Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Shuffle ❯ The Hard Choice ( Chapter 27 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Lord Archive 
The time has come for the boys to make the final decision: to be as they were born or accept Piemon's curse.
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.05.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 563 | Status: Completed
The time has come for the boys to make the final decision: to be as they were born or accept Piemon's curse.
Anime/Manga: Digimon Fan Fiction | Genre(s): / Hentai / Sci-fi / Romance / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 10.05.2012 | Pages: 6 | Words: 5.8K | Visits: 563 | Status: Completed
The Shuffle
Chapter Twenty-seven – The Hard Choice
By: Lord Archive
Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit. All rights reserved.
--
Takeru's Journal:
The war between the light and dark digimon had almost literally been reduced to a never ending football game. The war continued, but at least they were not killing each other. Meanwhile everyone was who they were born as, but the decision to stay that way still had not been made.
--
Takeru, Daisuke and Iori sat around a table inside the manor house, with the door shut tight and their digimon standing outside to guard against certain girls who would want to eavesdrop.
"Well, we've been in these bodies for four days now," Iori began.
"Things aren't exactly as I was expecting," Takeru commented.
"Even having switched a few times already, becoming someone else is still a bit jarring," Daisuke noted.
"Even when it's your own original body," Iori agreed. "I'm finding it hard to keep my hands off Yume. Especially as we're now past the transition stage."
Takeru smirked sadly. "I suppose she has changed her vote."
Iori merely nodded.
"Sayuri still wants us to change back," Daisuke added.
"Not surprising," Takeru replied. "She didn't even know you before the switch, so she has no idea what part of you is the real you and what was Iori influenced."
Daisuke glared at him. "Don't make Sayuri sound like she's shallow. Only caring that I looked and somewhat acted like Iori. She's trying to see me as her boyfriend, but she's not use to this shit."
"_I_ am not use to this shit," Takeru countered. "I hardly expect her to be. I'm surprised Yume has been so accepting of the change."
Iori shrugged. "She had a crush on me before I became you. It's more surprising that she was able to accept me while I was in your body."
"Talking about our girlfriends won't help with this," Daisuke intoned. "What we need to know is where each of us stands right now."
"I'm fine either way," Iori failed to vote. "It might be better for me to switch back to slow things down. If we were to lose ourselves... I'd have a much harder time supporting her as Iori than I would as Takeru."
Daisuke let out a laugh. "If I come home in your body, I have Sayuri's permission to screw her brains out."
Takeru pouted. "Either way it looks to be a chance of whoever is in that body may find themselves in a position to father a child. Something bothers me about that, and it's not the age of the girls."
"We may have choices, but there are some things that must happen," Iori intoned.
"If I return to being Iori, I'll definitely try to keep my pants on," Daisuke vowed. "Being a parent in elementary school would be insane."
Iori nodded. "Whether as Iori or Takeru, I will try to do the same with Yume. Her life goal is to be a housewife with children, but I do not wish to harm her with my desires."
Takeru gazed at Daisuke. "Are you considering returning to being Iori?"
Daisuke nodded. "I've been debating that for a long time. To be Daisuke is to be the person I was born to be. I would likely open a food cart like I've always wanted. Chances are I'd date Sayuri for a while. Can't be sure if we'd stay together or if we'd go separate ways."
"And if you were to return to this body?" Iori questioned.
"I'd have a better chance with Sayuri," Daisuke began. "And I wouldn't remember Hikari screwing his brains out."
"Thought that would be a reason why you would want to be Daisuke," Takeru commented.
"Did you hear Taichi scream last night?" Daisuke asked.
Takeru shrugged. "Heard about it."
"I'm in the room next to them. Taichi had his 'Sora loving Yamato' dream, AGAIN," Daisuke informed bitterly. "To Sora it's a fond memory, to Taichi it's a nightmare."
"So that's why you suggested this for only a week. You don't want to risk remembering Hikari being with Takeru," Iori observed.
Daisuke nodded. "Look the real question right now is that we know we can live as each other, but can we live as ourselves after all this time?"
"I've told you before, whether as Iori or Takeru, my future changes little. I am fine either way," Iori stated.
"I don't think it is an issue of whether we can live as ourselves. Of course we can, these were our bodies first," Takeru corrected. "The real question is whether everyone else can live with us. While we have a good idea what our girlfriends wish for us, I say we put the vote fully into their hands and let them know that."
Daisuke nodded. "They are just as affected as we are."
"Putting the full pressure on them may make them less selfish and truly think of the full scope of the decision," Iori noted.
--
V-mon let out a grunt as he caught a baseball one of the American children had brought. He didn't know what was worse, the amount of force Patamon had put into sending the ball flying or that is was now covered in spit. He then turned and whipped the ball at Tailmon who somehow managed to not only wrap her long tail around the ball while in it was in flight but redirected it so it flew straight at one of the American's digimon, a Bearmon who preferred to go by Cubmon and was partnered to the lone Chicago Chosen.
"So this is where you've been hiding," Yume noted.
"Don't draw the attention of those digimon," 'Cubmon' hissed. "They may have taken over your nation's sport, but I'll be damned if they take America's favorite past time."
Sayuri was standing next to Yume and returned, "I prefer baseball to football. But we're not here to play games."
"Is there something you want?" Tailmon wondered.
Yume shifted nervously. "Well... Iori and the other put the decision of whether they'll switch again or not into our hands."
V-mon huffed. "I know."
"We were wondering what you felt about it," Yume added.
V-mon stared at the girl. "You're actually asking us?"
Yume pouted. "Why shouldn't we? This affects you as well."
"When the whole mess with Piemon started, we didn't really get a say with anything," Patamon noted. "Not that we would've changed what happened."
V-mon let out a chuckle. "After Piemon was defeated, I was ready to be Takeru's partner. He had become 'Daisuke enough' for me. Yet when it came time to change partners, they decided to have us bonded to our soul partners."
"Patamon and I agreed to that," Armadimon added.
