Chapter Text
This story explains the timeline from Seasons 1-7 and the reason behind the different versions of the Digital World. There may or may not be a few pairings but I will give romantic moments for every couple in existence unless I find it totally preposterous.
School goes Japanese style. Grade school until sixth grade (Age: 11). Middle school for three years (Ages: 12-15). And finally, high school for three more years (Ages: 15-18). The school cycle is American style though which means school starts in late August/early September and ends in June. This is mostly because the original version of this story on ff.net was written that way and changing that would be too much effort. But I do want to use everyone’s Japanese names because I want to stay true to the culture as much as possible.
Ages:
Taichi, Yamato, Sora – 18/19 (College Freshmen)
Koushirou, Mimi – 17/18 (High School Third-Years)
Miyako, Ryo, Junpei – 16/17 (High School Second-Years)
Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari, Ken, Takato, Jianliang, Ruki, Juri, Hirokazu, Kenta, Takuya, Kouji, Izumi, Kouichi, Ikuto, Chika, Taiki, Zenjirou, Akari, Kiriha, Nene – 15/16 (High School First-Years)
Tagiru, Yuu, Ryouma, Ren, Airu – 14/15 (Junior High Third-Years)
Iori, Tomoki – 13/14 (Junior High Second-Year)
Xiaochung, Mako, Ai – 10/11 (6th Grade)
Jyou, Masaru, Touma – 19/20 (College Sophomore for Jyou)
Yoshino – 23/24
-X-
Hikari's POV
It's been over four years since our fight against MaloMyotismon and Armaggedemon. We thought it was over then, and it should've been. But Gennai told us something interesting on the evening after our final fight.
He told us that he had to force everyone in the world except us, our family members, and all the international Chosen Children to forget about Digimon. We were shocked. We thought that it was finally time for Digimon and humans to coexist with each other. But apparently, they had to hide for just a little bit longer.
To quote what Koushirou had said, "It's phenomenal!" Apparently, Gennai had not only erased everyone's memories of certain events but he made our lives into a television show. He altered the past so that if anyone remembered Digimon, they would just think they had seen it on a television screen.
But of course, everyone knows that changing the past has its life changing effects. We weren't affected by the changes for some reason though. For us, we didn't even notice the whole paradox thing. But for some reason, everyone else in the world was affected. The show did somehow create the Digimon card game. Not only that but a year before Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori had become Chosen Children, something big started in Shinjuku.
All of us feel as if Digimon appeared back then but we can't seem to remember. We haven't told the second generation DigiDestined about it though. Sora's guess is that some digital being similar to Gennai possibly erased our memories of the events. But that doesn't explain the destruction in West Shinjuku where half the area had been mysteriously demolished. According to the government, it was the aftermath of terrorist attacks.
Around the same time, something else was happening in Hokkaido. Again, none of us have any recollection of what had happened but Hokkaido suffered so much damage that I'm surprised people actually believe that a tsunami did it.
We're sure of it, the damages were caused by Digimon or some other occurrence related to the Digital World.
But of course, there's something else that's been bugging us too. A year after MaloMyotismon's defeat, a message was sent to every kid with a cell phone in the Shibuya district. Koushirou and Miyako tried to pinpoint the source but before they could get anywhere, the message vanished without a trace.
These strange events creep me out but what can you do?
Oh that's right! Daisuke, Takeru, Ken, and I are all starting high school in April! We're going to be attending Yagami High with Miyako and we can't wait! I guess I shouldn't let these worries bother me. After all, it's been three years since that weird message and nothing else strange has happened since.
September 9: Matsuda Residence – 7:30 AM
Takato struggled a bit in front of the mirror as he tried to adjust his new tie. It was a part of his high school uniform and it consisted of a white button-up shirt, black slacks (skirts for girls), navy suitjackets, and a black tie, hence the struggle.
His ever loyal partner, Guilmon, yawned as he slowly rose out of bed. He noticed Takato fumbling with a black rope around his neck and the Digimon cocked his head to the side. "What are you doing, Takato?”
