Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

That day's memory was kinda blurry.

... Parties were supposed to be fun. Yet  Tenko never felt comfortable at one.

This one in particular though, was the icing on the cake of stuff that would haunt her nightmares. And not any type icing, that one might as well freeze any chances of her ever feeling comfortable at Hope's Peak ever again.

She still shivers back at even trying to piece together what had happened.

Everything felt cold. Really cold. Thinking about it, Tenko was out there in the snow.

...After all, she rushed out of that place so quickly out of her fit of panic she hadn't taken anything with her. Phone... money... scarf, gloves, documents... And shoes. Wow, her feet were in a bad state, to say it lightly.

She couldn't feel them at all.

If she was seen by a policeman she'd likely be arrested.

All because of that Christmas Party.

It was a truth or dare game, Tenko was dared to confess to Yumeno by that disgusting menace. She is sure he slipped these gummies into booze as well because after eating a few of them she felt weird...

But something that felt even more off than that... was that she agreed to her classmates' pleas to not beat him up because it was Christmas. And... the pressure some classmates gave her made her fess up. 

All she remembers was getting rejected by Yumeno in front of her whole class and feeling really ashamed... her mind doesn't remember the exact words, but it was certain that the magician felt disgusted by her, which made her enter a panic state and run away from the party. 

Running through the city and passing out...

... And now she is pretty sure she must have hit her head somewhere. Because she is pretty sure she has never seen the place she is in her life. And there are these numbers floating around the places...

'Miss Chabashira'

(Huh? Someone that… knows her name?)

Chabashira tried to look at the source of the voice. Up to no avail.

"Check your wrist."

Upon inspecting it, she found a blue watch made out of cheap plastic she didn't remember having. Turning it on to check the time, she saw a blue critter on it that looked like it belonged to a game. It had these... square... graphics thingy? What did they call that? She knew the ultimate gamer said something about that once but she can't remember it at all. But it looked like a toy for sure.

"I've waited long to get the honor of meeting you."

She heard the voice coming through that watch. Did it have a phone function?

"...Who are you?"

"Pardon for my bad manners. I am called Bulucomon."

"So... Sir Bulucomon... How do you know Tenko's name?"

"I am Miss Chabashira's partner digimon."

Partner? That... Sounds suspicious. What did she get into?

"...Look, Tenko doesn't know what that means, but she thinks you might have gotten the wrong person."

Chabashira tried to take off the watch, but then a muffled scream came out as she tried to unbuckle it.

"Please don't! I will die if you take your vital bracelet off for too long!"

Tenko stopped unbuckling the watch. 

"Vital... Bracelet?"

"This device on your wrist... It can store digimon like me on it. And your vital energy keeps them alive and makes them stronger."

"What is... a digimon?"

"We are creatures that belong to the digital world."

"So... you're... this game mascot thingy?"

"Precisely. You can unload me on command."

...That was a dream wasn't it? Better to play along with it then.

"...How does Ten-" 

Tenko tried pressing the buttons up, and then a weird creature materialized in front of her. Thinking about it, it was kind of cute... And cool. Literally. It looked like it was made of ice at parts although the scales and fur made Tenko wonder what it exactly was. A dragon maybe?

"...You're bigger than Tenko expected, Sir Bulucomon."

"Thanks for unloading me. Now I can properly protect you."

"What? No, Tenko does the protecting!"

"Miss Chabashira... I know everything about your noble heart. That is why we were paired. But... As strong as you are, the digital world isn't built for humans."

"...Digital world?"

"I still don't know how you ended up here... But... The gates to the human world close soon. It is my duty to take you back there, as you are my partner."

"...Tenko doesn't... exactly want to go back."

"...I am aware you had some misgivings at that party. But I know that things will work out-"

Of course they would. This is a dream after all. It's the only way they would.

"...Still. Tenko... needs some time away from here."

And a friend she can vent to. And have some nice time together. Tenko doesn't exactly have anyone she can do these things... as her classmates aren't exactly the fondest of her. 

"...I understand.  Are you hungry?"

"Yeah... Tenko could eat smoothies right now even if she's freezing!"

"...Oh. I will take you to the nearest inn. I forgot you aren't used to cold environments like I am."

"That sounds good."

Tenko has to apologize to Bulucomon because right now she is wondering if he would melt if he went to a volcano like ice would... Is he made of actual ice or does he only look like it?

Chapter Text

“Ugh, what a pain…” Yumeno sighed as she climbed the stairs to Chabashira’s dojo.

“Things would be so much easier if she had taken her phone at least…” Or if literally anyone else would deliver the stuff the aikido master had left at the party.

But their classmates had a different opinion on the subject.

The sight of policemen at the dojo didn’t faze the magician much at first… 

Until she heard them.

Chabashira Tenko was nowhere to be found.

Her parents, her master, no one had seen her on the last day.

“...That idiot… She…” Fear striked Yumeno as an ominous thought passed through her brain. “No, she wouldn’t do that.” Yumeno kept saying to herself.

Yumeno slyly sneaked through a police car. 

“This is the third reported case of a missing Hope’s Peak academy student in the past week. We should warn the others, as they might be targeted as well.” Yumeno felt bad at peeking at their conversation.

But that felt important…

...Third? Who else-

“Hey miss! This is a private subject!”

“Ah, uh- It’s… Do you know anything about Chabashira?”

“...Are you a friend of hers?”

Usually, Yumeno would deny…

“Yes. I… She left some stuff at a party last night and I was trying to deliver those to her.”

She said as she handed the objects to the police. Maybe they’d serve as clues…

“Nyeh… What a pain.” Yumeno’s head hurt. At least an hour of being interrogated by the police, the first thing she did after she was released was to run back home to see if she could still catch her soap opera on time.