"I hadn't realized at the time how important it was for us to stay linked to them. Just by being with Daisuke while he was in Iori's body helped keep him from becoming Iori completely," V-mon noted.
Sayuri nodded thoughtfully. "They weren't exactly given a lot of time to make those decisions, were they? But now we have time to think about this and try to figure out what's best for everyone."
"Takeru is my best friend," Patamon said firmly. "Nothing will change that, even the body he wears."
"Yup!" V-mon nodded. "Because of this I've gotten to know my partner better."
"Iori is Iori, even when he was Takeru," Armadimon affirmed.
"So you're saying...?" Sayuri prompted.
"As Motomiya or Hida, I'm fine either way," V-mon answered. "Sure he's more fun when he's Daisuke, but there are good points to being with him as Iori as well."
"Sorry if you're hoping we'd answer this for you," Patamon apologized. "They tried asking us to decide for them as well, and so long as we're with them, we're happy."
"Wish we could've been more help," Armadimon added.
Yume and Sayuri shared a frowned.
"Asking a digimon which form someone should be in is rather futile," Tailmon commented. "We shift forms all the time. It's because of that we can see the true heart of those close to us easier."
"I guess." Sayuri nodded slowly.
"What ever decision you make, you'll have to live with it as much as they do," Tailmon warned.
--
The field next to the plantation was once again filled with angel and devil digimon playing football against each other, this time a Togemon and a few Floramon were acting as referees.
"Since we can't come to a decisive vote on the treaty, and fighting to the death will get you no where, to determine which side's policy is used will be decided by a game of football," Mimi told the two towering digimon next to her.
"What is this football?" an elegant devil dressed in a red robe, Barbamon, asked in a smooth voice.
"It looks like a childish game," the light purple angel digimon, Cherubimon, added.
"As you can see it's an athletic sport with a fair amount of rules. A number of light and dark digimon have picked up how to play, and we've taught several plant digimon how to act as referees. During the time limit of a game, the objective is to get the ball into the opposing team's goal."
"And how will this game solve our issues?" Cherubimon demanded.
"For each point of contention in the treaty, you each set forward a team of adult digimon. If the light digimon win, then Cherubimon's solution is used, and if the dark side wins, then it would be Barbamon's answer," Mimi offered.
"And what if their solution is intolerable?" Barbamon questioned.
"After a period of time, you would be able contest the solution with another game," Mimi replied and then motioned towards Cherubimon. "Just as they would be able to contest something they dislike that you've set forward."
"It would also work with the nature digimon," Catherine added. "If they have a dispute with either light or dark, they can call for a football match and the side not involved in the situation would then provide the referees for the game."
"I would like to know the rules for this game," Cherubimon intoned.
"If you want to know the rules of any game, you just have to watch," Barbamon taunted as he moved forward to view the game.
--
Yume watched the never ending football game between devils and angels with unseeing eyes. She couldn't tell if either side was making any head way.
"Something wrong?" Ayashi wondered sitting next to the girl.
"The boys couldn't decide so they're giving us the vote," Yume replied.
"So the girlfriends get to choose, huh?" Ayashi asked.
Yume nodded. "You'd think it was simple. Hikari and Sayuri both have reasons for wanting the boys to switch back. Yet when the boys told us we get to choose, we failed to give them an answer."
"Well, who do you prefer Iori to be: himself or Takeru?" Ayashi questioned.
Yume pouted. "Both versions have their good points. The nice thing about this is I got to see the real Iori. There are differences in the body, but what remains the same is my real boyfriend. For his family, I'd say stay the way he is now. But for Sayuri and Hikari, it would be best to switch back."
"Chances are they will decide to switch back. You may be able to accept either version, it's not so simple for them," Ayashi told her.
"You don't know Sayuri. Even if it means losing her boyfriend, if she thought it was for the best, she would vote to keep him in his real body." Yume sighed. "And from what I've heard about Hikari, she's the same way. There's a chance one of them will flip their vote and I'll be left as a tie breaker."
"And you don't truly have a preference," Ayashi guessed.
"I can love him either way. I certainly know that after he felt me up!" Yume blushed. "It didn't feel weird that he was in different body. That was my boyfriend." She then pouted. "And Hikari has also accepted that, being able to make love to him in different bodies. She's more likely to vote for them to keep their real bodies, even if it means Sayuri's boyfriend gets to remember making love to her."
"And Sayuri's relationship might not be deep enough for her to recognize the real person behind her boyfriend, and has a harder time accepting the changes," Ayashi surmised.
"She never met him as anyone other than Iori. As much as we had a crush on him before the switch, we didn't truly get to know him. She doesn't have as much experience to see the real him," Yume corrected.
--
Sayuri followed behind Daisuke and their digimon. She wanted to see him as her boyfriend, even though his body was different his soul was the same.
As they came to a small village, several plant digimon practically groveled on the ground. The lead most Alraumon asked, "What brings the great Lord Daisuke here?"
V-mon snickered. "'Great Lord Daisuke?'"
The plant digimon recoiled from him. One of them fearfully asked, "You would dare mock him?"
Daisuke plopped to the ground. "I heard that title a few times, care to explain it to me?"
The plant digimon looked at each other in confusion. Alraumon nervously questioned, "What do you mean, Lord Daisuke?"
"I'm not the same Daisuke who was here with Patamon," the boy explained. "I've changed into his form and he has changed into a different body as well. We are good friends, but I have yet to hear why some refer to him as 'Lord Daisuke.'"
"Lord Daisuke and his grand angel of purification was one of the leaders of the Temple of Light, earning his place after dealing the Tower of Darkness a crippling blow when he utterly removed the Midnight Troop from their ranks," Alraumon informed.
Sayuri frowned deeply. "By saying 'utterly removed,' you mean..."
"Lord Daisuke killed every last one of them. He left no survivors," Alraumon confirmed.
"They were messing around with the powers of darkness, weren't they?" Daisuke guessed.
Alraumon nodded. "Indeed. They failed to control it and nearly wiped this region from existence."
