Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The makeshift raft we threw together crashed through the rapids, water spraying on all of us. I was holding onto Kudamon, desperately trying to keep myself grounded and prevent them from flying off the raft.
Mimi and Takeru were scrambling around the raft with Takeru ripping off his sleeves to tie around logs, with Mimi doing the same on the other side. Palmon wrapped her vines around the logs to secure them, and Patamon flew over all of us.
Taichi and Agumon stood at the front of the raft. Taichi had his goggles on, scanning the rapids. “I think we’re almost there!” he exclaimed.
Mimi yanked at the fabric she was working on. “That’s amazing, Taichi. Care to help us out a bit?”
Taichi gestured to me. “He’s not doing anything!” he cried, waving his arms in the air. Him doing this almost caused him to fall into the river, but Agumon grabbed him in time.
Takeru flinched away from the edge. “Patamon, how close are we?”
Patamon landed on Takeru’s head. “Everyone brace yourself!”
I peeked open my eyes, confused. “Brace ourselves for whaAAAGHH-!”
The river ahead us was a steep drop, which we were barreling down at full speed. “WAHHHH!” Mimi held onto Palmon, who had her eyes shut tight.
The only one who seemed to enjoy this was Taichi, who held on the front of the raft, laughing giddily. “Agumon, this is amazing!” Agumon seemed to disagree seriously, along with everyone else.
Suddenly, the raft jolted upward, knocking Taichi into the air. “Uwahhh-!”
“Taichi!” Mimi and Takeru shouted in unison, reaching out frantically to attempt to grab him.
Me being the closest to him, I jumped forward to grab Taichi’s shirt collar. He dangled over the side, making startled yelps. “Z!” he shouted. “Pull me up!”
I was struggling to hold onto him. “I-I-” I stammered, latching my other hand onto his shirt. “I can’t!”
Right before Mimi or Takeru could help, the raft crashed into a large boulder. This sent everyone flying. “AGGHHH-! MIMI!” I screamed.
Kudamon seemed relatively unbothered by flying through the air. They did, however, seemed bothered by the fact that I was hurtling toward rushing water. “Don’t worry, Z! I’ll save you guys!” they shouted.
My digivice flashed with color, and Kudamon digivolved into Reppamon. They swung me around, and I sat on their back. They darted around the ravine, grabbing Mimi and Takeru.
“Wait, where’s Taichi?!” Takeru exclaimed, frantically glancing around.
Mimi gasped. “Down there!” she pointed down, practically hanging off Reppamon.
There Taichi was-struggling to keep his head above the water, flailing his arms. “Reppamon, can you get him?” I asked frantically.
“I’m having difficulty keeping upright with you guys on my back,” they growled. “I risk dropping you.”
Takeru looked up. “Patamon!” he shouted.
Patamon was struggling to keep himself aloft, due to the fact that he was carrying Palmon. “I’m.. trying to find.. Agumon!” he gasped.
Everything went silent, with the rushing water. Suddenly, an orange light lit up the ravine, and Greymon’s massive shape broke the water, holding Taichi up. “Don’t worry, Taichi! I got you!” Greymon roared.
Everyone collectively exhaled in relief. “Taichiiii!” Mimi called, waving her arms. “Are you ok?!”
Taichi sputtered, and raised a shaky thumbs-up. “Y’huh!” He called, hugging his other arm onto Greymon’s neck.
Patamon and Palmon landed on Reppamon’s back, and Reppamon took off at full speed to get to the end of the ravine.
Greymon followed Reppamon, sending waves of water in all directions. Reppamon landed on the shore. Greymon followed soon after, then they dedigivolved back to Agumon and Kudamon.
“Ok..” Kudamon flopped around my neck like a limp noodle. “So.. what next..?”
Takeru sat himself next to Taichi, who looked deflated and wet. “We need to find onii-chan’s group.” he said. “I’m sure Koushiro-san has come up with something to explain why Z is here.”
“For now,” Takeru stood up. “Let’s camp out here, and gather some firewood.”
Taichi nodded, struggling to his feet. “Good idea, Takeru-kun!” he exclaimed. “Takeru-kun and I will go gather wood. Mimi, Z-you two stay here!”
Before either of us could protest, Takeru and Taichi (along with their Digimon partners) dashed into the woods.
Mimi cursed under her breath, settling onto the grass with Palmon. “So, Z,” she said to me in a friendly tone. “Who are you most excited to see?”
I blinked, confused. “What do you mean?” I asked. “I’m excited to see everyone else.”
Ok. That’s a lie. Man, I miss Koushiro. I thought to myself. I don’t think he likes me very much, though. I sighed, resting my chin in my hands.
Suddenly, Mimi was right in my face with a sly smirk. “There’s someone, isn’t there?”