But it seemed the world was against her as it was raining fiercely, and Yumeno had to stop at the nearest shelter she could find until the rain passed. And that ended up being a rather questionable looking food truck parking building, under a tent that was near a takoyaki stall.

“Nyeh… How is it even raining? Yesterday we had a full blown blizzard.”

And the climate has been weird, and that’s putting it lightly, in these past few days. A few days ago, the sun was scorching; and this morning all snow had melted.

Yumeno was soaked and she was certain she’d get a cold later as well…

But, it felt as if this storm would last for a while…

Sitting on a chair, Yumeno took a quick nap.

Yumeno was woken up by the sound of an explosion - A lightning had struck close to the tent.

But the weirdest thing was that not only the rain seemed to stop after that - there was no one near Yumeno as well. Walking up to the small hole on the ground the lighting had created, Yumeno found a small wristwatch there.

“Nyeh… How is this still intact?”

“Hiya!”

A childish voice rang from it and the screen lit up with some game sprites.

“...A Toy?”

“Yumeno!”

...Well, it’s quite a coincidence for the toy to be able to speak her last name.

“Yumeno Himiko! I’m talking to you!”

...Was this another one of Ouma’s pranks? Better leave that watch on the ground then.

Yumeno then picked up her phone. The sprite had seemingly entered on her watch and was on her screen.

“Nyeh… Ouma put a virus on my phone as well? Ugh, what a pain.”

“I'm no virus! I'm Pulsemon! your partner digimon-”

“…Nyeh? What even is that?”

“I am bound to you with my life!”

“…So. A familiar?” The tarot cards did tell her she’d get one, but nothing she tried to summon it ended up working. “Took you long enough.”

“With that wristwatch, you can make me stronger! You see it-” Yumeno seemed to not be paying any attention so pulsemon would need to talk in her language. “It gives me mana if you wear it! The more you exercise, the more mana I have!”

“Nyeh? Exercise?”

That is a quite bothersome way to make a familiar stronger. Why couldn’t it be like... Food... Or blood... Or something easier like that?

Chapter Text

The digital world food was… Weird, to put it lightly.

Soup tasted like cake. Meat grew on the ground. The cabbage tasted like lasagna.

Nevertheless, it was tasty, and that kind Babamon at the inn was really kind and refused to take any payment, and even got her a set of warm clothes and a pair of shoes,  the way she insisted on it reminded Tenko of her late grandma.

“..Crystal Lake?”

“That is the place where another human was last seen.” The granny digimon said. “They might know more about how to go back to your world. But before that, please rest for the night.”

Tenko shared a room with Bulucomon, who insisted on sleeping on the floor…

That room was silent. Deafeningly silent, as Tenko’s breathing was the only sound heard.

After a while, the blue critter finally broke the ice.

“Still uneasy?”

...She still needed to vent to someone… So this might be a good chance.

“...Hey, Sir Bulucomon? Can Tenko vent to you for a bit?”

“Surely. I’m all ears.”

“I-it’s just... Being rejected… Tenko already expected that. But… she didn't think… She hated Tenko that much…”

“…You deserve better.”

“But Miss Yumeno is perfect!”

The small furred dragon thingy sighed.

“You really would be content with that? Perfect isn't even the last state in evolution! At least for digimon...”

“It isn't?”

The dragon nodded.

“Digimon have many evolutionary states. From the baby states… Then... child, which is what my current form is…" Chabashira noticed that the digimon felt a bit flustered by that. "Adult, perfect... But there is something beyond that. Ultimate. I'm sure you can find someone that will be an ultimate to you. But even if you don't… You already are one.”

...The ultimate aikido master…

"Wait a sec... She is one as well isn’t she?”

At that the icy being become visibly bothered.

“Even if she is, she is nowhere near as cool and purehearted as you! You’re the bes-” Tenko then understood what Bulucomon was trying to do. He was a child after all, wasn’t he? He tried to keep his cool aura but… He was really softhearted deep down… And that kindness was leaking through his cold front. “Hey, stop hugging me!”

“You're just so cuteee and huggable!”

“I'm a powerful and noble digimon, I'm not cute-”

“And cool!”

Upon hearing that, Bulucomon stopped squirming.

“You… Think I’m cool?” His eyes shone. He was still a kid, deep down.

"Yeah, the coolest ever! I'm sure you'll be an ultimate as well!"

Chapter Text

"Marukawa! I'm getting booooored, how long are we staying there?"

Vorvomon ran around outside the tent that Harukawa had set up.

"I told you to not call me by that nickname."

"But you won't let me use Maki, Harumaki or Haharukawa!" The small dragon let out a small puff, clearly annoyed. 

"That isn't needed."

"It is! Nicknames show our bonds as partners!" The dragon flew a bit, landing on Harukawa's tent, staring at her with a downward face entering the tent, tail likely wagging as she could feel a certain rumble.

"Stop that, the tent will crumble!"

"Let's take a walk!"

"We already took one!"

"That was yesterday!"

"And we got enough fish to last for 3 days. You said crystal lake was dangerous yourself."

And Harukawa was guarding them now, since the last time she let the dragon guard them he ate everything in an hour.

Well, the lake was full of stronger, aggressive digimon. And since they were on water, there wasn't much Vorvomon could do with fire attacks. He could only fly for a few minutes carrying Maki, and less than half an hour on his own.

"Mamaki, let's go-"

"Call me that even once again and I will take the bracelet off."

"Awww, you treat me harsher than you treated the kids at the orphanage... At least tell me a story!"

"Do you promise you'll sleep if I do?"

"Yuppie! I will pinky promise it! So if I break I will swallow a thousand needles!"

"You don't even have a pinky."

"...I promise it on my talons then!"

"Alright… If you break it I will trim all of them off."