"He certainly does hate when someone messes with that shit." V-mon shrugged. "He beat up Ken when he had tried to use the powers of darkness."
A Palmon tentatively raised her arm. "You're not the traitor in a different form, are you?"
Sayuri blinked. "Traitor?"
Palmon nodded. "Lord Daisuke's wife, Hikari, had been accused of assassinating Lord Slash Angemon. Lord Daisuke did what he could to protect her, but she has been banished from the Temple of Light."
Daisuke folded his arms. "Really going to need to talk to those two."
"That would seem to be an understatement," Psychemon piped in. "Wonder when they were going to get around to announcing they were married already."
"It certainly was a grand ceremony," Palmon said fondly.
Alraumon scowled. "I wouldn't know. They forced me to cook all day long."
"'Forced?'" Sayuri questioned.
Alraumon nodded. "When the armies want something from us, they don't ask. Thankfully Princess Mimi is making sure our rights are protected."
Daisuke nodded with a smile. "You can be sure of that with Mimi. She has a way with people."
"Especially now that she got power to back her up," V-mon added jokingly.
"Is there anything else you would like of us, Lord Daisuke?" Alraumon wondered.
"Not at all." Daisuke stood up and bowed to them. "How can we be of service to you?"
The plant digimon all emitted sounds of shock and surprise.
"What do you mean, Lord Daisuke?" Alraumon wondered.
"For the rest of the day, we'll serve you," Daisuke volunteered. "Hardly makes up for all you've been forced to do, but every little bit helps, right?" He looked at Sayuri and their digimon.
Sayuri half-huffed and half-laughed. "We're with you, 'Lord Daisuke.'"
"I'm not any good with growing stuff, but if you need anything fixed, I'm your mon," V-mon pledged.
"Oh, we can't ask that of you," Alraumon nervously refused.
"You don't have to ask," Daisuke pointed out. "We're willing to help you."
"If that is your wish, we'd be glad to accept it," Alraumon replied uncertainly.
--
Sayuri entered one of the rooms where some of the girls were rooming together at the manor house and fell straight onto one of the beds.
"Where were you all day?" Hikari questioned.
"Working a nearby farm," Sayuri moaned out. "Did you know they used plant digimon for slave labor?"
Hikari nodded. "It's something I tried working to stop, but well..."
"You got kicked out for assassinating Slash Angemon," Sayuri noted.
Hikari pouted. "You've heard about that?"
"And your wedding," Sayuri added. "Not to mention the Massacre of Midnight Troop, the Battle of Burning Fields, and the Awakening of the Goddess."
Hikari massaged her forehead. "At least the 'goddess' in question was Mimi."
"And why aren't you staying with your husband?" Sayuri wondered.
Hikari smirked wryly. "To keep me from doing anything I wouldn't want Iori to remember. Did you learn anything else?"
"Who my boyfriend truly is." Sayuri sighed. "It wasn't one thing that he did, but everything. He seemed different, yet he wasn't. He volunteered to help the plant digimon, to be their slave for a day without a second thought. My boyfriend might've took a moment to think it over, but he would've asked to help them anyway. I find it more weird that he's more of a child now even though he's in an older body."
Hikari smiled fondly. "Few realize that Daisuke is more than he appears to be. They see a foolish boy who can't focus on anything important. Yet he is open, honest and always willing to do the right thing, even if that's not what others want to do."
"Which of course was the issue with the switch. What is the right thing to do?" Sayuri muttered.
"I believe the boys already know the answer to that." Hikari sighed. "They just want us to accept it."
Sayuri frowned at her. "You're going to vote they stay the way they are now?"
Hikari smirked. "I'm going to put the vote back into his hands. Whatever the final choice is, I'll live with it. Even if it means your boyfriend knowing what it's like to make love to me."
"Don't remind me. That's one of the reasons I want him to switch back. If he stays the way he is... he won't be a virgin. I'll never be his first," Sayuri admitted.
Hikari laughed. "So the fight over who gets to be Daisuke continues."
--
Koushiro smirked as he looked up. "Well, look who's back to the land of the living."
Taichi let out a sarcastic laugh. "So we wanted a honeymoon."
"That's putting it mildly," Ayashi teased.
"I'm sure you've put one of the rooms with a single bed to use," Sora returned accusingly.
"We've taken Hikari's room as she doesn't want to risk doing something with her husband," Ayashi told them.
Taichi raised an eyebrow. "'Husband?'"
Koushiro grinned sheepishly. "Apparently Hikari married 'Lord Daisuke' as there was suspicion that she may have killed one of the leaders of the angels, Slash Angemon."
Taichi scowled. "Did she?"
"You'll have to ask Hikari about that," Koushiro replied. "All we've heard from the angels was that she was _accused_ of killing him and that she accepted banishment from the Temple of Light to keep her husband from being punished as well."
Taichi nodded slowly. "And what's this about 'Lord Daisuke?'"
"Apparently he was a war hero who has done many things against the Tower of Darkness and for a time was one of the leaders of the Temple of Light," Koushiro explained.
"Though I'm not sure I like it that BOTH sides refer to one of 'Lord Daisuke's' battles as the MASSACRE of Midnight Troop," Ayashi added. "The angels don't seem to be upset at the idea of killing of entire groups wholesale."
"We've heard of them refer to other massacres, ones they had done themselves." Koushiro frowned deeply. "Apparently the Slash Angemon Hikari was accused of killing had led a few of them. And it wasn't just devil digimon that were slaughtered, but plant digimon as well."
Taichi folded his arms. "And I assume they justified murdering plant digimon by accusing them to be allies of the dark digimon."
"Of course," Ayashi confirmed.
"What else have we missed?" Sora wondered.
Ayashi pointed to the side of the plantation that the football field had been set up. "We brought sports to this world. The angels and devil digimon have been going at it non-stop since we taught them how to play."
"And apparently to deal with impasses in the peace treaty, they're going to play games to determine which side's solution gets used," Koushiro added. "And from the looks of it, it won't be just football. They're also going to use other contests so that one side won't be able to dominate the other if they manage to create a stronger team. They may end up with their own version of the Olympics to decide on what laws will govern the lands for a period of time with events ranging from boxing to races to chess."
