all I can say is you need to climb that hill." He pointed up at Infinity Mountain.
"'Hill,' you say," Taichi groused, scratching his crotch as he shambled from another toy house. "Is our cure up there?"
"No, but Qinglongmon will meet you up at the temple," Benjamin informed.
Sora shrugged. "Better than nothing."
"More walking? These feet still hurt from yesterday," Iori whined.
Sora raised an eyebrow. "Guess there's still some Mimi in you."
"Shut it," Iori snapped.
"That's enough of this. Let's just wake everyone up, grab something to eat and start moving. The sooner we see Qinglongmon, the sooner we can be cured," Taichi advised.
-----------------
The entire first and second Odaiba teams were gathered as they reached a temple nestled high upon the large mountain. Benjamin stood with them as they waited for the digital god to appear. With a thundering crash of lightning, the enormous serpentine blue dragon appeared.
"Greetings, Chosen," Qinglongmon called out.
"Please tell me you can help us!" Sora cried out.
"Manners," Benjamin hissed.
"How nice it is to see those who do not bow to me for simply being." Qinglongmon chuckled. "Though I'm afraid I can't help you as much as you'd like. I do not possess the power to switch souls. That was a skill Xuanwumon possessed. And as you know he was sealed much as I had been; however no one knows how to break the seal that still binds him."
"Isn't there anyone who knows how to do Piemon's trick? Another Piemon, perhaps?" Taichi pleaded.
"Between my own knowledge and the information Gennai and his clones possess, we know of most, if not all, Ultimate digimon that exist. None of them possess such a skill, nor is there another Piemon that we know of. As for artifacts, none of the ones we know of do what you need," Qinglongmon informed sadly.
"Is there any hope for us?" Iori asked.
"Finding the means to release Xuanwumon is the only option known," Qinglongmon stated firmly. "If you devote all your time to the task, you may find a way to return everyone to their original bodies within weeks."
Daisuke folded his arms. "Or we might not find the means in our lifetime."
"That is sadly correct," Qinglongmon agreed.
"Can't you do anything for us?" Sora questioned.
"I can bond each of you to your digimon partners now, rather than wait for your traits to manifest." Power cackled around the dragon god. "Choose your partners well."
For the ones that were in their real bodies, they immediately walked forward with their partners.
"What about me?" Tanemon asked. "Mimi isn't here."
"Think of her as I bond the others," Qinglongmon answered.
Tanemon quickly moved forward, keeping distance from the others.
Taichi frowned. "Do you think we should switch?"
Sora turned away. "Would it mean anything if we did? It'd probably hurt us more in the long run if we did. We've got access to their Ultimate forms now. If we switched and the means to free Xuanwumon requires power, we'd be hurting ourselves more."
"I'm still not sure you two haven't been switched back," Koromon groused.
Yokomon bounced against the back of the digimon's head before turning toward the humans with her. "Either way, it's not like we won't be apart. I feel both of you are my partners now."
"Shouldn't we switch?" Iori asked.
"He's 'Daisuke' enough for me," Chibimon huffed.
Iori flinched as if slapped.
Daisuke frowned at the tiny dragon. "Patamon has always been my best friend."
"And Armadimon has been mine," Takeru asserted.
Chibimon frowned. "Does this mean I'll lose Perfection level?"
"For a time, but you'll still be able to go to that level again," Benjamin encouraged.
Chibimon sighed. "Well, if we move into Hida's place, at least I won't have to deal with Jun anymore."
Seeing that the choices have been made, Qinglongmon sent forth his power. Lightning arced between the Chosen and their selected partners. While the baby digimon evolved to child level, Plotmon evolved to Tailmon.
"I wish I could be of more help. I will continue to look into ways of correcting the evil Piemon has done to you." Qinglongmon disappeared with a crash of thunder and lightning.
Tailmon flexed her paws. "Well, this is better than nothing."
"Not enough for me," Iori growled. "I can't go back to fifth grade. Three more years of school. This sucks!"