"That- That isn't fair!"

"You want me to tell you a bedtime story or not?"

The dragon sheepishly nodded. 

Fortunately for Harukawa, the dragon started to sleep peacefully after she told him the tale of Momotaro. Unfortunately that made the tent cramped. But... it was better than being alone, as that place was cold and the heat his body emanated was really comforting, and in that place full of monsters Harukawa's weapons didn't work on at all, having one that could fight to protect her was nice. 

It was weird, feeling this vulnerable. And depending on that... Small, dragon that was likely a kid to protect her.

But not having to fight... Was nice for once. And being protected was even better.

She is glad she found the path to this world.  After all... The real world only holds a certain death future for her. One she needs to fight and kill for her life. And is being targeted for disobeying orders.

... Akamatsu... Why would anyone target her?

...But the reason was something else.

"She is turning into a distraction to you."

Harukawa's selfishness emerged. She was a fool, to let herself fall in love. She knew no one would want to date an assassin.

But... She'd rather - than have to murder someone she loved simply because they distract her.

And on Christmas... Where Akamatsu would throw a party at her home... No way she'd do that. 

There needs to be a way...

Not long after that thought crossed her, the heater on the building exploded and a fire started to grow up, scorching everything in flames, and the fire management system failed to start. Instead of running away, Harukawa walked towards that weirdly mesmerizing combustion, her body acting on its own, attracted to something she couldn't explain, as if she was being summoned. Surprising her even more, was when the flames didn't burn her, they felt strangely comfortable. They engulfed her for a moment before she found herself in another world.

...Or maybe she actually died in the fire and that was afterlife.

A bracelet appeared on her wrist and then she met Vorvomon. 

Which she thought was a demon at first, welcoming her to hell - And turned out to be a monster that said that used all his energy to save her, as their lives were linked - or so he says. Harukawa still has her doubts at times.

Usually humans can't enter the digital world. But... Harukawa's strong wish united with Vorvomon's desire to save her weakened the portal between worlds. 

Chapter Text

"...Nyeh..."

Yumeno picked up her phone, after hearing it ring out, which turned out to be a phone call from Angie.

"Hiya! Wanna meet up with me at the park before I travel back to my island?"

...The airport wasn’t that far from where Yumeno was and she likely wouldn’t see Angie again until their winter break was over and classes started once again.

"Nyeh. Sure." 

Unfortunately, once she arrived at the park, her bracelet started beeping intensely. 

"Nyeh, can you stop this noise? It’s going to give me a headache!"

"Yumecchi! I can feel a digimon nearby! Be cautious, it might be dangerous!"

...What should that mean? Was there a demon nearby?

Before she even had the time to think, she was tackle-hugged by a familiar presence.

"Nyahaha! What a cute watch!"

"Please run! The energy is getting stronger!" 

“Are you playing an AR game? Angie wants to play too!”

“I wish it was a game, but this annoying thing is my familiar…”

Angie didn’t seem to pay attention to Himiko’s words as she started fiddling with the watch’s buttons.

“This is quite a cute looking toy! Where did you get it?” Angie spoke when a yellow creature suddenly materialized in front of them.

“Nyeh? You can get out of there?”

“I can only unload in the human world whenever there are other digimon nearby, Yumecchi!”

“Yumecchi? What a cute nickname!” Angie said, seemingly unfazed by the situation, instead, petting the creature.

“ BEEteeWEE ” A bird-like screech echoed through the air.

“...A bird?” Yumeno wondered, but the noise only became louder and it was clear that it didn’t belong to a small creature at all.

“ Meteor Wing”

A shadowy, huge creature shouted, and the fiery projectiles that started to shoot from its wings in their direction made it clear that whatever that was, it wasn’t friendly, and Yumeno and Angie were barely able to avoid being hit too strongly - leaving itchy scratches on their skins that would likely leave a burn mark as well .

“A Saberdramon!”

“Nyeh… Can you take that thing down?”

“I can try!” Pulsemon said, dashing towards the creature in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it agility Yumeno wouldn’t have believed was real if she didn’t feel the pain that the scratch the projectile previously shot at them. “ Elec Rush !” He shouted as his body was engulfed by electricity, in a high-voltage tackle that left the creature flinching.

“ Petit Impulse” Pulsemon discharged as the creature still recoiled from the last attack, the electric jolt leaving it paralyzed.

Afterwards, Pulsemon finished it with a lighting past series of attacks, the creature then turning into an egg, Pulsemon then dematerializing and appearing once again in the bracelet.

“...Nyeh?”

“It will be fine now! It was contaminated with the X-program! That’s why it was so vicious!”

“X-Program?”

“It’s a program that is currently wiping most digimon in the digital world, it makes us digimon vicious and aggressive, and most importantly, digimon contaminated with it can’t turn back into an egg in the digital world!”

“...Then they…”
“...Cease to exist.” Pulsemon’s face had a serious expression, it’s fringe drooping. “...That’s why there are so many desperately trying to rush into your world, to flee from this doom...”

“Is… Are you going to be affected by it?”

...Can Pulsemon… Become dangerous too? And turn back on her?

“...I am linked to you, and to your vital energy. That’s why… As long as we have our bond… I’m immune to it.”

“...Nyahaha! Himiko, you got into a really interesting ordeal! Angie would cancel her trip back home to see where this heads to!”

“Nyeh… I won’t do anything in this winter vacation so don’t worry. I won’t leave my house no matter what. I need my soap operas.”

Angie knew Yumeno well enough to know that that wasn’t a lie, as she once planned to spend some time with her during vacations but after a day got bored and decided to go elsewhere. She sleeps at least 18 hours per day during vacations and watches soap operas inside her kotatsu the rest of the time, and likely wouldn’t eat anything healthy and live off snacks and take off if it wasn’t for her mom.