"Getting ready for school. It’s my first day at Yagami High and I don't want to be late." It did feel a bit off that this was the only school running on an American school cycle. Probably because the founder was a former Harvard professor. "I told you about this last night, didn't I?"
Guilmon put a claw to his chin and pondered about this long and hard. Knowing the raptor though, it was mostly food and friends that went through his brain, not actual thoughts. "Nope! All I remember from last night is bread, ice cream, peanut butter, bread, ice cream, peanut butter, and Calumon!" Yup.
Takato sighed and shook his head. "Of course you do. And listen, Mom and Dad will be up soon with breakfast and then lunch later so do not go downsTaichirs. We can't have you frightening the customers or having Taichi find out about you." He gave up on the tie and decided to just ask Jian to help with it later.
"Okay Takato…"
"Good. I'll see you after school," smiled Takato as he petted his partner and then ran downstairs. He gave his parents a quick goodbye and reminded them to feed Guilmon before racing out the door. "Hey, Taichi, good to see you here early!" he greeted the part-time worker that had started working at the bakery over the summer.
Taichi stopped midway to the bakery on his bike and waved to the younger boy. "You're starting at Yagami today, right? Be sure to say 'hi' to my sister if you end up in the same class…" A pause and a quick, mocking glare. "…but don't try anything you'll regret."
Takato laughed a bit as he ran past the older boy. "No problem! I'll see you when I get back!"
The teenager raced toward Shinjuku Park to meet his friends which had become a tradition before school. When he made it there, he saw Hirokazu and Kenta arguing with each other about something completely specific like which Digimon card to use if you’re flanked by a Meramon and a Frigimon simultaneously. And Juri patiently waited leaning against a tree trunk. Same old, same old.
"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" greeted Takato.
"About time!" said Hirokazu as he slapped Takato's back. "You're still the same old, tardy Takato, huh? Anyhow, did you get that autograph for me yet?"
"Oh, man! I knew I forgot something! Sorry, Hirokazu."
Kenta rolled his eyes. "For the last time, he's not Taichi from Digimon. He was just the person that the creators based him off of. It says so right in that press conference from five years ago. According to Mr. Hiroaki Ishida, the characters in Digimon are based off of his sons and their friends."
"Whatever! He was still the best soccer captain Yagami High has ever seen and he led them to victory in the finals! I'm totally joining the soccer club! I bet my rarest cards that I'll be the new team captain by next year," Hirokazu smirked.
Juri couldn't help giggling when she heard this as they began their trek towards school. "You'd have to get through the best soccer players out there. Ken Ichijouji of Tamachi Junior High and Daisuke Motomiya of Odaiba Junior High will be attending our school too. And let's not forget the third place victor, Takuya Kanbara of Shibuya Junior High."
"Okay, then basketball! I'm pretty tall!"
"Yeah, but Takeru Takaishi of Odaiba is also pretty tall and one of the best basketball players our age," Kenta pointed out matter-of-factly. "I also heard about this other kid, Taiki Kudo? Apparently, he's one of the best teen basketball players in the country."
"And let's not forget Ryo, he's really good too," Takato added.
Hirokazu slapped his forehead, threw his head back, and groaned loudly. "Damn it! You guys ruin everything! And with so many natural babe magnets going to our school, there won't be any girls for the rest of us!"
Juri slapped his head hard enough to knock him down. "Do you really think girls only care about how good-looking a guy is?" she huffed indignantly.
"I wasn't just talking about their looks," muttered Hirokazu. "Although that's another thing they have… They're freaking superheroes without the spandex. It's like they work out half of their life."
"Well," started Takato. "Coaches in every school are pretty harsh. They probably work their teams over more than they need to. And then there are people like Jian who are into martial arts too, they can't just slack off you know."
Kenta nodded in agreement. "But it wouldn't hurt if Jian were to tone it down just a little though. Remember that he's not just physically fit, he was the smartest guy at our school and according to every girl, the nicest too."
"Speak of the devil," giggled Juri.
They saw the familiar blue haired Tamer cut a corner in front of them and continue going straight down the road. With him was a beautiful redheaded girl, wearing the Yagami High uniform so she was probably around their age, and she was speaking to Jian as if they had known each other forever.
