Chapter Text
Hikari couldn’t help herself. It was out of the way, and she knew it, but stopping at the elementary computer lab every Friday after class became a comfortably melancholic routine. The first couple of times she came had been Tuesdays, and after a student in the computer club walked in on her chatting to one of the desktops in the room, she made sure to pick a day where no one would catch her. And no one in their right minds would linger on Friday afternoons, not when the spring sunshine was still warm and inviting.
She stood in front of one computer in particular in the back row, easing the tension in her right shoulder so her school bag dropped to the floor. It was identical to the others, but Hikari booted it up, moving the chair out of the way so she could hover over it, hoping that might intimidate it enough to work. When the login menu popped up, Hikari lifted up her Digivice.
Nothing happened.
“Open?” she asked in a tone hopeful that it wouldn’t be too much trouble for the computer.
It was.
The login screen stared back at her. Hikari huffed and pushed the power button, almost hearing Koushiro’s and Miyako’s shrieks about the importance of shutting down properly. She clipped her Digivice to the inside pocket of her bag and marched out of the room.
Hikari’s frustration increased on her way home. After a few minutes of enjoying the warm light on her face, sheets of overlapping grey clouds rolled in, ambushing the sun and threatening showers. Groups of kids sped past her, hoping to outrun the impending rain, but Hikari’s strut remained steady. She wasn’t going to give the weather the satisfaction of rushing home at its expense. In fact, she didn’t need to go home at all yet. Taichi’s soccer team practiced in downpours, heatwaves, and everything in between. Lounging around by herself while her mom cooked dinner didn’t sound appealing, and by sticking around school after class, she had missed her opportunity to walk with Takeru, Miyako, and Iori. Walking in groups was important these days, she could focus on Miyako’s latest high school adventures or answering Iori’s questions about sixth grade tests.
Gentle sprinkles fell. Home or stay? Stay and do what, get poured on, then fight Taichi for the bath later? Hikari relented. Standing up to the weather was a silly idea anyways. She was daydreaming about a cozy cup of tea when the hairs on her forearms stood up, and a tremor ran down her spine, warning her of being watched. She spun on her heels, but there wasn’t anyone around, just the empty beachfront. Except she saw something, a brief flicker against the waves. Hikari would have written it off as the sunlight catching the water, but the sun was hiding, apparent in the fat raindrops splatting to the ground. Only a few more minutes until the heavens would open, but Hikari forgot all about the rain, running down to the beach. She caught the flicker out of the corner of her eye. It happened again and again, until the flicker became a continuous blur, engulfing more of the space around it.
A chasm burst open, the force knocking Hikari backwards. Arms instinctively raised in front of her face, and Hikari barred her eyes shut, bracing for impact, but no second blast came. When she opened them again, she blinked two, three times, trying to make sense of what was before her.
It was as if the very air had been slashed to reveal a cavity the size of a vanity mirror. To its right and left were grey waters against grey clouds, but inside were green grass, large, leafy trees, and clear blue skies. Hikari couldn’t believe it. The adrenaline coursing through her body became druglike, filling her with a sense of euphoria. She knew that grass, those trees. She knew that place. She had thought about the Digital World every night for the last three years, wondering when she would visit it again. All of the Chosen daydreamed about returning, about reuniting with their partners. It was why Hikari checked the computer room each week, and why Koushiro spent more and more time behind screens in his office, trying to forge a contact with Gennai. The Digital World was a part of them, and it ached to be separated.
But was it really there?
Hikari pulled herself upright. Rain poured from the sky, soaking her hair, her clothes, her skin, but she barely registered the wet and cold. She stared at the gate, afraid if she dared to glance in another direction, it would disappear. She took slow steps at first, but joy overwhelmed her sense of caution and she skipped straight towards it to peer inside. From the Digital World’s side, the gate was positioned even with the ground, but angled up, so that most of Hikari’s sight was limited to rows and rows of trees. Hikari laughed, she had never been so happy about trees before.
She needed to tell someone or she was going to explode.
Hikari whipped out her cell phone, tapping through her favorites list. She paused at Takeru’s name, ending with the three smiley emojis he put there after stealing her phone for an entire afternoon, and sighed. She longed for things to go back to the way they used to be, before his smile made her palms sweat and his “outings” with other girls knotted her stomach together. Yes, she was an absolute idiot for falling for her best friend, so she was doing the only appropriate thing she could think of: avoiding being alone with him like the plague until those giddy feelings snuffed out. Unfortunately, dodging Takeru was an Olympic sport. Hikari swore he popped up in places like a daisy.