Chapter Text

"Hey...Palmon?" 

“Yeah?”

"...I... feel I'm unnatural at times."

"Why?"

"Well, my body was created by a human."

"Weren't your friends as well?"

"It was built on a clearly different process than theirs."

"So what? Many digimon are different."

"I'm built of iron and other materials that aren't natural."

"What do you mean? They are . They didn't appear out of thin air. They needed to be extracted right?"

...When she puts it like that... Well, all materials were created at the same time eons ago, in the big bang...

So in the end, they all are made of cosmic dust. 

But... 

That doesn't make Idabashi feel any better.

"I feel like my classmates don't see me as an equal at times... Because my existence isn't possible without theirs."

"...Well, that's silly, they also need others to exist."

"...Do digimon need others as well?"

Palmon nodded.

"See this wristwatch? I need your vital energy to survive."

"...I have vital energy?"

"Well, you might not have veins and all... but there is certainly a light that gives me life. Or else I would have already died!"

"...It's kinda funny. A robot... paired up with a plant. We’re quite opposites."

"Why do you think that? Robot digimon are just as natural as plant digimon like me."

"But... this world is different from ours. It is man-made."

"...The digital world isn't man-made! It has existed for as long as your world! It's just that humans were only recently able to communicate with our world, with their inventions. And that makes it so you weren’t exactly created by them as well. Only… Needed some help into getting into their world."

"... Really ?"

"Yup! You do have a soul, just like digimon! And believe it or not... Neither humans nor digimon can create things that aren't supposed to exist. We can only find our way to things that are meant to. Only Yggdrasil would be able to create a whole new world."

"...Yggdrasil? What is that?"

"...To put it in your terms... It's like our server. Where we came from, where we will go, and our whole life... Yggdrasil decides on it."

"...So, like a god?"

"It's a bit different but you could put it like that."

“...Did they create the X-Program?”

“Yeah…”

“Why?”

“I have no idea…”

...No point thinking about that as well...

“...Where do you think we should go next, since Jijimon isn’t there?”
In all the towns they went to, everyone said Jijimon might know where the portals to the human world are…

But nobody knows where he is currently. He 's… Vanished.

“...Well, it’s risky but… Want to try to find Yggdrasil? If we succeed, I’m certain we will find a way back.”

“...How risky exactly?”
“Like a rabbit entering a den full of hungry lions and eagles.”

..Notmuch of a chance then...

“...Isn’t there any other digimon that might know something?”

“...Maybe Seraphimon? But I’m not sure if he actually exists.”

“...Well, maybe we can find out.”

Chapter Text

When Tenko and her partner finally arrived at Crystal Lake, there was no one to be found.

"...Sorry for being such a weakling. If I had been quicker-" The digimon started before being interrupted by his partner.

Bulucomon had lost quite a lot of battles. Chabashira had to flee with him in her arms as he refused to back down even when it was obvious he wouldn't make it, and had to fight a few digimon herself, something that impressed the both of them.

They had to make a special training, which eventually got him to evolve into a Paledramon.

In this new form, he could fly while carrying the aikido master - Making their traveling speed much quicker - Although, they couldn't fly for too long as Paledramon's stamina depended directly on how much exercise Chabashira had.

And as a result of their efforts, now they could go to areas that weren't icy without risking him getting weaker and shrinking in size, as the ice digimon couldn’t keep his body temperature as regulated by himself as a Bulucomon.

However... if a fire digimon appeared, he still could melt, so they avoided them, and, thankfully, as an adult digimon, Paledramon was wiser and knew better when to not fight. 

"Well, everyone has to start somewhere! So don't worry! We shouldn't worry about spoiled milk!"

"...Wasn't it spilled milk?"

"Works for both ! You can't unspill or unspoil milk!"

"Makes sense… Hey… What does milk taste like?"

"You know that yellow digi shroom we once found? Like that."

"How can people like that?"

"Well, everyone has their own taste buds..."

They continued their idle chat until they found a track of the smell of the human that had passed by that place. A small, charred fabric… Next to some empty cans.

“...So, you think they are near?”

“Unlikely. The smell is faint so it’s been a while…”

“...What do you think we should do now?”

“...Jijimon is missing… So… I have no idea…”

“... Do you know the best places in the digital world we can travel to? A place people want to visit? Some nice landscapes? They could have gone there. This place is really pretty, after all.”

“Well, we could go to Toy Town! They say it’s quite fun there.”

Chapter Text

It felt weird not having a flood of messages on her chat app every day.

And while it was peaceful at first, soon Yumeno started to feel as if something was missing.

Well. No point worrying. She’ll leave that to the police. She is certain they’ll solve that. And when classes resume… She can see her again. Chabashira wasn't the kind of person to skip classes, after all… Even when her granny…

Well, she is strong. Stronger than Yumeno. She’ll get over the rejection and then Yumeno can apologize for her harsh words, and everything will go back to normal. After all, her birthday is soon, she is sure she is looking forward to it.

Now. She has something else to worry about, keeping the Zurumon that hatched from that egg in check. Apparently, baby digimon can materialize in their world without much issue. And Zurumon… Was a trickster. Thankfully, when Yumeno put on her soap operas, the digimon ended up watching them with her. And Pulsemon eventually got tired of asking Himiko to go out and ended up only sleeping.

Classes return, but something doesn’t feel right.

"...Where's Chabashira?" She asked.

"Who's that? A friend of yours?" Angie, off all people, asked.

"Chabashira Tenko? Ultimate Aikido master??"

But it seemed that nobody in her class remembered her. 

Was that a prank? She remembers that the disappearance was all over the news and their group chat.

But even Ouma felt uncharacteristically serious when he said he didn’t know about her. 