Takato began to call out to them when Hirokazu grabbed his three companions and pulled them behind a thick telephone pole. He kept their mouths shut which happened to be quite the accomplishment considering there were three of them and he only had two hands.
"Hirokazu, what are you doing?" gasped Juri.
"What? You guys don't see the hot chick with him?" he questioned.
"What's wrong with that?" asked Kenta.
"Nothing! But if Jian's got a girlfriend then every girl at school who would've had a crush on him…" He begins to gesture towards all three of the guys there. "…would come running to his friends. Meaning, us ."
"That… doesn't explain why we're hiding?" Takato inquired.
"You know what Ruki says, the reason why Jian and Ryo don't have girlfriends is because of us. We drive them away. Whatever that means, but I've decided to take her word for it. So let's not drive this one away for Jian."
Takato and Juri rolled their eyes as they looked at each other. "You want to tell him?" asked Takato.
"Sure," Juri smiled sweetly before slapping Hirokazu once again. "That is Ruki!"
Jian and Ruki stopped at the sound of their friend's voice and turned around. They raised their eyebrows in bemusement when they saw Hirokazu holding his head and Juri chiding him. "Hey guys," Jian greeted them.
"I see a girl scolding an idiot, I've finally rubbed off on you," Ruki smirked, looking towards Juri.
"Should I call a therapist?" laughed Juri.
Ruki's grin only became wider. "No, I'm sure this is the start of a beautiful, but renewed, friendship."
"So what's going on here?" asked Jian, turning to the boys in the group.
"Hirokazu just thought that you were with some unknown girl," said Kenta.
Ruki rolled her eyes and folded her arms together with her bag swinging in her left hand. "I know I've been in France for the last three months but seriously? The only thing that's really changed about me is that my hair isn't in a ponytail and that I'm wearing a skirt."
"But I thought your mom only wanted you to go to private schools," Takato mentioned.
"I convinced her to let me go to Yagami since it's got a pretty good reputation even though it's a public school," she shrugged casually. "It was going to be a surprise but then I bumped into Jian and then you guys showed up." She then glared at Hirokazu. "As for you, how can you not recognize me?!"
Hirokazu narrowed his eyes and scratched his chin thoughtfully as he took a closer look at the fiery Tamer. "I think your chest got bigger over the summer."
A vein popped on Ruki's forehead as she brought her bag up and brought it back down onto his head as hard as she could. "That's sexual harassment!"
September 9: Motomiya Residence – 7:35 AM
Daisuke watched as DemiVeemon raided their refrigerator for something to eat. "You could take the leftover veggies in that fridge, nobody else in this house is going to eat them," the human remarked.
"Heck no! That stuff is like poison to Digimon!" DemiVeemon gagged.
"Well then eat poison because that's what you're getting!"
"You're mean!" Although the statement would've usually had a tone of hurt, the way his partner said it had a tone of amusement instead.
Daisuke smiled before his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to find a text message from Takeru.
Where are you? We're standing outside the school and waiting! We all sent you messages to your D-Terminal, didn't you get them?!
Daisuke's smile faded as he rushed around the house. He pulled his tie around his neck and grabbed his school bag. Before forgetting, he slapped his D-3 onto his belt along with his D-Terminal. As far as he and his group knew, no bad Digimon have shown up in recent times so they weren't necessary but it's still comforting to have them around.
"I'll see you later DemiVeemon! I'll be back by four at the latest!"
"Bye! Good luck!"
The scatterbrained human took a look at his D-Terminal and found six messages awaiting him, one for each of his friends attending Yagami High.