She kept tapping and dialed Koushiro.
Takeru answered.
“Hey Hikari!”
“Oh, Takeru?”
“Koushiro can’t talk right now because a digital disturbance popped up on his computer program. He’s been waiting for this to happen, and now I don’t think he can make words. Mimi asked him if he thought her barrette looked cute and he didn’t even glance up from the computer. He’s been activated. Is everything okay? Wait, do I hear rain? Are you outside, Hikari?”
Hikari felt her face flush in spite of herself. “Can you put me on speaker? Quick, please.”
She heard the beeping from Takeru pressing buttons.
“You’re on.”
“Koushiro, it’s a gate.”
Both boys on the other end of the line shouted nonsense, and Mimi squealed. Hikari heard a shuffle, a “Give it to me,” overlapping with Mimi sharply scolding, “Be polite,” and then Koushiro spoke directly in the speaker.
“Are you sure? Where are you? What’s happening?”
“I’m at the beach. The gate opened up above the water. It’s definitely the Digital World. I see it.” She paused while Koushiro began typing fervently over the phone.
It was real. Koushiro had even traced it. Hikari reached out to the gate. She longed to see Tailmon and the other Digimon, to run through the grass, to hug those trees. Her fingers brushed against the edge, and where she expected them to plunge through, the portal repelled her, sending shocks through her body. She yelped, and voices called her name from the other end of the line, then went silent as the call dropped.
The scenery in the Digital World cut in and out, like it was in between radio stations. Hikari tried to pull her hand away, but she was magnetized to the gate. She was outside of it, still in the human world, but she was seeing as if on the inside. From this point of view, the gate looked more like a gaping sore, an unnatural hacking of the sky, as if someone had used a machete against the threads between worlds. The greenness she admired before muted in color. The grass withered, and the trees shed their leaves until they were nothing more than sharp, dead branches, dripping with black water. It was sludge more than liquid, seeping out of the gate, creeping and drowning anything in its path like angry flood waters.
More gates opened around her. The Digital World was being ripped apart, and from each gate, each wound, the darkness oozed out so that it seemed like the entire world was crying. Hikari felt the pain in her own body. The blackness fell as rain onto her, each drop pricking her skin, but instead of blood more blackness leaked out of her.
Hikari shouted out. But as quickly as the vision came, it dissipated, and beyond the gate, she saw thriving flora once more. She caught her breath, and dropped her hand back without any resistance. It sputtered and finally sealed. She waved out but there was no evidence that it had ever been there in the first place. The rain slowed, and Hikari shivered.
Nothing hurt anymore, besides being soaked to the bone, that was good. She pulled a loose hangnail hard and was relieved to see red. She and Taichi were definitely fighting for the bathtub tonight.
“Hikari!”
Takeru ran up to her and held an umbrella over both of them. A few last drops fell.
“I think it’s a little late for that,” she said.
He took one of her hands in his, frowning. Without a moment’s thought, he took off his sweatshirt and pulled it over Hikari’s head before she could protest. Not that she would have with any real complaint. His sweatshirt was huge on her, and warm. He rubbed her arms.
“Thanks,” she said, desperate that he wouldn’t notice her slight blush.
“Are you alright, what happened?”
“I touched the gate,” she said. “It reacted but didn’t let me through, and I think it broke the phone call. I saw inside the Digital World. Something’s wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wait, I’m here!” Koushiro called. He was not only carrying an umbrella but cradling his open laptop with the other hand against his torso, forcing him to sort of skip along instead of run. Mimi was bouncing behind him, throwing her hood back and holding her arms out to embrace the rain. Her face lit up with a healthy flush, while Koushiro was completely out of breath, sucking in air and bent over at the knees. Mimi slapped him on the shoulder.
“I’ve never seen someone run and type something on a laptop before.”
Koushiro groaned. Mimi giggled and fixated on the second most interesting thing around them which apparently was Hikari wearing Takeru’s sweatshirt. Hikari noticed the playful gleam in her friend’s eyes and immediately wanted to quash it. Don’t say anything, don’t say anything. But it was Mimi, so she said something.
“Green is a nice color on you, Hikari.”
Thankfully, Koushiro had recovered enough from his sudden cardio exertion to ask about the Digital Gate.
“It’s gone,” Hikari said. She explained the one-way gate again, how when she tried to go through, her body was pushed back but she was able to see inside the gate. She left out some of the more specific and haunting details of her experience. There was no need to worry any of them, especially Takeru.