There were other people missing as well. Did they forget them too? 

"...And Idabashi? The robot? And Harukawa Maki-"

"Yumeno, I think you might be a bit confused... these people... never studied here." Tojo replied.

What?

"That can't be! Saihara! Can you look at the school records? I’m sure they’re there!"

"Sure, if that eases your mind."

But what was more worrying was trying to look back at her class records... it was as if she had never existed.

And not only that - Idabashi... Harukawa as well. How did nobody remember them ? Even the police ? Saihara insisted that these people didn’t exist...

At first, Yumeno thought maybe it was one of these men in black things where the authorities would purposely erase someone from the public consciousness... 

However, she soon realized that something was incredibly wrong when she tried to pick up her phone to show proof she wasn’t lying to Saihara. 

Her contact messages were nowhere to be found. Calling her phone led to a ‘this number doesn’t exist’ message.

But even worse than that - In all the pictures Yumeno had with her on her phone... She had vanished as well. And not only that - even stuff like the drawings she made at Yumeno's notebook... Or the paintings that Angie made of their class,  she- and not only her, all of these three had disappeared. And nobody else remembered them. That made Yumeno wonder if they even existed at times. She couldn't remember what their faces looked like. 

Did she jump into a new dimension?

Hurrying back home, she tried to find the gifts the aikido master had given her, up to no avail. She tried going to her dojo, and nobody remembered her there as well. And after getting to the Chabashira’s family address that they gave at the dojo, they didn’t remember having a daughter at all.

Just what… Is going on?

Chapter Text

That day, Himiko had to move back to their school dorms, as vacations had ended.

It was weird… Not seeing the aikido master’s nameplate on the dorms, and even weirder that no one found it weird that there were two vacant rooms. Himiko tried spying out on the room that used to be hers but it seemed to have been never used at all.

She sighed. And then felt something moving on her backpack when she was heading out to the mess room..

“...What-”

“Mimikoo, me hungy ! I smell food nearby!” The zurumon that had recently evolved into a pagumon materialized on her backpack.

“ Pagumon ! I already told you you can’t materialize at school.”

“Staying on the bracelet is boring ! Namakemon has slept all day and he stinks !”

...Namakemon. Pulsemon’s evolution.

Yumeno was thankful that the once energetic monster didn’t bother her at all anymore… But she had to admit that sometimes it was a pain to deal with that lazy sloth. It didn’t feel like an adult at all at times.

“Yumeno?” Shirogane asked.

“Nyeh, what is it?”
“I thought I heard a voice and - Oh my god what an adorable plushie!”

“Nyeh, it’s no plushie, it’s for… my magic show!”

“It even moves! What an advanced prop!”

...You know what? It’s better for her that they think of Pagumon as one, but still...

“My magic is real , nyeh!”

“Right, right. Just a warning… I heard there is a ghost in our dorms. People that stayed in school during recess said that roars can be heard at night on the rooftop.”

Shirogane said as they went to the line to get their dinner.

“So, you’re ghost hunting?”

“Yeah! I believe finding one would make me like that anime’s protag-”

“Wait a second… A- gh-ho-ghost? Momota stuttered.

“... Well I hope they pay rent like we do.” Iruma snickered.

“...Let's investigate Saihara! It could be fun!” Akamatsu’s eyes gleamed.

Dinner was loud like always… But it felt odd, without their missing classmates.

Himiko didn’t feel like eating at all. It was hot pot - Chabashira’s favorite.

Thankfully, Pagumon gobbled it all up.

“Himiikooo, what’s wrong?” She felt a brush brush her cheek.

“Angie… You really don’t remember them? Does Atua remember them at least?”

“...Angie doesn’t remember them at all. But Atua says that you might be telling the truth…”

“So you believe me?”
“...So… Assuming they did disappear… When did they vanish?”

“Nyeh? Close to christmas.”

“...Wasn’t that when these critters started showing up?” Angie said, picking pagumon up.

“...I think? At least, close to when I met Pulsemon.”

“Nyahaha! Don’t you think that that might be related? You can try asking him what is going on!”
Angie did make sense.

But Namakemon was so lazy she was sure he’d be of no help.

After all, she isn’t sure she has seen him awake any time in the past few days ever since he evolved. So lazy she even gets worried at times.

Ugh. Why was she missing Pulsemon as well?

It didn’t make sense. By all logic, Namakemon fit her lifestyle more. Energetic personalities drained her.

But turns out that lazy ones drained her even more , as she spent four hours trying to wake him up so she could ask him anything , and failed. Pagumon, as mischievous as he was at times, was way easier to reason with.

 She ended up sleeping;

Until she was woken up by a roar.

Chapter Text

...The roaring noise only got stronger with time. Yumeno had no idea if it was safer to stay in her room or to head out, as she could feel the ground rumble, and saw some smoke coming closer… The smell was unbearable.

Someone knocked at Yumeno’s door. It was Tojo, although many of her classmates' voices could be heard nearby… Just what was going on?”

“We must retreat immediately.”
“Nyeh? What’s going on?”

Nearing through the door, Yumeno saw Yonaga, Akamatsu, were there, and a terrified, trembling Iruma hugging a pink dinosaur suit that Yumeno assumed was one of Shirogane’s cosplays.

“It seems that there was a lion in the kitchen. We don’t have long until it gets here. We called animal services but we need to retreat.”

“And it’s on fire!” Iruma stuttered.

“The kitchen’s on fire?” Yumeno asked, already rushing outside of the room.

“The damned lion is on fire!”

If Iruma wasn’t in such a terrified state she wouldn’t have believed it.

Rushing outside the building and closing the door, they smelled the smoke coming nearer...

“Is there anyone else in the building?”

