Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The sneaking part was the easiest. It came quite naturally, to be honest. Sure, it wasn’t exactly moral to be sneaking into his favorite restaurant every once in a while, but the fact that he was able to vanish into the shadows so effortlessly made him wonder if he was designed to be a predator, or at the very least, some type of creature that spent a lot of time being stealthy. Either that, or the staff was horrible at noticing the dwindling amounts of certain food items on certain days.

Aegiomon didn’t know. He didn’t like that there was so much about himself that he was clueless about, and it wasn’t like he could find someone who did know. He still wasn’t even sure how a Digimon like himself was capable of manifesting a physical presence in the real world when he was quite literally nothing but a textured wireframe of data. The thought of it gave him goosebumps.

Never mind that, he’d been crouched here in the corner for too long. It was a miracle no one spotted him in the midst of his daydreaming. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if they did, but that would mean no free steamed pork buns for another whole day, and Aegiomon didn’t know if he could wait that long.

Quietly, he slipped past a row of booths, making a beeline for the kitchen. Surely there’d be some buns in there. The doors loomed forebodingly above him, but he sucked in a breath before slowly nudging one open, sliding through the crack once it was big enough. Sure enough, the scent of freshly cooked dough filled his nostrils instantly. Aegiomon inhaled deeply, letting the sweet smell sit in his lungs for a minute before sighing with pleasure. Sure, he may be a textured wireframe of data, but he couldn’t deny that his stomach was very much real, and growling. Not wanting to wait, he crawled through the kitchen, ducking along the underside of the steel tables to avoid being seen. Thankfully, the kitchen appeared to be sparsely populated. It was way past the dinner rush hour after all, and there was barely anybody seated outside. Aegiomon easily made his way to the corner of a table in the far back, where the smell was coming from. He peeked out over the lip and, sure enough, there was a whole tray of fresh pork buns just sitting there, still steaming.

His mouth watered. Just one… he promised himself, before lunging a hand out and snatching the closest bun. It burned slightly in his hand, but it was quickly shoved into his mouth before it got too painful. The sensation of biting down on the slightly crisp puff pastry, allowing the entire thing to burst and fall apart on his tongue was nothing short of heavenly. Aegiomon’s ears perked slightly beneath his beanie as he picked up new flavors in the filling. That’s way better than the frozen ones at home, he thought, poking his head back out again. The buns were still sitting there, waiting for someone to devour them. Another growl escaped his stomach.

Aegiomon gripped the edge of the table, contemplating. I’m sure they won’t notice if a few are missing from their supply…or half… He snickered to himself. I’m so gonna regret this later, he thought as he grabbed another one. He lost track of how many he actually ate after that. It was definitely more than half of the tray, without a doubt. Aegiomon was shocked at how bad the staff was at not noticing him sitting there under the table, savoring each bun with satisfied moans. He was sure he would’ve been caught by now. Despite this, he didn’t want to jinx it. The tray only had five buns left, as opposed to the twenty or so that had originally been there. He knew he was running out of time, but even with his full belly, he still couldn’t get enough of the new flavors in this batch. Against his better judgement, Aegiomon crept out from under the table to reach for one last bun.

As he did, he felt the usual weight of the oversized beanie on his head being lightened. Aegiomon jumped, freezing. The fact that he had never been caught was one reason to be concerned, but what scared him more was why they had decided to remove the one thing hiding his actual appearance. It was something he never assumed would happen, especially since he had no way to conceal his true nature otherwise. He had no idea how to even prepare for the interaction to follow if it ever did. All he could do was slowly turn around, staring up fearfully with his horns on full display.

A familiar voice sighed. “Young man, how many times have I told you off about coming here?” Aegiomon blinked, squinting up through the fluorescent lights at the face of the man above him. Once his features registered, he felt his heart skip a beat. His cheeks got hot as he jumped to his feet, avoiding the man’s eyes.