-----------------
A light erupted from the computer and Hikari appeared in her bedroom and nervously made her way to the door. She sighed and then stiffened before she left the room and saw her mother cooking. "Hi, Mom."
"Is that really you, Hikari?" Mrs. Yagami asked almost desperately.
Hikari nodded. "I have been cured."
Mrs. Yagami frowned as she could almost hear the stress on the 'I.' "What about Taichi?"
Hikari looked down. "He's still in Sora's body." She swallowed hard. "And with Piemon... defeated, we don't know how to cure him or the others who are still in the wrong body. We have a few leads, but nothing that is likely to resolve this any time soon."
Mrs. Yagami covered her mouth. "It could be permanent?"
Hikari reluctantly answered, "Yes."
"How is Taichi dealing with this?" Mrs. Yagami wondered.
"Not very well." Hikari looked away. "We should talk with Mrs. Takenouchi about living arrangements. Whether Taichi or Sora will be living with us."
Mrs. Yagami nodded slowly.
-----------------
"Hello, mother. I'm home," Jyou announced, his words having more meaning than just being at his family's apartment.
"Is that really you? You've been cured?" Mrs. Kido questioned.
Jyou nodded. "No more dresses and periods for me."
"Congratulations," Mrs. Kido didn't seem to mean her words.
Jyou frowned. "Did you want me to fail?"
"Of course not," Mrs. Kido denied. "I just like having a daughter."
"Then you should be more accepting of Kasumi," Jyou retorted.
"Dear, she's really not suitable for marriage," Mrs. Kido told him firmly.
"And if she makes you a grandmother?" Jyou asked seriously.
"Then I might finally have my daughter, as you two certainly wouldn't be able to raise a baby properly," Mrs. Kido told him neutrally.
"I'm beginning to wonder if you could raise a girl properly," Jyou muttered under his breath.
"What was that?" Mrs. Kido demanded.
Jyou's bedroom door slammed shut.
-----------------
"While there is no easy solution to this problem..." Mr. Hida sighed. "It still holds true that custody of my eleven-year-old grandson still belongs to my family."
"Father, he's not really Iori," Mrs. Hida protested.
"He is and he isn't," Hikari voiced in. "In a few weeks Daisuke will gain aspects of Iori's personality."
"There will be an issue of adjustment regardless of living arrangements," Jyou added.
Mrs. Takenouchi nodded slowly. "And it holds true that I have a daughter. I've already had to field some questions as to why I was housing a pair of boys for the past two weeks. It would raise more questions if that became permanent."
"Just because the soul of our children might not be able to live under our roofs, it doesn't mean we'll never see them," Mrs. Yagami put in optimistically. "They are all friends with each other and can visit often. My door will always be open for Taichi and Sora, regardless of the body they wear. They are both my children now."
Daisuke folded his arms. "The answer is simple, living with it will be difficult. Whether I like it or not, I'm now Motomiya Daisuke. As far as all his legal records go, they're now mine, bad grades and all."
"Hopefully you'll do better than he was." Mr. Motomiya ruffled the boy's hair.
Iori glared at the man. "We shouldn't be debating this crap. We should be hunting to unseal Xuanwumon."
Sora shook her head. "I want to switch back more than you, but there's nothing we can do. Koushiro is organizing the search with hundreds of Chosen from around the world. There's still no leads, only half-remembered legends."
Iori huffed irritably.
"Are we in agreement that living arrangements are by the body they are in?" Mr. Hida questioned.
Almost everyone gave some form of agreement, but none were firm with that answer.
"As Yagami-san said, you might be Daisuke now, son, but my door is open to you," Mrs. Takaishi added.
Mr. Hida nodded. "I'm sure that can be said for all the children."
This time there was firm agreement.
-----------------
Mrs. Tachikawa knew something was wrong. Her picture perfect world wasn't so perfect. She knew Mimi was keeping something from her. Trouble happened during her daughter's trip to Odaiba, that much she could figure out. But what could've happened that left her daughter a crying mass?