“Well, Saihara said everyone in the boy’s dorms evacuated, we should head to the gym!”

At the gym, they saw the other people that were in the building all huddled up, anxious. The teachers and others had gone outside to wait for the police, firemen and others that were contacted.

So it was only really students here.

But a sight scared the girls.

“...Wait a sec. Who stole the dinosaur suit that was in the drama club?” Shirogane asked.

“Shirogane… If you’re here… Then-” Iruma suddenly ran away, her mind was terrified at the possibilities. A thief? A stalker?

"Darktyrannomon!" Yumeno’s plushie talked out of nowhere, and appeared out of nowhere as well. Meanwhile, the dinosaur’s mouth opened, with  a small, black inner with two lights that looked like eyes revealed itself. “You evolved into an extyrannomon?”

“No way... Saberdramon? you survived the program?”

“I still don’t really understand how, but-”

“Yumeno, why is your plushie talking to the plushie suit?” Saihara asked.

“It’s magic.”

“Oh... That’s an advanced robot you have there.”

“Wow, how did you get it in the suit room? I thought it was locked.” Shirogane mumbled.

“ Magic !”

“So you can pick locks too~” Ouma snickered.

Ugh. This was pointless.

“Nyeh… Pagumon. You know this thing?”

“Yup. We are besties! We came to this world together, after our town was struck by- Wait, a second, where is Lynxmon?”

The dinosaur sighed.

“...The X program.”

“...No way…” Tears filled up Pagumon’s eyes. 

“That’s so realistic! Where did you get an animatronic that advanced?” Akamatsu asked.

“They aren’t -”

“Nyahaha! They are creatures from another world!”

“...Really?” Iruma asked, doubtful, but after remembering that weird lion she saw in the kitchen... “You know what? It checks out.” That creature certainly didn’t feel like it belonged to this world.

...Ugh. Once again… Nobody listened to her. 

It annoyed Yumeno to no end how nobody here took her seriously at all.

Well… Nobody but-

“Mimiko! You saved me right, you think you can save my friend too?” Pagumon pleaded, tears in his eyes.

“Nyeh?”

“ Mimiko .” Ouma snickered.”This one is great .”

“...I didn’t save you, pagumon. Pulsemon did. And he isn’t with us anymore.”

“Then… Our only hope is-”

“Namakemon.”

“...We are doomed.” Pagumon sighed.

“...Don’t worry, the animal control will be there soon and-” Yumeno was interrupted.

“It’s pointless...Human weapons can’t affect digimon.” The extyrannomon explained.

“Wait, if that’s true then… We are doomed.” 

“Wait a second. Can’t this dinosaur fight that lion there?” Iruma asked.

“...He isn’t linked to any human so he w-will die f-for real after rampaging if the x program infects him.” Namakemon slowly said.

“Namakemon? You’re awake?”

“Your heartbeats… Have woken me up…”

“Hey, then-” Pagumon asked. “Can’t Extyrannomon get linked to a human too?”

“...Maybe? But we’d need another vital bracelet. A single one can only hold up to two digimon.”

“A vital bracelet?”

“Nyeh, this watch I’m wearing…”
“This cheap looking toy? I bet I can make one way better than that!” Iruma mumbled. “I’ll just have to take it apart and-”

“No! If you do it, I will die!” Pagumon screamed.

...They were on a dead end.

Chapter Text

The lion found its way to the gym. Namakemon materialized, but unlike Pulsemon, he couldn’t do much except… Throw a certain unsanitary thing.
That only made the lion angrier.
...That seemed to have been the sloth’s plan. After all, once the creature bite him… He didn’t fight back at all. He-
"...Namakemon! Why aren’t you reacting?"
"Yumecchi... We are one. So… I know… You don’t like me. It’s better for everyone… You stay with ExTyrannomon..."

...They... Are one?
...That’s right.
They were not different at all.
Namakemon was... Just like Himiko when she was at her worst and everyone - Including herself, had given up on her.
Pulsemon… Was just like her when she was the brilliant prodigy everyone loved. The one that didn’t feel anxious. The one that didn’t have depression. The one that wouldn’t ever be able to come back fully. After all, she can’t go back on time. But… Just like Namakemon showed… Deep down, Pulsemon was still in there, even if he had changed. Because even now… He still wanted the best for everyone.

...Namakemon... Was not any different from Yumeno when she was at her worst in her depression. Unable to get out of the bed for days, not bathing for weeks... Living in the trash. Everyone had given up on her by that point... Even her parents.
She had lost all her friends, and that made her close herself even more.

The Yumeno that was unable to feel anything, thanks to a numbness she didn’t really understand. Not even able to do the things she once loved.
The Yumeno that had given up on herself… And on her life. And on everyone else around her.
The Yumeno that wished someone else that fit everything others expected of her replaced her...
...But there was someone that hadn’t given up on her… No matter how hard she pushed her away, she always came back, didn’t she?
Yumeno used to hope she’d vanish someday and leave her alone. And then she did.
And now Yumeno really regrets ever thinking about that.
Because… Even though she was overwhelming to deal with at first… Her presence did make some difference.

There are moments you aren't able to love yourself. And having somebody that loves you and sticks with you... Means a lot.
Because they remind you that you are still worthy of love...
Even if you are unable to feel the same way about them…

Namakemon… Was not easy to deal with. At all. Neither was Yumeno, especially a while ago.
But if they’re the same… Then maybe if he had someone that believed in him…
He could have changed… Even if slowly.
Yumeno… Wants to be that person. The one that won’t give up on him. On herself.
Even if that is hard at times.
That’s why, when Namakemon’s body vanishes… She pleads to get another chance. So she can treat him better this time.
So she learns how to love him. How to love herself.
The egg that appears on her bracelet makes her feel as if her wishes were truly heard by the universe.
And she won’t let that chance go to waste.
“What? Why didn’t you put the dinosaur on your watch?” Akamatsu asked.
“The sloth was weak as hell, what the hell did you have on your mind?” Iruma complained.
“...Namakemon needed a friend. I’ll… Trust in him.”
Her classmates were confused by her decision.