“I-I’m sorry, Misono-san,” Aegiomon stuttered, bowing low in respect to his father-figure. “I-I was just…hungry.” He winced at the poor excuse. Of all the people to get caught by… he thought with a frown.

Kosuke Misono let out another sigh, prompting Aegiomon to look up. “You don’t have to call me that. But you should know better.” He handed the beanie back to the boy, leaning forward so his head was level to Aegiomon’s. “What do you think would’ve happened if it hadn’t been me that took your hat off?” Aegiomon looked down in embarrassment.

“I-I…” he gripped the beanie tightly. “I would’ve…I dunno…freaked out? I n-never planned for it, I–” He was stopped by Kosuke’s hand on his shoulder. The man was looking at him firmly, like a parent who was upset with their child.

“Aegiomon,” he began, though he said it like he still wasn’t quite used to the name. “I know you’re different, and I know you can get away with these types of things because you’re different. But eventually, you’ll be stuck in a situation that you can’t get out of, all because you took too great of a risk. You need to be more careful, understand?” Aegiomon kept his eyes glued to the tiled floor, his cheeks still burning. But he nodded to assure Kosuke that he was listening. Kosuke moved his hand from the boy’s shoulder to his head, ruffling his snowy white hair. Aegiomon couldn’t help but giggle as he tried to pry his hand away. Kosuke smiled, a small smile, but enough that put Aegiomon at ease.

As he pulled his beanie back over his horns, Kosuke glanced over at the mostly-eaten tray of pork buns. “That’s some appetite you have,” he commented. “Even after dinner. How much can Digimon eat, anyway?” Aegiomon shrugged, sticking his hands in his hoodie pockets.

“Well, it wasn’t just ‘cuz I was hungry. These are some of the best ones they’ve ever made! Speaking of which–” He did a quick sweep of the kitchen. There were no cooks in sight, much to his surprise. “–where are they, anyway?” Kosuke gave him a knowing smile.

“Let’s just say the chefs got tipped off about a rat in the restaurant,” he replied jokingly. Aegiomon’s eyes widened as he processed what that meant, and he let out a cross between a gasp and a laugh. He gave his father-figure’s shoulder a light punch as the two walked out of the kitchen.

“Sooo…does this mean no more pork buns?” Aegiomon asked hesitantly as they made their way onto the crowded streets of the city. Kosuke looked up in contemplation, before giving a dramatic sigh.

“Oh, I suppose you can still have some,” Aegiomon perked up, smiling brightly, before he added, “But you won’t be stealing them from there anymore. The only place you’re allowed to do that is our kitchen, understand?” Aegiomon’s excited posture deflated instantly, but he nodded reluctantly. Kosuke smirked and wrapped an arm around the boy’s shoulders. “I bet you’re pretty full now, though, right?” He nodded, about to respond, but what he would have said was interrupted by a yawn. Kosuke chuckled.

“Yeah,” Aegiomon replied softly, rubbing his eyes. “‘M sleepy, too.” He leaned against the man’s side, half walking, half shuffling his feet.

Kosuke pushed his body into a more upright position, supporting him with his arm. “Stand up straight, bud. We’re almost home.” Aegiomon just mumbled an affirmative, though he still had smile on his face. While the night didn’t go exactly as planned, he was happy to finally be heading home with a full belly of pork buns. And possibly a light scolding from Inori, but he could worry about that later.

Chapter Text

Inori wasn’t normally one to be glued to her phone before class started, and even now her conscience was gnawing at her for doing so. But today she just couldn’t seem to stop scrolling through her camera roll. She wasn’t the type of girl to have dozens upon dozens of selfies to post on social media. Usually she only took photos for art references: cars, a few angles of trees, and even the occasional pigeon or two. If she did take a photo of herself, it was usually when she was taking one for her friend group, and even then she rarely posted much else besides her sketches and basic watercolor canvases from art class.