"Certainly better than killing each other," Sora commented.
"Mimi isn't entirely happy with the plan, but the angels and devils don't like the idea of voting or giving the plant digimon a full say. With the games, plant digimon will at least be able to compete and have the chance to get their voice heard," Koushiro continued.
Ayashi grinned at the couple. "Now how does it feel to be back to your real bodies?"
Sora shared a look with Taichi and they both shrugged. "It was kind of like coming home after I first became Chosen. I'm a different person now, but this..." She motioned at her body. "...has always been my home."
Taichi merely nodded. "Besides, the best way to get use to something is to dive right in."
Sora smirked. "And look at where that got you, Momma-Taichi."
Taichi patted the girl's waist. "I don't plan on wasting any time before you get to experience motherhood, Poppa-Sora."
"I look forward to it," Sora returned.
Taichi laughed. "You won't be saying that once it happens."
--
"What ever you decide, we will live by it," Sayuri announced to Daisuke, Takeru and Iori.
Hikari and Yume both stood behind her nodding.
The three boys slouched.
"Can't you make this easier for us?" Daisuke almost whined.
"You are all in the bodies you were born into. It's the life you should've always had," Hikari noted.
"Yeah, but thanks to Piemon we've been open to a different life," Takeru retorted.
"But it's not our life you have to live," Yume replied. "As much as I want to say my love will always stay the same, it might not. Sora once loved Yamato, but now she's married to Taichi. The same could happen to us. To make us choose..."
"Is like asking us to be married to the decision," Sayuri said bitterly. She walked up to Daisuke. "I may have promised my virginity to you if you changed back, but for me to make that decision for you... I may as well be your wife."
Iori's eyes went wide and then bowed to the girls. "I'm sorry for putting such a burden on you. I had not thought about the choice in that context."
"Don't worry about that." Hikari shook her head. "As Chosen knowing our children will likely be Chosen as well, when we decide to be with someone we risk connecting ourselves permanently to him. For Sayuri to follow through with her promise, she may just be Daisuke's wife anyway."
"I know that," Daisuke admitted. "I guess that's the real question here. Do we really want to tie our lives to you girls now? To accept what Piemon did wouldn't be for us, it would be for you."
Yume pouted. "Even saying that the decision is yours, we are the ones who truly get to decide."
"I have vowed to stay with the one I love regardless of the face he wears," Hikari stated firmly.
Yume blushed. "As much as I want to say I will always love you, I don't think I'm ready to commit to you fully. I've been able to see the one I love clearly this week. Whether you stay or change, I will still be with you."
Daisuke walked up to Sayuri. "The choice is, as it's always been... ours."
Sayuri hugged him tightly. "I'm in sixth grade. I shouldn't be trying to decide if I want to spend my life with a guy yet."
"And yet if I return to being Iori, I may as well marry you," Daisuke pointed out.
"I know that!" Sayuri began to cry. "I know that, but it doesn't make it easier. It makes it harder! I've enjoyed this past year so much because of you. I've gotten a chance to see the real you this week. Deep down I know you're the same, yet you're also different. I... I don't have the same feelings for you. I wish I could look past the body, but I can't. Not yet. Maybe in time, but not yet."
"If not for you, there wouldn't even be a debate," Daisuke told her. "You've found a place in my heart I thought only Hikari could fill."
"Whatever you choose Daisuke..." Sayuri sobbed. "I will accept it. I will try to be your girlfriend regardless."
Daisuke kissed the top of her head.
Asuramon stepped forward. "I take it you've come to your decision."
Daisuke looked at the other boys who nodded at him. "Yes, we have." He let go of Sayuri and stepped forward. "Switch us."
Sayuri's eyes went wide. "WHAT?!"
Takeru stepped forward as well. "The choice to stay or change... it was always about the ones we love most."
Hikari nodded sadly. "It's really all because of me, isn't it?"
Daisuke folded his arms. "Hate to say it... but yeah, it kinda is. You're married to 'Lord Daisuke,' not Takeru. Can't say I'm not tempted to wait and remember what it's like to make love to you, but... I roomed next to Taichi and Sora. I heard his screams."
"Screams?" Yume squeaked.
Hikari frowned deeply. "The memory of when Sora first made love to Yamato is a nightmare to him."
"I'm afraid that might be a nightmare to me as well. And then there are the things Takeru has done in this body. Things I do not want to remember," Daisuke added.
"The Massacre of Midnight Troop," Sayuri supplied with a light gasp.
"To name one," Daisuke agreed.
"For better or worse, we've become the person we've spent the past year in," Iori told them.
"If you wanted to switch back anyway, why did you want us to choose?" Sayuri demanded.
"If you told as to stay as we were born, we would have done so," Takeru replied.
"You are the ones most important to us. We want to do what will likely make you happier. This is not an easy decision to make." Iori stepped up to Yume and took her hands. "And do not feel obligated to stay with me because we made this choice. While we may be doing this for you, it is as you chose for us, 'our decision.' If you end up in love with another, I will still live with the choice I have agreed to."
"You don't have to do this for me," Yume insisted.
Iori smiled at her. "I wish I could say I'm doing this entirely for you, but I'm not. I'm being a bit selfish in this as I liked being Takeru."
Takeru laughed. "You know I loved being Daisuke."
Sayuri looked expectantly at her boyfriend.
"What?" Daisuke gazed down at her. "If it wasn't for his crappy memories and my love for you, I'd stay this way in heart beat. I STILL hate having to go through three more years of school. But I will do it, for you."
Sayuri pouted at him while folding her arms. "Geez, no pressure."
"This from the girl who promised me her virginity?" Daisuke shot at her.
Sayuri flushed deep red and smacked his arm.
Daisuke grinned at her. "While I do hope to claim that someday... I'll be with you when we're both ready, and not because you promised me. Returning to be Iori is still MY decision. If you ever find yourself not wanting to be my girlfriend, then break our relationship up. I've made my choice, and I'll live by it with or without you."