“The Digital World is in danger,” she finished.
Koushiro turned his laptop around so that Hikari, Takeru, and Mimi could see the screen. A grave face stared back at them.
“That’s an understatement,” Gennai said.
His tone was serious and foreboding, but he smiled.
“You kids continue to grow up, don’t you? When Koushiro contacted me, I’ll admit, I was more expecting to see Taichi or Yamato, even Daisuke at the forefront. Are you not all together?”
Koushiro chuckled. “It’s not easy to get everyone in the same room these days.”
“Best to do it soon,” Gennai said. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to network with your laptop. Herd everyone together in the next day or so. Hikari is correct. We have some cause for concern.” He must have somehow known that Koushiro had opened his mouth because he continued, “And don’t ask me about it now. There are still a few things I need to confirm. There’s no point in guessing. Hikari will tell everyone about the distortion, and then I’ll explain its genesis and significance to the Digital World. How goes the work on your other project?”
“Very close to completion,” Koushiro said, bending his head forward in front of the screen.
“Good. Have it ready tomorrow and we’ll move forward with the download.”
Koushiro’s face paled but he assured Gennai everything would be set.
“Good, good. Now listen, it’s important that everyone is involved. I leave it to you four to ensure that no one skips. You twelve are the Chosen for a purpose.”
“We’ll have them in Koushiro’s office with bells on,” Mimi promised. “Even if I have to drag them there myself.”
Koushiro was about to terminate the call, but Hikari stepped forward.
“What do you mean distortion?” she asked.
“Gates that shouldn’t exist, caused by imbalances between the worlds. I’ve been tracking them and communicating them to Koushiro. Their presence is weakening the foundations of the Digital World. This was the first one to appear in the human world. They're instable. The one you saw may have led to the Digital World. Or not.”
“Where would they go?” Koushiro asked.
“Other dimensions.”
Gennai's answer was cryptic, dancing around the words that Hikari knew where at the forefront of his mind. Koushiro, Takeru, and Mimi shared a similar foreboding suspicion. Hikari pursed her lips, nodding and feeling the blond's eyes bore into her. So much for trying not to worry him.
“I’ll have more information tomorrow. Remember, I want to see every one of you.”
“Thanks, Gennai,” Koushiro said, closing the window. He sighed. “It’s going to be a long night.”
Mimi’s eyes narrowed and she jabbed a finger in Koushiro’s chest.
“Just how long have you been chatting with Gennai, huh? What sort of secret project are you working on? Are you keeping secrets from us?”
“It’s nothing,” he muttered. With more speed than Hikari would have thought, Koushiro gently eased the laptop into his backpack and grabbed the umbrella. “Look, Gennai asked me to keep an eye on the disturbances and we collaborated on something for all of you. It’s a surprise, so I’m sorry, but I have to get back to the office to make sure there are no glitches and you’re all impeccably surprised. Can you three round everyone up? Say 3pm tomorrow? Thanks!”
“Koushiro!” Mimi called after he had gone a dozen steps. “Make sure to get a few hours of sleep, okay? And eat dinner!”
He stared at the ground for a moment, smiled, and lifted a thumbs up to her before taking off in a brisk walk. Mimi huffed but wore an equally amused smile.
“You should get home and run a bath, dear,” she said, turning to Hikari. “I’ll reach out to Jou and Sora.”
“I’ll walk her home,” Takeru said. Mimi’s eyes lit up again while Hikari rolled hers, though she felt both giddy and flustered. “And I’ll message Yamato, Miyako, and Iori.”
“I’ll make sure Taichi, Daisuke, and Ken are there,” Hikari said.
Mimi blew kisses as she started off in the opposite direction. Takeru continued to hold the umbrella over Hikari and half of him, even though the rain had stopped minutes ago. The day had gone reasonably well in her plan to avoid him until this mess happened, but Takeru was a daisy alright. He was there when she needed him. Hikari figured she could throw the plan out for at least tonight. She hooked her arm around his elbow.
“You sure you’re alright?” he asked.
“For the thousandth time, yes,” she said. “And I won’t touch any more gates. I just wanted to see them, you know? I thought if the Digital World was open again, I had to try.”
“I do too. I probably would have done the same thing. But don’t worry, we’ll see them soon. It sounds like we have to save the world again, remember?”
Hikari smiled, and they giggled about Mimi’s unabashed sensibility Koushiro’s hesitant jitters for the rest of the walk to Hikari’s apartment building.