Knocking softly on the door, Mrs. Tachikawa called out, "Mimi-chan, I have breakfast ready. It's your favorite, strawberry waffles."
"I don't deserve it!" Mimi sobbed.
Mrs. Tachikawa frowned and pushed her way into the room. "Dear, what's the matter? What happened?"
"I'm... I'm a horrible person. Mama... I couldn't deal with it. I couldn't live with it. I had to win. I killed him, Mama. With my own hands, I choked him to death." Mimi's sobs wracked her body. "He wasn't even evil. He thought he was doing what was right. He was wrong, but he wasn't evil, and I killed him."
Mrs. Tachikawa pulled her daughter into her lap and cradled her gently. "It's okay, dear. I'm sure you did what you had to do. You'll never stop being my wonderful and beautiful daughter."
"I had stopped being your daughter! That was the problem!" Mimi choked on her tears. "I was switched into the body of Ichijouji, the Digimon Kaiser. It wasn't just being a boy that was the problem, it was his memories. He killed so many, Mama, and I still remember them. He butchered so many innocent digimon, and I remember how much he LIKED it. His taint won't go away, Mama. I don't want to know what it's like to kill, but I did it. I did it on my own, with my own hands. Mama, help me!"
"I will always be here for you," Mrs. Tachikawa promised. And so will a psychologist, she mentally added; just needed to make sure that he believed that Mimi wasn't delusional. Her daughter was troubled, not insane.
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Jun gazed up from the television and raised an eyebrow at the boy with a giant bat-eared hamster sitting on his head that entered her home after her parents. "Are you Daisuke?"
"Not quite. I was Takeru, but for now I'll be Daisuke," the boy replied.
Jun paled. "What about my brother? Is he still a girl?"
Daisuke smirked. "To hear him gripe, you'd think he would be happier if he was. He's now in Iori's body. And he's not liking that he'll be going back to fifth grade."
Jun let out a long sigh of relief. "At least I won't have to worry about him getting a boyfriend."
Daisuke shrugged. "Don't think that'll be an issue. Iori already has two girls vying for his attention."
Jun let out a laugh. "He won't mind that."
"I think it's more ironic. He's been following Hikari for so long, and now he'll have two girls after him," Patamon put in with a chuckle.
Daisuke made his way into his new room. He smirked seeing that it was a lot cleaner than he remembered. The air freshener was certainly new. Still, he set himself to going over the room, organizing it to his tastes.
"The room," Patamon piped in.
Daisuke shook his head and put the game in his hands away. "Thanks, bud." He shook his head. "This may be harder than I thought."
"Straightening the room?" Patamon wondered.
"Dealing with this lack of attention span," Daisuke answered.
"Likely no harder than your faulty memory," Patamon reminded. "You had found tricks around that."
Daisuke nodded. "Yeah. Unfortunately I can't just ignore the problem anymore. Though it was fun to goof off for the past two weeks. After all, not doing something was 'Daisuke's fault.'"
"But now you are Daisuke," Patamon stated.
"Right. And I can't let this problem hurt me," Daisuke replied.
"The room," Patamon told him again.
"Right, right." Daisuke went back to going through the room.
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Sora tossed and turned as she tried to get some sleep, but each time she came close, unbidden memories came to her. She left her bedroom and wandered into the living only to find she was not alone.
"Trouble sleeping?" Mrs. Takenouchi questioned.
"Isn't it obvious?" Sora returned. "Ah... worried about this situation?"
Mrs. Takenouchi smiled sadly. "Sorry, but it's more to do with the flower shop."
"Ah." Sora nodded.
"And what is keeping you awake? Afraid you'll never be a boy again?" Mrs. Takenouchi wondered.
Sora looked away. "It's not being a girl that's so bothersome. I can't shut off Sora's mind. I keep remembering stuff I don't want too."
"The numerous times she sat by the phone waiting for you to call or her being in compromising positions with Ishida?" Mrs. Takenouchi guessed.