V-mon grinned at the digimon next to him. "Looks like you're stuck with me."
"I haven't decided if I want you," Pyschemon retorted.
Chapter Twenty-seven – The Hard Choice
By: Lord Archive
Digimon belongs to Toei Animation and Akiyoshi Hongo. They are used without permission or the intent of profit. All rights reserved.
--
Takeru's Journal:
The war between the light and dark digimon had almost literally been reduced to a never ending football game. The war continued, but at least they were not killing each other. Meanwhile everyone was who they were born as, but the decision to stay that way still had not been made.
--
Takeru, Daisuke and Iori sat around a table inside the manor house, with the door shut tight and their digimon standing outside to guard against certain girls who would want to eavesdrop.
"Well, we've been in these bodies for four days now," Iori began.
"Things aren't exactly as I was expecting," Takeru commented.
"Even having switched a few times already, becoming someone else is still a bit jarring," Daisuke noted.
"Even when it's your own original body," Iori agreed. "I'm finding it hard to keep my hands off Yume. Especially as we're now past the transition stage."
Takeru smirked sadly. "I suppose she has changed her vote."
Iori merely nodded.
"Sayuri still wants us to change back," Daisuke added.
"Not surprising," Takeru replied. "She didn't even know you before the switch, so she has no idea what part of you is the real you and what was Iori influenced."
Daisuke glared at him. "Don't make Sayuri sound like she's shallow. Only caring that I looked and somewhat acted like Iori. She's trying to see me as her boyfriend, but she's not use to this shit."
"_I_ am not use to this shit," Takeru countered. "I hardly expect her to be. I'm surprised Yume has been so accepting of the change."
Iori shrugged. "She had a crush on me before I became you. It's more surprising that she was able to accept me while I was in your body."
"Talking about our girlfriends won't help with this," Daisuke intoned. "What we need to know is where each of us stands right now."
"I'm fine either way," Iori failed to vote. "It might be better for me to switch back to slow things down. If we were to lose ourselves... I'd have a much harder time supporting her as Iori than I would as Takeru."
Daisuke let out a laugh. "If I come home in your body, I have Sayuri's permission to screw her brains out."
Takeru pouted. "Either way it looks to be a chance of whoever is in that body may find themselves in a position to father a child. Something bothers me about that, and it's not the age of the girls."
"We may have choices, but there are some things that must happen," Iori intoned.
"If I return to being Iori, I'll definitely try to keep my pants on," Daisuke vowed. "Being a parent in elementary school would be insane."
Iori nodded. "Whether as Iori or Takeru, I will try to do the same with Yume. Her life goal is to be a housewife with children, but I do not wish to harm her with my desires."
Takeru gazed at Daisuke. "Are you considering returning to being Iori?"
Daisuke nodded. "I've been debating that for a long time. To be Daisuke is to be the person I was born to be. I would likely open a food cart like I've always wanted. Chances are I'd date Sayuri for a while. Can't be sure if we'd stay together or if we'd go separate ways."
"And if you were to return to this body?" Iori questioned.
"I'd have a better chance with Sayuri," Daisuke began. "And I wouldn't remember Hikari screwing his brains out."
"Thought that would be a reason why you would want to be Daisuke," Takeru commented.
"Did you hear Taichi scream last night?" Daisuke asked.
Takeru shrugged. "Heard about it."
"I'm in the room next to them. Taichi had his 'Sora loving Yamato' dream, AGAIN," Daisuke informed bitterly. "To Sora it's a fond memory, to Taichi it's a nightmare."
"So that's why you suggested this for only a week. You don't want to risk remembering Hikari being with Takeru," Iori observed.
Daisuke nodded. "Look the real question right now is that we know we can live as each other, but can we live as ourselves after all this time?"
"I've told you before, whether as Iori or Takeru, my future changes little. I am fine either way," Iori stated.
"I don't think it is an issue of whether we can live as ourselves. Of course we can, these were our bodies first," Takeru corrected. "The real question is whether everyone else can live with us. While we have a good idea what our girlfriends wish for us, I say we put the vote fully into their hands and let them know that."
Daisuke nodded. "They are just as affected as we are."
"Putting the full pressure on them may make them less selfish and truly think of the full scope of the decision," Iori noted.
--
V-mon let out a grunt as he caught a baseball one of the American children had brought. He didn't know what was worse, the amount of force Patamon had put into sending the ball flying or that is was now covered in spit. He then turned and whipped the ball at Tailmon who somehow managed to not only wrap her long tail around the ball while in it was in flight but redirected it so it flew straight at one of the American's digimon, a Bearmon who preferred to go by Cubmon and was partnered to the lone Chicago Chosen.
"So this is where you've been hiding," Yume noted.
"Don't draw the attention of those digimon," 'Cubmon' hissed. "They may have taken over your nation's sport, but I'll be damned if they take America's favorite past time."
Sayuri was standing next to Yume and returned, "I prefer baseball to football. But we're not here to play games."
"Is there something you want?" Tailmon wondered.
Yume shifted nervously. "Well... Iori and the other put the decision of whether they'll switch again or not into our hands."
V-mon huffed. "I know."
"We were wondering what you felt about it," Yume added.
V-mon stared at the girl. "You're actually asking us?"
Yume pouted. "Why shouldn't we? This affects you as well."
"When the whole mess with Piemon started, we didn't really get a say with anything," Patamon noted. "Not that we would've changed what happened."
V-mon let out a chuckle. "After Piemon was defeated, I was ready to be Takeru's partner. He had become 'Daisuke enough' for me. Yet when it came time to change partners, they decided to have us bonded to our soul partners."
"Patamon and I agreed to that," Armadimon added.
"I hadn't realized at the time how important it was for us to stay linked to them. Just by being with Daisuke while he was in Iori's body helped keep him from becoming Iori completely," V-mon noted.
Sayuri nodded thoughtfully. "They weren't exactly given a lot of time to make those decisions, were they? But now we have time to think about this and try to figure out what's best for everyone."