Daisuke, this is your wakeup call! I will smash your head in if you're late! I want to give the tour to everyone already! – Miyako Inoue
Daisuke, I know that Miyako has sent you a message already but if you don't hurry it up, she's going to maim you. She's already begun to pound her fist into her palm and muttering malignant death threats under her breath… – Koushirou Izumi
You know we can't control her when her temper's being tested. Just hurry up and get here! – Takeru Takaishi
I don't like the deepening scowl on Miyako’s face. Hurry up, what in the world is keeping you?! – Ken Ichijoji
Will you at least respond to one of our messages? – Mimi Tachikawa
It looks like it's too late Daisuke… Miyako’s destroying a stop sign right now… – Hikari Kamiya
Daisuke smiled pleasantly to himself as he stuffed the device back into his pocket. His friends would never change and there was no way Miyako would actually hurt him. The worst she'd do is shout in his ear at the volume of a jet turbine. Actually, on second thought, maybe he should pick up the pace.
September 9: Shibuya Train Station – 6:38 AM
Takuya took his ticket out of the machine and waited for his friends to do the same. They lived a little bit farther from their high school so they had to take the train. Too bad they had to rise from their slumber earlier than those in other districts.
Junpei yawned as he stood by his friend. "Man, a whole year at Yagami and I still can't get used to waking up before seven…," he groaned.
"Well this is our first time so you better lead the way," Takuya chuckled.
"Why couldn't you have gone to Shibuya High? It's way closer!" Izumi huffed. "Why'd you choose Yagami of all places?"
Kouji smirked. "Is it because of the rumors of it having the best looking people in Japan?"
"No, it's because my mom wanted me to go to one of the best schools around! Not some nearby school," said Junpei defensively. "If I had a say in it, I totally would've gone to Shibuya."
"At least this means we get to hang out together more, we can kill time together on the train ride," smiled Kouichi.
"Always the optimist," sighed Takuya.
Izumi giggled. "Now if only Kouji could be like that."
"Hey, I can be optimistic. I just choose not to," said Kouji.
"Hey, was that our train just now?" inquired Takuya.
They all stopped, listened, and heard a train pull into the station. They traded panicked looks with each other and quickly scaled the stairs. Right before the doors closed, they leapt inside, like leaping gazelles, panting to catch their breath.
"Good thing you decided to lose some weight since we first met you," Takuya laughed as he patted Junpei's stomach. "You would've passed out on those stairs."
Junpei flashed them a grin brimming with pride. "Well, ever since our adventures, I decided to get more fit so that the day we reunite with our spirits would be a proud one. So I joined the judo club, started working out, and became the muscle man you now see before you."
"It seems our adventures influenced a lot of our choices," Kouji mused.
The five of them took a moment to think back to those days. No one but ten knew. All those other kids that had gone to that strange world had forgotten about it, dismissing the events as a peculiar, lucid dream of some sort. The group just wished that there were others out there they could talk to about it.
"At least we can talk about the Digimon themselves to those who've seen the show," tried Kouichi.
"I still can't believe there was a whole show about Digimon and we didn't even know about it!" laughed Junpei.
"Right?" smiled Takuya. "But it's not like it's our fault, the show only reached a few districts as well as some places around the world. It didn't even come to places like Shibuya or Hokkaido until like two years after the initial release!"
They all started laughing as they remembered how surprised they were to find out about global knowledge of the strange creatures. It was true that barely anyone knew that they truly existed but at least they could vaguely talk about it with others.
Their laughs were cut short by a bitter sounding voice. Somebody needed some morning coffee. "What are you guys doing here?" muttered a curt voice.
The five former Legendary Warriors turned and saw the scowl on a familiar teenage boy's face. It was the older brother of their sixth member, Yutaka Himi. Ever since he had met them, he didn't like them, and now he was wearing the same uniform as them, that couldn't be good. Especially since the only people that he remotely got along with were Junpei and Kouichi.
"Hey Yutaka… Um, fancy seeing you here…," Takuya greeted awkwardly.
"Save it," the other boy snapped. "I knew Junpei was going to be my senior there and Kouichi had gotten in but to think the rest of you would be going to Yagami too…," he scoffed bitterly. "I had no idea that such a prestigious school allowed imbeciles."
Izumi was just about to say a few choice words to him when Kouji placed a hand over her mouth. She was probably swearing in Italian. "Look Yutaka, like it or not, we're going to be schoolmates. So you're just going to have to deal with it," the raven haired boy shot back coolly.