Chapter Text

"YUMENO! The lion is still there! Run-"

"Nyeh?"

That's right. That digimon was still there...

And Pagumon went to face it.

It was a painful sight, as the small blob couldn't do much against their corrupted friend. But kept getting up, no matter how many times the fiery digimon took it down.

He truly wanted to try and save his friend...

No matter the cost.

Yumeno felt the need to do something. So she jumped in on the corrupted digimon, which... Wasn't a wise choice as its body was made of fire.

"Mimiko?" The pagumon rushed worriedly to the magician, using his bubble attack to try and cool her down. "You ok?"

"Not really... But... We need to save your friend, right?"

The bracelet shone,  and Pagumon's body started glowing.

Evolution. Ghostmon. The bracelet shone, and before she expected it, a small, blue creature was in front of her.

If this were an anime, the evolution would have been their shining hope that'd make them win this fight.

But this was not one. 

Ghostmon wasn't particularly strong. Instead,  all it could do was try and tire the lynxmon by floating around and vanishing. 

But the child digimon didn't have much stamina and was starting to get tired. While the other did not.

And Ghostmon had fallen down.

Yumeno needed to do something. Anything.  Quickly. 

Before Ghostmon too is defeated...

Her body moved on it's own, running towards the fainted digimon.

I can't... Lose any more friends!

Was all she could think. She couldn't pay attention to anything else. So she didn't hear her classmates shout...

Before she realized it, she was atop a white tiger,  running towards the lion digimon.

"Lightning Rush!"

...This digimon... Didn't look like Namakemon. But Yumeno could feel it was the same digimon deep down.

And that strike was enough to put the lynxmon down. And thankfully... turn it into a digiegg.

"...Namakemon?"

"Yumecchi..." The white tiger said.

Meanwhile Himiko had a dejà vu. She knew she saw this white tiger somewhere before. As she was always sure her familiar was one.

However, soon after saying her nickname, the tiger returned to her bracelet. On it 'Runnermon' could be read. And Ghostmon had to return to it as well.

Yumeno collapsed. Neither she or her digimon had any stamina left.

Chapter Text

"...Miss Chabashira-"

Something was wrong with that place. There should be... ToyAgumon around. Why is it... Deserted?

The dragon thought. But his human partner seemed eager to explore that place.

"This vending machine has chocolate cookies!"

Chabashira said, trying to get one with the money they got by selling some mushrooms they had gathered at a forest.

"Wait, in the digital world-"

Chabashira bit the small cookie, and flinched.

" Eugh , this tastes like capsicum ..."

Although it had the texture of the crunchiest cookie she ever ate...

"...If you want something tastier, pick the mustard chips."

Trusting her partner, she picked the treat up.

It tasted like pudding...

After they both ate, they took a quick tour around the town.

Toy town was full of giant toys. Moving chess boards of human size, ferris wheels, carousels, giant teacups...

Like an entire continent that was the amusement park Tenko always had dreamed of going with friends but was never able to...

Because she didn't have any...

...Until Miss Yumeno... 

...But she had never called Tenko a friend, thinking about it.

And that realization hurt . A lot.

Tenko... Had always seen her as her closest one.

...And only one, as her classmates weren't fans of her, ever since ever.

She had no one but her family and the monks at the temple...

Well, d uring her childhood she did have a childhood friend.

A small, white, cute, fluffy blob that was lonely just like her and that didn't talk, cried often, and that she comforted in her dreams, as they played together in the snow.

Yukimibotamon... Or Yukimi...

They couldn't talk at the time but Tenko could still understand them, she felt they had a soul connection...

Yukimi was weak. Others bullied them, simply for being different... 

Yukimi wanted to get stronger, so they could protect themselves, and those weaker than them. And always stood up, no matter how much they failed or how hard they fell.

...Just like Tenko.

It's been a while since she had a dream with them. 

They were the only reason Tenko hadn't felt way too alone until she got into Hope's peak.

She promised she'd go to their world to meet them, as they could only see each other in their dreams.

Which was one of the main reasons her parents got extra worried about her, taking her to many doctors, and then sending her to the temple to train her mind after she was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD, as they were afraid she wouldn't fit society...

She wasn't allowed to speak about Yukimi next to them and they said she had to outgrow them as it wasn't real. A mere imaginary friend... 

...But Yukimi had always felt real to her...

Her grandma and her master had always been the only ones that believed her on that.

...It's been a while since she last thought about them... 

Because she wasn't allowed to... 

Maybe Paledramon is them in a way... They're very different... But somehow she feels they have a very similar energy. Very chill, serious, and would risk his life to protect anyone in need, even if they don't like him.

He's Tenko's best friend, one that feels very real , and the first one that is mutual, as the dragon says she’s her best friend too!

He often searches for the foods he thinks Tenko'd like, brings her rocks he finds neat while she's napping, and is all in all an adorable being that is so great to hug and enjoys her hugs? And actually loves listening to her ramble about her interests, always asking for more.

And she wants to believe all of this is real, and not merely a byproduct of her subconsciousness and stress that is desperate for having a friend as some doctors called it. 

But if this was a dream... then this truly  was the best dream she ever had... The longest too. She fears she may be woken up at any point and not know where this ends... 

Especially because she doesn't want to wake up and face her hopeless reality back home. 

And if there's an amazing amusement park... Why not make use of it, especially since she has a friend with her now?

"Let's play, Paledramon!"