"Takeru is my best friend," Patamon said firmly. "Nothing will change that, even the body he wears."
"Yup!" V-mon nodded. "Because of this I've gotten to know my partner better."
"Iori is Iori, even when he was Takeru," Armadimon affirmed.
"So you're saying...?" Sayuri prompted.
"As Motomiya or Hida, I'm fine either way," V-mon answered. "Sure he's more fun when he's Daisuke, but there are good points to being with him as Iori as well."
"Sorry if you're hoping we'd answer this for you," Patamon apologized. "They tried asking us to decide for them as well, and so long as we're with them, we're happy."
"Wish we could've been more help," Armadimon added.
Yume and Sayuri shared a frowned.
"Asking a digimon which form someone should be in is rather futile," Tailmon commented. "We shift forms all the time. It's because of that we can see the true heart of those close to us easier."
"I guess." Sayuri nodded slowly.
"What ever decision you make, you'll have to live with it as much as they do," Tailmon warned.
--
The field next to the plantation was once again filled with angel and devil digimon playing football against each other, this time a Togemon and a few Floramon were acting as referees.
"Since we can't come to a decisive vote on the treaty, and fighting to the death will get you no where, to determine which side's policy is used will be decided by a game of football," Mimi told the two towering digimon next to her.
"What is this football?" an elegant devil dressed in a red robe, Barbamon, asked in a smooth voice.
"It looks like a childish game," the light purple angel digimon, Cherubimon, added.
"As you can see it's an athletic sport with a fair amount of rules. A number of light and dark digimon have picked up how to play, and we've taught several plant digimon how to act as referees. During the time limit of a game, the objective is to get the ball into the opposing team's goal."
"And how will this game solve our issues?" Cherubimon demanded.
"For each point of contention in the treaty, you each set forward a team of adult digimon. If the light digimon win, then Cherubimon's solution is used, and if the dark side wins, then it would be Barbamon's answer," Mimi offered.
"And what if their solution is intolerable?" Barbamon questioned.
"After a period of time, you would be able contest the solution with another game," Mimi replied and then motioned towards Cherubimon. "Just as they would be able to contest something they dislike that you've set forward."
"It would also work with the nature digimon," Catherine added. "If they have a dispute with either light or dark, they can call for a football match and the side not involved in the situation would then provide the referees for the game."
"I would like to know the rules for this game," Cherubimon intoned.
"If you want to know the rules of any game, you just have to watch," Barbamon taunted as he moved forward to view the game.
--
Yume watched the never ending football game between devils and angels with unseeing eyes. She couldn't tell if either side was making any head way.
"Something wrong?" Ayashi wondered sitting next to the girl.
"The boys couldn't decide so they're giving us the vote," Yume replied.
"So the girlfriends get to choose, huh?" Ayashi asked.
Yume nodded. "You'd think it was simple. Hikari and Sayuri both have reasons for wanting the boys to switch back. Yet when the boys told us we get to choose, we failed to give them an answer."
"Well, who do you prefer Iori to be: himself or Takeru?" Ayashi questioned.
Yume pouted. "Both versions have their good points. The nice thing about this is I got to see the real Iori. There are differences in the body, but what remains the same is my real boyfriend. For his family, I'd say stay the way he is now. But for Sayuri and Hikari, it would be best to switch back."
"Chances are they will decide to switch back. You may be able to accept either version, it's not so simple for them," Ayashi told her.
"You don't know Sayuri. Even if it means losing her boyfriend, if she thought it was for the best, she would vote to keep him in his real body." Yume sighed. "And from what I've heard about Hikari, she's the same way. There's a chance one of them will flip their vote and I'll be left as a tie breaker."
"And you don't truly have a preference," Ayashi guessed.
"I can love him either way. I certainly know that after he felt me up!" Yume blushed. "It didn't feel weird that he was in different body. That was my boyfriend." She then pouted. "And Hikari has also accepted that, being able to make love to him in different bodies. She's more likely to vote for them to keep their real bodies, even if it means Sayuri's boyfriend gets to remember making love to her."
"And Sayuri's relationship might not be deep enough for her to recognize the real person behind her boyfriend, and has a harder time accepting the changes," Ayashi surmised.
"She never met him as anyone other than Iori. As much as we had a crush on him before the switch, we didn't truly get to know him. She doesn't have as much experience to see the real him," Yume corrected.
--
Sayuri followed behind Daisuke and their digimon. She wanted to see him as her boyfriend, even though his body was different his soul was the same.
As they came to a small village, several plant digimon practically groveled on the ground. The lead most Alraumon asked, "What brings the great Lord Daisuke here?"
V-mon snickered. "'Great Lord Daisuke?'"
The plant digimon recoiled from him. One of them fearfully asked, "You would dare mock him?"
Daisuke plopped to the ground. "I heard that title a few times, care to explain it to me?"
The plant digimon looked at each other in confusion. Alraumon nervously questioned, "What do you mean, Lord Daisuke?"
"I'm not the same Daisuke who was here with Patamon," the boy explained. "I've changed into his form and he has changed into a different body as well. We are good friends, but I have yet to hear why some refer to him as 'Lord Daisuke.'"
"Lord Daisuke and his grand angel of purification was one of the leaders of the Temple of Light, earning his place after dealing the Tower of Darkness a crippling blow when he utterly removed the Midnight Troop from their ranks," Alraumon informed.
Sayuri frowned deeply. "By saying 'utterly removed,' you mean..."
"Lord Daisuke killed every last one of them. He left no survivors," Alraumon confirmed.
"They were messing around with the powers of darkness, weren't they?" Daisuke guessed.
Alraumon nodded. "Indeed. They failed to control it and nearly wiped this region from existence."
"He certainly does hate when someone messes with that shit." V-mon shrugged. "He beat up Ken when he had tried to use the powers of darkness."
A Palmon tentatively raised her arm. "You're not the traitor in a different form, are you?"
Sayuri blinked. "Traitor?"