The one photo she was focused on in particular today was a selfie she had just taken the previous afternoon. Though, it wasn’t exactly a selfie since her free arm was wrapped around the shoulders of a young boy wearing a bright yellow hoodie and black beanie. Their matching gray eyes both held different emotions; her’s goofy and mischievous, the boy’s more surprised but happy. It made Inori smile again as she relived the moment of grabbing him for the unexpected photo.

“Whaaaatcha lookin’ at?” a voice behind her drawled. Inori practically jumped out her chair, whipping around to see a girl wearing glasses with short brown hair pinned to the side in a cute way. She let out an exasperated huff.

“You scared me, Hiroko.” She scolded her friend. Hiroko just chuckled and casually sat down on Inori’s desk, her phone out as well.

“Hey, someone’s gotta keep you on your toes,” she replied, no doubt checking on the stats of her latest stream. Hiroko had always been a little obsessed with fame, and once she figured out how easy it was to gain a following through live streaming, there was no going back. Inori hated to admit it, but it felt like her best friend was spending more time planning for live stream ideas than she was planning for actual meetups with her and their other friends.

“But seriously though, what was that pic? I haven’t seen a selfie of you in like, forever!” Hiroko frowned, tapping Inori’s phone with her free hand. “C’mon, girl. You’d have way more followers on your account if you added more of these. Think of all the hot guys you’ll attract!” Inori let out a giggle at that, her cheeks growing flushed. She glanced back at the photo again, more specifically the boy. Unfortunately, Hiroko followed her gaze and paused as she actually focused on the image. “Wait…who’s that?” She got off the desk and walked behind Inori’s chair, kneeling down to get a closer look. “Never seen him before.”

Inori stayed silent, feeling a bit of sweat form on the back of her neck as she tried to keep her composure. She had been keeping it a secret for so long, she hadn’t even thought of a story to tell Hiroko once she finally worked up the courage to do so. Sadly, there was no time for that now. She’d just have to wing it.

Inori gulped, quickly spouting out the first thing that came to her mind. “He’s my brother.”

Hiroko blinked. “Brother? You have a brother?” She leaned in closer to peer at the photo. “He’s like, what, twelve? And he doesn’t even look like you! I feel like I would’ve known about this.” She pulled back, tapping her phone absentmindedly against her arm. Inori squirmed in her seat. Oh no, she’s already suspicious. This is not going well.

“U-um,” She mumbled. “He–he’s actually…” She paused, trying to think of what to add on. “...my half-brother.” She chuckled, trying to ignore the shiver running down her spine as Hiroko pushed her face close to the phone again, taking in every detail.

“Half-brother? Eh, ok, that makes a little more sense. Did you just meet him recently or something?” Inori nodded quickly, pushing her awkward smile even wider.

“Er–yeah! A few months ago, actually.” She wasn’t lying there. She was pretty sure it had been three or so months since she met Aegiomon. After all, she could never forget that day…

Hiroko was looking at her expectantly, making Inori seize up again. Maybe I need to add more context? “U-um, so, I found out about him after, um...my mom passed, and that she had, uh, met another guy after the divorce–” She was silenced by Hiroko holding up a hand.

“Nope, you don’t need to talk about that, girl. Not my business.” Inori smiled and sighed internally with relief. Hiroko may have been an influencer, but she knew when she was crossing boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed. However, she quickly noticed what Inori was hoping she wouldn’t notice. “What’s that thing under his eye? Looks like a little lightning bolt.”

“Um–” Inori thought quickly. “Birthmark.”

“Really?” Hiroko replied. “Wow, that’s pretty cool! Weird color, but cool!” She then frowned. “Y’know, what I really wanna know is how he’s wearing such a heavy coat and hat. It’s the beginning of summer! The kid must be sweltering.”