Sora stiffened and then shuddered. She then pouted. "Yeah..."
"Both, huh?" Mrs. Takenouchi shook her head. "Not easy is it? Seeing the mistakes you both made, and learning the full consequences of it."
Sora looked away.
"I know this is a confusing situation for you." Mrs. Takenouchi walked over and embraced the girl. "For a time I thought you might become a full son to me. That you're now my daughter isn't easy for me to reconcile, and you have it worse."
"I don't know what to think anymore," Sora muttered.
"The only one who could possibly help you now is, well, Taichi." Mrs. Takenouchi's face quirked. "Hard to think of my daughter being a boy as well."
Sora let out a short laugh. "I don't know what to say to... him. Because of me, everything is messed up."
Mrs. Takenouchi shook her head. "I believe you're thinking too much about everything. You were the great leader of eight children who saved the world, and you did so by focusing on what needed to be done and not worry about the things you couldn't change."
Sora smirked. "If only there was something to focus on. Without a threat to deal with, there's nothing to distract me."
"Then find something to distract yourself. Whether it's tennis, soccer, or some sort of project." Mrs. Takenouchi brushed Sora's hair with her hand. "You may not be Sora, but you're not exactly Taichi either. Find out who you are now and focus on the future, and don't worry about the things you can't change in the past."
Sora gave the woman a hug. "Thanks...." She almost said 'Mom' but for some reason couldn't say it.
-----------------
"Trouble sleeping?" Taichi questioned.
"A little," Hikari replied tiredly.
"What's got you awake?" Taichi wondered.
Hikari took a moment to ponder her answer. "Readjustment issues, I guess. I still feel frustrated for some reason, but at least it's not the same way it's been the past two weeks. At least I don't want to jump his girlfriend now."
Taichi's head peaked over the edge of the top bunk. "You wanted to do stuff with Jyou's girlfriend?"
"It was all his hormones. Guys really do think from below their waist, even Jyou," Hikari muttered in embarrassment.
"If only Taichi did, then I might not have the issues I do now," the boy replied. "If he had let me know he was interested, I wouldn't have dated Yamato."
"I don't think he realized it until then," Hikari returned.
"Yeah. I was 'one of the guys' to him for too long." Taichi sighed. "If I had made the point that I was a _girl_ interested in him, he might've realized before I moved on."
"Yeah, we all make mistakes." Hikari rolled over. "Though it might've been a good thing I didn't get involved with Daisuke or Takeru yet. It would've put me in Yamato's position. Who do you date?"
Taichi's face quirked. "Yeah, that is complicated. I don't know if I could go out with him as I am now. Remembering what I did with Yamato turns my stomach a little and I don't think it's because of Taichi's feelings for me."
Hikari let out a shallow laugh. "Don't I know it. It was hard suddenly being a very straight guy. It really rattled my mind. Especially as Jyou had interest in you. Nothing serious, just attraction. But, well, you know how modest Taichi is."
Taichi smirked. "All too well. I knew what he looked like long before the switch. I suppose I should be upset at showing 'me' off, especially as Jyou might remember. I'll be sure to slap him once we get this fixed."
"If we can get it corrected," Hikari put in sadly.
"I have hopes we'll get it figured out before school starts back up," Taichi encouraged.
"I'm sure Daisuke is wishing the same thing," Hikari added.
There was a loud thud from outside.
Hikari frowned. "Dad's home."
Taichi shook his head. "He's going to have a bad morning."
Hikari nodded in agreement. "We'd better try to get some sleep or we will too."
"Goodnight, sis." Taichi retreated to the bottom bunk.
"Goodnight, big brother," Hikari returned.
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Author's Notes:
I said it would it take a while. Just didn't think it'd take this long.
Finally got past the meeting with Qinglongmon. I got hung up on things to do and reactions everyone had to the aftermath of Piemon's battle. There is a reason why I didn't do scenes for the others. In the initial reactions, they hold little to add to the story. Yamato and Koushiro at least will have scenes in the next chapter.