"...Which one do you want to go to first?" The dragon's tail flicked slightly. He tried to keep a certain composure but Chabashira knew he was actually really eager to play as well.

"Hmmmm. The ferris wheel!"

Slowly, seeing the world getting smaller, as you have some time to relax and think about things... Chabashira leaned into the dragon's fur, petting it, as she appreciated the soft, slightly cold, but comforting feeling.

Chabashira ended up dozing off, but was woken up by an excited flick of Paledramon’s tail when they got to the summit. 

"Miss Chabashira! Sorry for waking you up."

"...No problems, did you see anything neat?"

"I think I saw a human!"

"A human? Then let's go meet them!"

Chapter Text

“Alright, where are we heading to?” Chabashira said, as she rode paledramon’s back.

“The human I saw was in that warehouse over there!” 

The warehouse laid on an island that was kinda close but not so much from where they previously were. They thought they’d arrive quickly.

But something struck them, and they fell to the sea.

“...Where… Are we?” Chabashira said as she slowly woke up. That… Did hurt, like many of her experiences in this dream. They felt… Almost real.

“I don’t know. I’d fly but-”

“You’re tired, right?” The dragon nodded.

“...Let’s rest a bit and find something to eat then.”

However, thanks to the inhabitants of that island, the Gomamon and Kamemon, they weren’t allowed to pick any.

“These belong to MarinDevimon!”

“...What about you?”
“...If we follow their orders, we get to eat. If we don’t, we are attacked.”

“How vile!”

"Marindevimon is pure evil!" The digimon chanted. “But too strong… We can’t do anything.”

“Well, I’ll talk to them then!” Chabashira had to help these digimon.

“It’s pointless! MarinDevimon has no heart! No feelings!”

“Well, if that’s the case then we’ll fight.” Paledramon replied.

The sea devil simply laughed at their request to share food.

“Fools, you think I’d win anything with that?”

“It isn’t about winning! It’s about being fair!” Chabashira retorted.

“This only makes you weak . And in this world, the weak get eaten .” The sea devil shot a stream of black ink on paledramon, which then shouted in pain, as the ground around him seemed to melt. Was that ink corrosive?

Upon seeing his body start to fade, Chabashira jumped right in front of one of the sea devil’s tentacles before it hit the dragon. it hit her stomach, and she fell to the ground. Her back HURT . But she has to endure this, for Paledramon.

"Fool, why did a weak, mortal creature such as yourself throw yourself into an attack that is going to kill you for real? Do you have a death wish?"

...The sea devil… Was worried? Chabashira felt… Maybe they weren’t all that bad deep down. Because if they were… They would have simply killed both of them.

"Because he's my friend! My first one! My best one!"

The creature snorted.

" Friends . Why would something feeble like that matter that much? Having underlings that obey your every order is much better."

"It isn't ! They are only by your side because they're scared of you! You wouldn't understand… We were lonely for so long! With the others around us hating us for no reason but being ourselves...And feeling as if there was a problem with us ... But when we found each other, and we clicked, we knew right there that we weren’t broken at all! We understand each other more than anything else, We don't want to feel lonely ever again!" The usually serious Paledramon said, crying.

They were merely a human and a Paledramon, amongst many of their species. There was nothing that made them particularly stand out. 

Tu n’es encore pour moi qu’un petit garçon tout semblable à cent mille petits garçons. Et je n’ai pas besoin de toi. Et tu n’as pas besoin de moi non plus. Je ne suis pour toi qu’un renard semblable à cent mille renards. Mais, si tu m’apprivoises, nous aurons besoin l’un de l’autre. Tu seras pour moi unique au monde. Je serai pour toi unique au monde…

"...So you'd rather both die… Than leaving each other's side. How foolish ." Marindevimon started laughing maniacally. And then... Started crying.

Toutes les grandes personnes ont d'abord été des enfants. Mais peu d'entre elles s'en souviennent

That story that the devil once loved came back to their mind once again. There is something they wouldn’t forget...

 "...Very well. You shall be spared."

Using their own data to heal them back to normal, Chabashira and Paledramon both noticed a certain particularity about the devil’s data. The data that they received was full of loneliness. A yearning to be with others, that avoided you at all costs, until that got warped into wanting to be close to them at all costs - even their hate, whatever that cost.

Upon giving them the data, a pink and blue creature laid above.

“...Now, run away.”

“...Why?” Chabashira asked.

"...Everyone is scared of Jellymon around these bands. They are thought to be a bad omen..."

"That's dumb ! You are so cute !"

"...You think I'm cute ? And not a freak?" Jellymon blushed.

"Yeah! You are one of the cutest critters Tenko ever saw in her life! Tenko is glad she got to meet you!"

"...Even if I almost killed you two?"

“What matters... is that you didn't kill us. And you gave your energy to save us! That makes you our friend! You bottled up your pain for too long... It ought to show up in some way. But since you had no one else to share your pain with... You went about it the only way you knew. Making them feel pain, the same way they did to you. But... that isn't the best way to go about it. It's ok. We can learn new ways together . You aren't alone anymore.”

"It does?"

"Yup!”

“...So, I get friends… Even if I lose everything else…”

“...What do you mean?”

“I’ll go back to back to being bullied…”

“Hey… Do you want to stay with us?"

“ Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité. Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé. ” The pink creature said.

“...Pardon, what?”

“You want to be my tamer, right? You are eternally responsible to those you have tamed, are you aware of that?”

“Yup! Tenko promises she’ll do her best to care for you! Just like she does for Paledramon, after all, our lives are linked!”

“Very well.” Jellymon then touched the human’s bracelet, getting registered on it.

There’s a reason that makes it so kids are easier to bond with digimon.

Les enfants seuls savent ce qu'ils cherchent.