Palmon nodded. "Lord Daisuke's wife, Hikari, had been accused of assassinating Lord Slash Angemon. Lord Daisuke did what he could to protect her, but she has been banished from the Temple of Light."
Daisuke folded his arms. "Really going to need to talk to those two."
"That would seem to be an understatement," Psychemon piped in. "Wonder when they were going to get around to announcing they were married already."
"It certainly was a grand ceremony," Palmon said fondly.
Alraumon scowled. "I wouldn't know. They forced me to cook all day long."
"'Forced?'" Sayuri questioned.
Alraumon nodded. "When the armies want something from us, they don't ask. Thankfully Princess Mimi is making sure our rights are protected."
Daisuke nodded with a smile. "You can be sure of that with Mimi. She has a way with people."
"Especially now that she got power to back her up," V-mon added jokingly.
"Is there anything else you would like of us, Lord Daisuke?" Alraumon wondered.
"Not at all." Daisuke stood up and bowed to them. "How can we be of service to you?"
The plant digimon all emitted sounds of shock and surprise.
"What do you mean, Lord Daisuke?" Alraumon wondered.
"For the rest of the day, we'll serve you," Daisuke volunteered. "Hardly makes up for all you've been forced to do, but every little bit helps, right?" He looked at Sayuri and their digimon.
Sayuri half-huffed and half-laughed. "We're with you, 'Lord Daisuke.'"
"I'm not any good with growing stuff, but if you need anything fixed, I'm your mon," V-mon pledged.
"Oh, we can't ask that of you," Alraumon nervously refused.
"You don't have to ask," Daisuke pointed out. "We're willing to help you."
"If that is your wish, we'd be glad to accept it," Alraumon replied uncertainly.
--
Sayuri entered one of the rooms where some of the girls were rooming together at the manor house and fell straight onto one of the beds.
"Where were you all day?" Hikari questioned.
"Working a nearby farm," Sayuri moaned out. "Did you know they used plant digimon for slave labor?"
Hikari nodded. "It's something I tried working to stop, but well..."
"You got kicked out for assassinating Slash Angemon," Sayuri noted.
Hikari pouted. "You've heard about that?"
"And your wedding," Sayuri added. "Not to mention the Massacre of Midnight Troop, the Battle of Burning Fields, and the Awakening of the Goddess."
Hikari massaged her forehead. "At least the 'goddess' in question was Mimi."
"And why aren't you staying with your husband?" Sayuri wondered.
Hikari smirked wryly. "To keep me from doing anything I wouldn't want Iori to remember. Did you learn anything else?"
"Who my boyfriend truly is." Sayuri sighed. "It wasn't one thing that he did, but everything. He seemed different, yet he wasn't. He volunteered to help the plant digimon, to be their slave for a day without a second thought. My boyfriend might've took a moment to think it over, but he would've asked to help them anyway. I find it more weird that he's more of a child now even though he's in an older body."
Hikari smiled fondly. "Few realize that Daisuke is more than he appears to be. They see a foolish boy who can't focus on anything important. Yet he is open, honest and always willing to do the right thing, even if that's not what others want to do."
"Which of course was the issue with the switch. What is the right thing to do?" Sayuri muttered.
"I believe the boys already know the answer to that." Hikari sighed. "They just want us to accept it."
Sayuri frowned at her. "You're going to vote they stay the way they are now?"
Hikari smirked. "I'm going to put the vote back into his hands. Whatever the final choice is, I'll live with it. Even if it means your boyfriend knowing what it's like to make love to me."
"Don't remind me. That's one of the reasons I want him to switch back. If he stays the way he is... he won't be a virgin. I'll never be his first," Sayuri admitted.
Hikari laughed. "So the fight over who gets to be Daisuke continues."
--
Koushiro smirked as he looked up. "Well, look who's back to the land of the living."
Taichi let out a sarcastic laugh. "So we wanted a honeymoon."
"That's putting it mildly," Ayashi teased.
"I'm sure you've put one of the rooms with a single bed to use," Sora returned accusingly.
"We've taken Hikari's room as she doesn't want to risk doing something with her husband," Ayashi told them.
Taichi raised an eyebrow. "'Husband?'"
Koushiro grinned sheepishly. "Apparently Hikari married 'Lord Daisuke' as there was suspicion that she may have killed one of the leaders of the angels, Slash Angemon."
Taichi scowled. "Did she?"
"You'll have to ask Hikari about that," Koushiro replied. "All we've heard from the angels was that she was _accused_ of killing him and that she accepted banishment from the Temple of Light to keep her husband from being punished as well."
Taichi nodded slowly. "And what's this about 'Lord Daisuke?'"
"Apparently he was a war hero who has done many things against the Tower of Darkness and for a time was one of the leaders of the Temple of Light," Koushiro explained.
"Though I'm not sure I like it that BOTH sides refer to one of 'Lord Daisuke's' battles as the MASSACRE of Midnight Troop," Ayashi added. "The angels don't seem to be upset at the idea of killing of entire groups wholesale."
"We've heard of them refer to other massacres, ones they had done themselves." Koushiro frowned deeply. "Apparently the Slash Angemon Hikari was accused of killing had led a few of them. And it wasn't just devil digimon that were slaughtered, but plant digimon as well."
Taichi folded his arms. "And I assume they justified murdering plant digimon by accusing them to be allies of the dark digimon."
"Of course," Ayashi confirmed.
"What else have we missed?" Sora wondered.
Ayashi pointed to the side of the plantation that the football field had been set up. "We brought sports to this world. The angels and devil digimon have been going at it non-stop since we taught them how to play."
"And apparently to deal with impasses in the peace treaty, they're going to play games to determine which side's solution gets used," Koushiro added. "And from the looks of it, it won't be just football. They're also going to use other contests so that one side won't be able to dominate the other if they manage to create a stronger team. They may end up with their own version of the Olympics to decide on what laws will govern the lands for a period of time with events ranging from boxing to races to chess."
"Certainly better than killing each other," Sora commented.