Yutaka and Kouji seemed to be having some sort of death glare match and by the looks of it, the latter was winning. Unsurprisingly. Yutaka scoffed as he turned away and moved to the far end of the train, away from the group.
"Geez, why does that guy have to act like such a prick all the time?" Takuya grumbled.
"I think he just sort of feels that we're bad influences to Tomoki," shrugged Kouichi. "I mean, think about it, he goes off on his own for half a day and then comes back all changed. He's a bit more mature and he has a better understanding of the world. Not to mention, he makes nine new friends, all older kids, in the process. Two of whom used to bully him."
Junpei nodded in agreement. "You can't really blame the guy then. I mean, how would you feel if it was Shinya instead of you who went to the Digital World and came back all different? Wouldn't that make you feel suspicious and wary?"
Shinya was Takuya's younger brother and an instant friend to Tommy when the two boys had met.
Their leader shrugged as he thought about it. "I guess I'd feel a bit left out if I saw him talking to people that I didn't even know…"
September 9: Streets of Shinjuku – 7:43 AM
A year ago, the Noguchi family had decided to move to Shinjuku. Chika Damon, being a friend to their fifteen year old son, Ikuto, moved with them and chose to stay at their house. After all, Ikuto had only been living in the human world for five years; it would be nice to have someone to help him with all the studying he missed. This autumn, the two of them were going to start their high school lives at Yagami High. They were walking side by side under the cool shade of the trees.
"You couldn't have woken up just a little bit earlier?" Kristy huffed irately.
Keenan yawned tiredly as he adjusted his shoulder bag. Most kids just carried bags similar to attaché cases; he preferred one he didn't have to hold. "You're just ticked that there's going to be no one you know in your class," he grinned as he placed his arms behind his head.
"Because you didn't study hard enough!" she partially shouted at him causing him to recoil though he was still grinning. "Ugh, if you had just worked a little bit harder on the entrance exam, we could've been in the same class."
"How do you know that you got a hundred? It's said that no one's ever gotten a perfect score on Yagami's entrance exams before."
"Because they sent a letter congratulating me about it," she grumbled. "I showed it to you… Twice!"
"Well even if I didn't get a perfect score, how do you know I won't be in 1-A?"
"Because you guessed on half of the exam…"
"Oh… Right…"
"It's a miracle you got in at all!"
"Well, you're a horrible tutor."
Chika pulled up her school bag as her eyes showed complete rage and fury. Ikuto suddenly realized that he might've gone too far as he began running for his life. She chased after him, ready to smack him as many times as it took for him to get the idea.
"Get back here Noguchi!" she shouted at him.
"You'll have to try and catch me!"
The two of them passed by a group of at least six other kids along the way, they were all wearing the same school uniforms as they were and they all gave each other odd looks when the pair passed by. But clearly, both of them couldn't have cared less at the moment.
"I'm going to kill you!" Chika glowered.
"And I plan on living," he grinned.
September 9: Yagami High – 7:57 AM
"Well it only took you…," Miyako stopped and glanced at her watch, "…about an hour to realize you were late. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Daisuke was huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath. It felt as if he had been running for much longer. "What I have to say is that next time; I'm going to take a bus, even if I do end up late for school."
"It's too bad that the existence of Digimon is still underground, you could've ridden Raidramon here," Takeru grinned cheekily.
Daisuke smiled back before it faded away. He really wished Digimon didn't have to live in secret, then his partner wouldn't be stuck hiding away and he could play in the park or something. He knew that the Chosen Children from all over the world felt the same way.
"That doesn't matter, we only have approximately two to three minutes to get to homeroom before the bell rings," Koushirou told them. "You all know your classes so get a move on. Daisuke, we already checked the board; you're in class 1-E."
"Hm, the lowest ranking class, I wonder why," Miyako smirked.
"Hey, I was able to get in, I think that's pretty good," Daisuke retorted. He then turned to the others in his age group. "What about you guys, what classes are you guys in?"
"1-A," Ken told him. Like that was a surprise, he got a letter earlier in the summer telling him that he had received a perfect score on the rumored impossible entrance exam.