Is she reading my mind? “U-um.. no?” I stuttered, backing away.”
Kudamon poked their head out of my hair. “That’s a lie!” They exclaimed. “He’s actually head over heels for K-!”
I impulsively slapped Kudamon back into my hair, but they’d already said enough for Mimi to know who I was talking about. “K.. does this “K” happen to have the name “Izumi”?”
The expression on my face gave everything away. No point in denying it. “U-um.. yeah. It’s Koushiro.”
Mimi lit up and snatched my hands. “Z! This is amazing!”
I was confused. “W-why?” I gently tried to pull my hands away, but Mimi’s grip was firm. “Why is this so amazing?”
Mimi scoffed, releasing on of my hands to fan herself. “Koushiro-kun is SO uptight. He’s ALWAYS on his computer. It’s a wonder you like him at all!”
“What do you mean?”
Mimi shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.” she grinned. “I’ll do the honor of setting you two up!” she exclaimed.
“Set who two up?” Takeru pushed his way through the clearing, holding multiple logs of firewood. Patamon followed him out, holding a couple of smaller twigs.
Taichi and Agumon “What’d we miss?” Agumon exclaimed, one log under each arm.
I shoved Mimi away and stood up. “Oh, nothing! We were just chatting! Nothing much.”
Taichi and Takeru glanced at each other but shrugged. They threw the wood into the pile and had Agumon light it. “So, what now?” Patamon asked, poking the fire.
“We could play a game?” Kudamon asked, flying out of my hair to sit with Patamon, Agumon and Palmon.
“We could play hide and seek?” Palmon suggested.
“Or tag!”
All of our Digimon ran off to do whatever they would do, and the rest of us sat around the fire. The other three were already jovially laughing and joking. They’ve known each other for so long. I feel so out of place.
Suddenly, Mimi slung one of her arms over my shoulders. “Z-kun!” she exclaimed loudly, making me jump. “Tell us about yourself!”
I blinked, confused. “You… Know about me, though,” I murmured, trying to duck away from Mimi’s arm (but failing to do so).
“Actually, not really,” Taichi said. “I know your name, your age, and the fact you’re in Mimi-chan and Koushiro-kun’s classes.
Takeru’s eyes glittered. “Tell us about you!” he exclaimed. “What do you enjoy doing? Where are you from? I haven’t seen you before this year!”
I had my gaze on my feet. “Um.. America.”
Mimi gasped. “America? I spent a long time in New York!” she cried. “What part of America are you from?”
“Um. California.”
“You say “um” a lot,” Taichi observed, poking the fire. “Don’t you have anything interesting to say?”
Takeru shoved Taichi. “Be nice!”
The boys started a playful mini-argument. Mimi scoffed, but I could tell that she didn’t mind. “Sooo, Z.”
“You’re inconsistent in what you call me, Mimi.” I observed, trying to avoid a conversation about my interests.
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
“Well, you only call me “Z-kun” whenever we’re around other people. When it’s just me, you only call me Z.”
Mimi looked confused. “Do I really? I’m so sorry, do you want me to be more consistent?”
I shook my head. “No, no no! I’m sorry, I made it seem like an issue. It’s not.”
She looked relieved. Right at that moment, the boys turned their attention back to us. “Ohoho, we got a couple of lovebirds over here~” Taichi exclaimed, which scared me half to death.
“Oh, no!” Mimi said, waving him off. Before I could stop her from saying more, she barreled on. “Z-kun isn’t even into girls- he’s got a thing for Koushiro-kun!”
Stunned silence.
Takeru was the one to break this silence. “Well, Z actually has a chance.”
Everyone turned to him. “Wait, really?” I exclaimed, with a bit too much excitement. “How do you know?”
Takeru shrugged. “He came to me one day, saying he needed to talk to someone. He told me that he thinks that he’s bisexual, but he’s too scared to pursue a romantic relationship.”
Everyone was silent, until Mimi burst out with an excited cry. “Owaaah! This is perfect!”
Taichi grinned. “We could totally set them up!” he exclaimed. “What do you think, Takeru?”
Takeru looked slightly guilty. “I feel like I shouldn’t have told you guys..” he murmured. “Koushiro-san told me that in confidence.”
Taichi patted Takeru on the back. “Don’t worry about it! We’re doing him a favor, anyway. He’s got no social life, so it’s unlikely he’d find a boyfriend or girlfriend without our help!”
“You guys are kind of mean to Koushiro,” I observed. “Can’t you, like, be nicer?” When everyone fell silent, I shrugged. “Or, keep going. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Takeru yawned, and Mimi looked a bit tired. “Maybe we should go to sleep. We’ll need energy for tomorrow, right?”