"Mimi isn't entirely happy with the plan, but the angels and devils don't like the idea of voting or giving the plant digimon a full say. With the games, plant digimon will at least be able to compete and have the chance to get their voice heard," Koushiro continued.
Ayashi grinned at the couple. "Now how does it feel to be back to your real bodies?"
Sora shared a look with Taichi and they both shrugged. "It was kind of like coming home after I first became Chosen. I'm a different person now, but this..." She motioned at her body. "...has always been my home."
Taichi merely nodded. "Besides, the best way to get use to something is to dive right in."
Sora smirked. "And look at where that got you, Momma-Taichi."
Taichi patted the girl's waist. "I don't plan on wasting any time before you get to experience motherhood, Poppa-Sora."
"I look forward to it," Sora returned.
Taichi laughed. "You won't be saying that once it happens."
--
"What ever you decide, we will live by it," Sayuri announced to Daisuke, Takeru and Iori.
Hikari and Yume both stood behind her nodding.
The three boys slouched.
"Can't you make this easier for us?" Daisuke almost whined.
"You are all in the bodies you were born into. It's the life you should've always had," Hikari noted.
"Yeah, but thanks to Piemon we've been open to a different life," Takeru retorted.
"But it's not our life you have to live," Yume replied. "As much as I want to say my love will always stay the same, it might not. Sora once loved Yamato, but now she's married to Taichi. The same could happen to us. To make us choose..."
"Is like asking us to be married to the decision," Sayuri said bitterly. She walked up to Daisuke. "I may have promised my virginity to you if you changed back, but for me to make that decision for you... I may as well be your wife."
Iori's eyes went wide and then bowed to the girls. "I'm sorry for putting such a burden on you. I had not thought about the choice in that context."
"Don't worry about that." Hikari shook her head. "As Chosen knowing our children will likely be Chosen as well, when we decide to be with someone we risk connecting ourselves permanently to him. For Sayuri to follow through with her promise, she may just be Daisuke's wife anyway."
"I know that," Daisuke admitted. "I guess that's the real question here. Do we really want to tie our lives to you girls now? To accept what Piemon did wouldn't be for us, it would be for you."
Yume pouted. "Even saying that the decision is yours, we are the ones who truly get to decide."
"I have vowed to stay with the one I love regardless of the face he wears," Hikari stated firmly.
Yume blushed. "As much as I want to say I will always love you, I don't think I'm ready to commit to you fully. I've been able to see the one I love clearly this week. Whether you stay or change, I will still be with you."
Daisuke walked up to Sayuri. "The choice is, as it's always been... ours."
Sayuri hugged him tightly. "I'm in sixth grade. I shouldn't be trying to decide if I want to spend my life with a guy yet."
"And yet if I return to being Iori, I may as well marry you," Daisuke pointed out.
"I know that!" Sayuri began to cry. "I know that, but it doesn't make it easier. It makes it harder! I've enjoyed this past year so much because of you. I've gotten a chance to see the real you this week. Deep down I know you're the same, yet you're also different. I... I don't have the same feelings for you. I wish I could look past the body, but I can't. Not yet. Maybe in time, but not yet."
"If not for you, there wouldn't even be a debate," Daisuke told her. "You've found a place in my heart I thought only Hikari could fill."
"Whatever you choose Daisuke..." Sayuri sobbed. "I will accept it. I will try to be your girlfriend regardless."
Daisuke kissed the top of her head.
Asuramon stepped forward. "I take it you've come to your decision."
Daisuke looked at the other boys who nodded at him. "Yes, we have." He let go of Sayuri and stepped forward. "Switch us."
Sayuri's eyes went wide. "WHAT?!"
Takeru stepped forward as well. "The choice to stay or change... it was always about the ones we love most."
Hikari nodded sadly. "It's really all because of me, isn't it?"
Daisuke folded his arms. "Hate to say it... but yeah, it kinda is. You're married to 'Lord Daisuke,' not Takeru. Can't say I'm not tempted to wait and remember what it's like to make love to you, but... I roomed next to Taichi and Sora. I heard his screams."
"Screams?" Yume squeaked.
Hikari frowned deeply. "The memory of when Sora first made love to Yamato is a nightmare to him."
"I'm afraid that might be a nightmare to me as well. And then there are the things Takeru has done in this body. Things I do not want to remember," Daisuke added.
"The Massacre of Midnight Troop," Sayuri supplied with a light gasp.
"To name one," Daisuke agreed.
"For better or worse, we've become the person we've spent the past year in," Iori told them.
"If you wanted to switch back anyway, why did you want us to choose?" Sayuri demanded.
"If you told as to stay as we were born, we would have done so," Takeru replied.
"You are the ones most important to us. We want to do what will likely make you happier. This is not an easy decision to make." Iori stepped up to Yume and took her hands. "And do not feel obligated to stay with me because we made this choice. While we may be doing this for you, it is as you chose for us, 'our decision.' If you end up in love with another, I will still live with the choice I have agreed to."
"You don't have to do this for me," Yume insisted.
Iori smiled at her. "I wish I could say I'm doing this entirely for you, but I'm not. I'm being a bit selfish in this as I liked being Takeru."
Takeru laughed. "You know I loved being Daisuke."
Sayuri looked expectantly at her boyfriend.
"What?" Daisuke gazed down at her. "If it wasn't for his crappy memories and my love for you, I'd stay this way in heart beat. I STILL hate having to go through three more years of school. But I will do it, for you."
Sayuri pouted at him while folding her arms. "Geez, no pressure."
"This from the girl who promised me her virginity?" Daisuke shot at her.
Sayuri flushed deep red and smacked his arm.
Daisuke grinned at her. "While I do hope to claim that someday... I'll be with you when we're both ready, and not because you promised me. Returning to be Iori is still MY decision. If you ever find yourself not wanting to be my girlfriend, then break our relationship up. I've made my choice, and I'll live by it with or without you."
V-mon grinned at the digimon next to him. "Looks like you're stuck with me."
"I haven't decided if I want you," Pyschemon retorted.