"Takeru and I are both in 1-B," smiled Hikari.
"That makes it five years in a row we're in the same class," Takeru chuckled.
Mimi clapped her hands together to get their attention. "Alright love birds, while the rest of us are talking, Koushirou's already gone to class."
They all quickly snapped out of it as they ran into the school building to ensure themselves as not being late on the first day.
September 9: Shinjuku Grade School – 8:02 AM
Ms. Asaji took a look at her attendance sheet as she called out each name for roll call. She had gotten to the end of her list when she believed there was some sort of mistake. She had looked over her new class this year and she was sure she didn't see Xiaochung Li anywhere in the classroom.
"Li, Xiaochung," she called out anyway.
When there was no response, Ai Terada raised her hand.
"Yes Ai?" inquired Ms. Asaji.
"Mako and I saw Xiaochung just a bit earlier. If you want, we could go look for her," Ai told her as she stood up.
Ms. Asaji sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose tiredly. "Yes, please, if it's not too much trouble. She's going to be in a lot of trouble for trying to cut class on the first day though. Honestly, she's nothing at all like her brother."
The twins, Ai and Mako, quickly exited the classroom in search of their fellow Tamer and friend. It was definitely likely for the half-Chinese girl to run away from class, especially after the five years that have passed.
They finally found her on the rooftop; the girl had grown her hair out so that it reached the center of her back but she had it tied in a ponytail that hung in front over her shoulder and cascaded down the front of her torso. She stared out to the city skyline with an expression that suggested she wanted everything to burn.
"Xiaochung, what are you doing up here?" asked Ai, catching her attention. "Asaji-sensei is ticked off and she wants you in homeroom immediately."
"I don't care…," Xiaochung muttered in a bored tone. "Like anyone cares… I bet she wishes for me to be like Jian when she discovered I wasn't there."
The twins looked at each other with concerned expressions. Once Xiaochung had entered grade school, everyone expected her to be something more like her older siblings. Each of them seemed to be prodigies at something.
Her oldest brother, Rinchei was an exceptional artist and even though he was only nineteen, he was already going to have his first manga published by the famous Marukawa publishing company. Her sister, Jaarin, was good at every sport ever invented. She was seventeen when she had won the youth division of Japan a trophy in basketball and soccer. Finally there was Jian, the prodigy of everything else, he was a straight A student, knew everything about computers, could hack his way through government firewalls, plays piano, violin, bass guitar at an expert level, speaks seven languages fluently and even surpassed his tai chi master at the age of thirteen.
And now everyone expected something great from Xiaochung Li.
"I'm just living in their shadows…," she grumbled darkly.
"Well… You're an amazing Tamer for one thing," tried Mako. "You've even received the title of Digimon Princess in the card game world."
"Not to mention you're an exceptional chef," added Ai.
Xiaochung turned around to face her friends but her expression remained unchanged as she stared at them. "Being Digmon Princess was only because of Ryo and Ruki teaching me. And no one even knows of the existence of Digimon anymore so being a Tamer is out. Even if it was common knowledge, Takato, Jian, Ruki, and Ryo are the ones who can bio-merge. Compared to them, I'm dead weight."
Things were silent between the three of them for a long time before another voice decided to join them. "You know you're not going to get anywhere in life with a bitter and negative attitude like that."
"Impmon?" questioned Xiaochung when she noticed the virus Digimon sitting on the edge of the rooftop.
He stood up and came up to her. "Look kid, you've got a great Digmon partner and great friends, what more can you ask for? And your family loves you too. Besides, with siblings like the ones you have, you've got bragging rights galore. Frankly, I don't see the problem."
"The problem is that you're out here in public, what if someone saw you?" Xiaochung sighed.
"I've been roof hopping for about five years now, I think I've got it covered," Impmon grinned.
Xiaochung couldn't help but smile a bit as she affectionately rubbed the Digimon's head in gratitude. "Thanks… I've still got some issues with it but I do feel a little better now."
They heard a metal door close shut and when they turned to the entrance to the roof, they saw their teacher standing there. "And I'm sorry if I ever made it seem like I compared you to your siblings," Ms. Asaji sighed apologetically.