Taichi nodded. “I’ll keep first watch. Mmm, Z’ll be next.”
“Huh? I didn’t- hh, never mind.”
Mimi stared after where our Digimon had run off. “I’ll go look for-”
Loud footsteps crashed through the undergrowth and Agumon burst out of the bushes, followed by Palmon. Patamon and Kudamon were in the air, all of them excited. “We found them!” Palmon cried. “We found them!”
Mimi jumped up. “Found who? Who?!”
Palmon leapt into Mimi’s arms and hugged her. “Yamato’s group!”
Everyone stood up. “If Yamato’s group is here,” Taichi thought out loud.
“That means Koushiro-kun is also here!” Mimi exclaimed. “This is perfect!”
Oh. Crap.

Chapter Text

“What was that?” Koushiro’s voice sounded through the vegetation, making the hair on my neck stand on end. “Why is it so perfect that I’m here?”
I turned to see him, looking slightly disgruntled. His partner, Tentomon, hovered by his shoulder. He looked almost as bewildered as Koushiro.
Mimi put her hands on her hips. “We all missed you! So, it’s good that everyone is here.”
“You said my name specifically. You didn’t mention Yamato-san or Sora-san.” he crossed his arms, tilting his head skeptically.
Mimi shot an uncomfortable glance at me- It seems like even she couldn’t outright say anything about what I had said earlier.
Taichi ignored the awkward tension caused by Mimi, glanced around Koushiro and waved to Yamato. “Isn’t Hikari with you?” He asked, his voice somewhat demanding.
Sora, right behind Yamato, shrugged. “She went off on her own with Joe. Something about the light calling her.. I dunno.”
“And you didn’t go WITH HER?” Taichi grabbed Agumon. “Come on, we need to go get her!”
Sora narrowed her eyes. “We just got here, and you’re splitting us up again? Over your sister? She can take care of herself, and she has.. Joe.. to..” Sora trailed off seeing Taichi’s harsh expression. “Yes, we’ll.. Go..”
Takeru nodded. “I’ll go as well!”
I opened my mouth to volunteer, but Takeru and Taichi shot me a look. Oh. They’re purposefully setting this up.
Koushiro shrugged. “I’ll go with you guys as well. It’ll be easier if we have-”
“Haha, no!” Mimi slung her arm around Koushiro’s shoulders and practically dragged him to the campfire. “We can’t have everyone going off to find Hikari! You stay here with us.”
Koushiro narrowed his eyes, but didn’t protest. “Fine. Mimi-san, you know not to touch me.”
Mimi ignored him, and sighed dramatically. “Sucks that our meetup was so short! We’ll see you when you get baaack!”
Sora seemed to realize that something was happening, even if she didn’t understand exactly what it was. She glanced between Mimi, Koushiro, and I, and she hurried everyone up. “Alright, let’s go find Hikari and Joe then. Birdramon?”
Birdramon, who had hidden in the trees, poked her head out. “We’re not staying?”
Sora shook her head. “Nope. Let’s get going, we gotta find Hikari.”
Birdramon obliged, and everyone climbed onto her back. “Ok! We’ll see you guys when we see ya!” Taichi waved enthusiastically.
Mimi waved back. “Take as long as you need! Bye!”
After the wind settled, Koushiro looked very confused. “I don’t understand why I had to stay.”
“Couldn’t you two have just stayed here by yourself?” Tentomon asked Mimi and me.
Mimi shook her head. “Nope!” after a long pause without her elaborating, we all sat silently for a moment or two.
The awkwardness was getting to me, and I stood up. “I need to, uh.. Take care of something. I’ll be right back.” I practically ran into the bushes, Kudamon trailing after me.
Kudamon had the most apologetic look on their face. “I’m so sorry, Z! I didn’t think at all before I just said that.. Now Mimi’s probably-”
I shushed them. “Shh! We’re not very far from the others, and they can probably hear us!”
Kudamon nodded, their eyes full of regret. “Sorry!”
I sighed. “It doesn’t matter. We just… don’t ever mention anything about this. Got it?” I glanced in the direction of the campfire, where I could faintly hear Mimi and Koushiro’s voices.
Kudamon kept nodding. “Got it!”
I started to make my way back to the campfire, and I could finally hear what the other two were talking about. “Say, Koushiro-kun. Are you interested in anyone?”
I could feel my heart speed up. I was unconsciously holding my breath, waiting for Koushiro to respond. “Where is this coming from, Mimi-san? That’s a personal question.”
“Why’re you dodging the question, Koushiro-kun?”
Another pause. “I’d rather not say anything.”
There was an aha! from Mimi. “Who is it? I know you’re into someone.”