"Ms. Asaji! What are you doing up here?" asked Ai.
"It occurred to me about a minute after you two left that I just let two of my students walk out of the classroom unsupervised," she smiled. "I have a free teacher looking after the class. And I'm sorry Xiaochung, I promise from now on there will be no expectations so just take everything at your own pace."
"Thanks," Xiaochung sighed. "But… About Impmon."
"If you've forgotten, Takato, Juri, Hirokazu, and Kenta all made the request for me to keep my memory of Digimon," Ms. Asaji said tiredly though there was a fondness in her tone. "Those kids… be sure to tell them I said 'hi' and that I wish them the best of luck in high school."
"Will do," Mako grinned.
September 9: Yagami High – 7:50 AM
Ryo was able to wave away the crowd of girls surrounding him just in time to see his friends coming towards the school gates. 'Sorry about this Jian,' he thought to himself. "Hey girls, there's a potential candidate for first-year prince!"
The crowd of girls stopped fawning over him and looked over at the approaching Tamers. They suddenly crowded around Jian and began asking him multiple questions while the others that were with him got brushed aside.
"Man, those fangirls can be vicious," Ruki remarked.
"You don't have to tell me," muttered Ryo before giving them his signature smile. "Now that all of you are here, I welcome you all to one of the best schools in the country. Thirty percent of this school is intelligent, twenty-five percent are incredibly athletic; twenty percent are talented in the performing arts, fifteen percent are good looking, and the remaining ten percent are either two of the others or more."
"And let me guess, you fall under multi-gifted," Ruki grinned.
"You guessed right Princess," he laughed. "The only thing I'm not is super intelligent but our friend Jian is all of the above. Therefore, he is the perfect candidate for first-year Yagami prince."
They were all curious about this but it was Kenta who asked the question out loud. "Um, what exactly is that?"
"At this school, there is a Yagami High Prince Club," Ryo said as a start to his explanation.
"Please tell me you're kidding," Ruki partially begged with a groan. She had already lost a lot of faith in humanity with the stupidity she had seen on social media platforms; she did not need this kind of idiocy in her real everyday life as well.
"Nope, there is a prince for each year. I am the second-year prince, formerly the first-year prince. And according to the girls of the…" He paused to make air quotes. "…'Prince Club', the next first-year prince will be child prodigy Ken Ichijouji. But I'm hoping my successor will be Shinjuku's Jianliang Li."
"I can't help but ask… Why?" inquired Takato.
"Because when Jian and I hang out together, we'll be the attraction of the school," Ryo told him before noticing the girls' skeptical looks. "And I made a deal with Hirokazu that I would get him a girlfriend by the end of this school year. So, if both Jian and I can get a girl on the rebound, we can probably get her to fall into his arms."
"What was the deal?" asked Juri, hoping she wouldn't regret it.
Ryo looked to Hirokazu as if asking for permission but instead, the other brunet took the reins on this one. "You see I made him a deal that if he could get me a girlfriend, I would give him a vintage guitar similar to the one used by Elvis Presley himself," Hirokazu told them.
The others all glanced at each other with the same suspicious expressions. "There is absolutely no way you can do that," Kenta argued.
Juri nodded in agreement before adding. "Where would you even find a vintage guitar like the one Elvis played?"
"My dad is a collector of vintage guitars and I made a bet with him that if I get a girlfriend in high school, he would give me one of my choice," Hirokazu grinned.
Ruki shook her head in disappointment as Jian was finally able to escape the mob of girls. "I don't know which is sadder; the fact that your dad fell for that or the fact that he doubts you will ever get a girlfriend enough to put a rare, vintage guitar on the line."
Jian dusted himself off as he adjusted his bag and exhaled. "Well, I have no idea what that was about or what you guys are talking about but if we're done wasting time, I think it's time we find out what classes we're in."
September 9: Matsuda Family Bakery – 9:45 AM
Taichi sighed as he finished throwing out the trash. He wiped his brow of the sweat that he had accumulated from being inside the hot kitchen. It was such a beautiful day and he was wasting it away at a part-time job.
He wished he had more to do but he had no idea what he wanted in life. So, unlike Sora and Matt, he didn't go to college. He planned to, after this school year was over at least. At first, he had wanted to be a professional soccer player but he had injured his leg in the final game of his third year in high school and he was never able to play as well again.
Matt was a major in music theory which made sense when you thought about his musical talents. He didn't want to continue his dream of performing around the world because it gave him less time to spend with friends. Rather, he figured he would work in a position at his father's television station, producing original soundtracks and themes.
And Sora had decided to learn more about accounting despite her proficiency in the athletic world. Taichi wondered if it was his injury that had influenced his best friend to not join a national sports team but she swore that it was only because she was good at mathematics and actually enjoyed number crunching. But she was most likely going to become a personal accountant rather than a corporate accountant in some back room. Maybe work for her mom’s flower shop.
The couple since Christmas four years ago both went to the local Teito University so that they wouldn't have to move. They didn't even have to stay in a dormitory which was good since that meant everyone could still see each other. But Jyou was always busy with his studies and Koushirou planned on going to MIT in America, which meant that they were going to have trouble keeping the gang together. And after Mimi and her family had decided to move back to Japan three years ago too! But even Mimi was planning on flying back to attend FIT next year.
He wanted to do something for the Digital World even if the portal had been closed off for the past four years. He missed the old days when he would go off on adventures although he knew that that would be stupid considering all the destruction in various areas of the world has seen.
Taichi felt a sudden wave of depression hit him as he realized that everyone had their own dreams for the future but him. Even his little sister and the youngest member of their group, Iori, had something they wanted to do in life.
He looked up to the sky just in time to see a red tail disappear into his employers' son's bedroom. Taichi frowned and he was sure he hadn't imagined it; there was an unknown creature on the balcony just a second ago.
His eyes widened as he mentally roamed through the possibilities. 'No, it couldn't be…,' he thought.
He quickly reentered the bakery with the intention of finding out if his suspicions were correct. He came in just in time to see Mrs. Matsuda going up the stairs with a huge tray, balancing a mountain of bread, numerous kinds, shapes, and sizes.
"Oh Taichi, you finished quicker than usual," Mr. Matsuda remarked.
"Um, what's Mrs. Matsuda doing with all that bread?" asked Taichi.
"Oh, those are just day old bread, she's taking them to keep in a special room upstairs, don't worry about it," his employer replied. Although he had said it with smile, Taichi could see that he was a bit nervous as well, like he had something to hide.
This made him even more determined to find out what they were hiding up there. He went back to his usual duties which included tending to the customers and taking inventory until Mrs. Matsuda came back down. He then waited a few brief moments before sneaking his way upstairs.
He knew that this was wrong; it was almost like burglarizing a house without the burglarizing part. He finally made it to a room that had a sign labeled Takato . He was almost afraid of what was behind the door so he first placed an ear against it and listened carefully.
He heard the sound of what appeared to be a creature eating voraciously. He knew it wasn't a dog and it was way too loud to be a cat. He took a deep breath, bracing himself, and swung open the door only to fall backwards at the sight before him
Inside was a red dinosaur creature with some triangle pattern on his head. He had a white underbelly but a hazard sign on his stomach. He had long white claws and a swishing red tail. If this was a Rookie level Digimon then Taichi had never seen anything more threatening. But there was this curious and childish look in the Digmon's eyes that told him that the lizard was harmless.
"Uh-oh, you found me…," the unknown Digimon whimpered. He sounded as if he was worried. "Takato's going to be mad at me because you saw me."
"Takato?" Taichi repeated. 'Does that mean Takato's a Chosen Child?' "Don't worry about that, I already knew that Digimon existed before I saw you. So there's no need to worry about your partner. I'm Taichi Yagami by the way."
The Digimon stared at the human's outstretched hand before taking it in his claw and shaking it in greeting. He didn't know Taichi. The only knowledge he had of this man was that he smelled like bread and worked part-time in the bakery. But other than that, there was no reason to trust him.
But he trusted him.
"I'm Guilmon!"