I exchanged a glance with Kudamon. Their eyes were wide, and I could only imagine what my face looked like. “I’d rather not get into this right now, Mimi-san. Not with him so-” Koushiro’s sentence abruptly stopped, and I heard Mimi gasp.
“It’s Z-kun?!”
“U-uh, Mimi-san, let’s n-not-”
I could practically feel Mimi’s triumphant expression. I stood up quickly, stomping around so that they could hear me coming. “Sorry, I got a bit… stuck. Sorry.” I apologized a bit too much, and I stared at the ground.
I felt an arm sling around my shoulder and I jumped, looked up and saw it was only Mimi. She had a sly expression. “Don’t worry, it’s fine! Come, sit. We’re getting ready to settle down for the night.”
I look up at the sky–indeed, the sky’s light was fading into a dim twilight. “So, who’s keeping first watch?” I sat down on a log–extremely close, I realized, to Koushiro himself. He, too, kept his gaze on the floor, his face red.
Mimi thought. “I think I’ll take first watch! I’ll wake Koushiro-kun up in a couple hours, ‘kay?” She sat, legs crisscrossed, next to Palmon.
I bobbed my head in agreement. “Sounds good. So, where are we sleeping?”
Mimi closed her eyes, and I was painfully aware of how incredibly smug she looked. “Back when we were younger, we’d all huddle up at night for warmth. It’s only us three right now, but-”
“Nope! No, I’ll go cold tonight.” Koushiro stood up. “Let’s go find something to keep us slightly warmer, Tentomon!”
Koushiro marched into the foliage, Tentomon close behind. I spun around, wringing my hands together anxiously. “Mimi-san! What was that about?!”
She still had that catlike expression, twirling her hair between her fingers. “Giving you two the push you need! You’re both too socially awkward to initiate the first step yourself.” she paused, and lit up. “I got him to say that he-”
I, too, stood up. “W-wait up, Koushiro-san!” and I turned on my heels and ran after Koushiro, Kudamon right behind me.
It took a moment to catch up with him, but I heard a soft conversation up ahead. “I don’t get it, Tentomon! What’s gotten into Mimi?”
The buzzing of Tentomon’s wings was somewhat relaxing. “Isn’t she always like this? What’s different?”
Koushiro’s reply was an embarrassed stammer. “She’s- sh-she.. She’s trying to pry into my personal life!” I could hear leaves crumpling under Koushiro’s feet. “And I- I think she’s into me! How’d she react if she knew that I- that I-”
Another pause. “That you what, Koushiro-han?”
I leaned forward, anxious to hear his response. Instead of stealthy inching forward, I wobbled and fell forward, catching myself on the ground. The noise was enough for me to flinch–he definitely heard that.. “Who’s there?”

I carefully stood up, brushing leafs and debris off my clothes. “Er.. sorry. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.. Uh…”
Koushiro’s guard was up- his expression guarded, shoulders tensed. “Ok..”
There was an uncomfortable pause, an awkward look exchanged between the two of us. Kudamon peeked over my shoulder, their eyes sparkling. “Hey, Koushiro! What do you think of Z?”
I coughed and turned away from Koushiro to hide my face. “What’s with that question?” I bopped Kudamon in the nose. “Don’t just say stuff like that!” I hissed.
Koushiro chuckled, putting his hands on his hips. “Tentomon used to be like that- he’d ask all the worst questions in any possible situation.”
Tentomon scoffed indignantly. “I did not ask questions like that!”
Kudamon sighed. “I was just curious, because Z says that he-”
I immediately put both of my hands over Kudamon’s face. “That.. I… I think quite highly of your knowledge, Koushiro-san! We’re in the same grade level, yet you excel at everything!” I knew my face was red, and I was probably giving Kudamon the dirtiest look possible.
“I’m quite flattered, though I’m not that smart. I’m just following along to what is given to us.”
God, he’s humble about it. “Really. Most freshmen struggle with computer science, yet you excel at it.” I like to think that I’m good with computers, but Koushiro’s on a whole other level. “It’s crazy.”
Koushiro seemed much more relaxed, now. He wasn’t glaring at me like he had been earlier. “I’ve been working with them for my whole life.”
“It’s true!” Tentomon chimed in. “He was the main info-gatherer of the group back when they were younger!”
I nodded. “That sounds nice.”
We stood in silence, the conversation fading back into that previous awkward silence. Kudamon tugged on my shirt. “Can we go sleep? Please? What happened earlier exhausted me..”
I smiled. “Yeah, we can. We’ll sleep by the fire. I’ll, er, see you in the morning?” I said to Koushiro.
He nodded. “I’ll be back in a moment. Have a good night.”
I turned and walked back through the bushes. I touched my face- it was burning hot. Not feverish- my face was red just from being around Koushiro. “Urgh..” I shook my head
This next couple days was going to be difficult.