Inori sweat-dropped. Darn, I never thought of that! She actually felt a little bad for Aegiomon now. He must have been super hot while they were out yesterday, but he definitely wouldn’t have told her. He was just that sweet. “W-well, he’s…got other birthmarks. All over his body. They’re…really embarrassing for him.” She technically wasn’t lying about that either. It was the whole reason why she had chosen the hoodie and sweatpants for him in the first place. Inori chewed on her knuckle in annoyance at her own foolishness. She’d have to go shopping again with Hiroko, this time for lighter clothes that wouldn’t bake Aegiomon alive every day.

Her friend grimaced. “Poor guy,” She was about to say more when their professor entered the room. Inori felt the buzzing chatter of the room halt instantly as everyone scrambled to their seats, Hiroko included. Inori let out a quiet exhale and closed her eyes, the stress from the conversation slowly fading away. She was thankful Hiroko didn’t get too curious about Aegiomon, otherwise she’d have to explain how she found his egg and raised him from a tiny blob to a full sized boy. She decided not to dwell on it, focusing her attention on the professor as the bell rang to signal the start of class.

Inori wasn’t out of the woods yet, unfortunately. For the whole day, every chance she got, Hiroko would practically quiz her on her “half-brother”. She asked all sorts of things, from what school he went to (he was homeschooled), to what his favorite hobbies were (people-watching, more specifically watching how humans acted to better fit in), to what his favorite color was (all of them). Inori was having trouble keeping up, much less trying to think up on-the-spot replies to every question. It was becoming almost unbearable.

It wasn’t until school ended that Inori found herself finally catching a break. Hiroko had to stay behind for the newspaper club, which Inori took advantage of to sneak away before her friend could notice. She now sat on a bench in the city park, staring into space as the breeze gently blew her long hair around. Her arm was wrapped around her open sketchbook, though nothing had been drawn on the current page. She fiddled with her pencil absentmindedly, trying to remember everything she had told Hiroko about Aegiomon. Most of it was false, of course, but if Hiroko ever brought it up again, she’d have to be able to recall everything, otherwise her friend would know for sure something was up.

It was a long time before Inori finally sat back and took a breath, examining her work. She had tried writing everything down to the best of her ability, but she knew she was forgetting a good amount of the answers she gave Hiroko. Lies, she thought uncomfortably. Inori wasn’t used to being so untruthful to her closest friend, but she didn’t exactly have a choice. Her father had insisted that they keep Aegiomon’s true nature a secret, lest it alert the attention of some highly sophisticated organization that wanted to experiment on him or something. The idea had certainly frightened Aegiomon, which was enough to make Inori promise that she’d always be there for him.

Inori gritted her teeth as she slipped out of the memory. It was only then that she noticed the change in the shadows of the trees around her. She checked her phone, before blinking in surprise. Nearly 4:00 already? She quickly scrambled to gather up her things, shoving her art supplies into her large portfolio bag. As she made her way out of the park, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Thinking it was her father wondering where she was, she quickly pulled it out, only to see Hiroko’s number on the screen.

Inori frowned. Oh no, not again, she thought as she reluctantly answered the call. She barely managed to get it to her ear before Hiroko’s voice blared out of the speaker.

“Hey Inori! So glad you answered! I wanted to call you earlier but I was just so caught up in working on my newest idea–” Inori couldn’t help but roll her eyes at that. “–why don’t you and your little brother come over sometime for a small interview?” Inori almost tripped as Hiroko said that. She quickly regained her footing before responding.

“You’re…you’re saying you want him to be on a stream?” she asked incredulously. The thought made her stomach turn for some reason.

“Well, yeah!” Hiroko replied. “Only if he wants to, though. I don’t wanna make him uncomfortable or anything.” Inori didn’t reply. “Hey, Inori? You good girl?” She had stopped walking, moving to sit on another bench as she tried to collect her thoughts.

There were definitely plenty of risks that would come with Aegiomon meeting Hiroko. All she’d have to do is lift up his beanie and the cat would be out of the bag. On one hand, Aegiomon didn’t actually know anyone because of Kosuke preventing him from leaving the house without supervision, but on the other, both of them wouldn’t be happy if Hiroko accidentally found out he was a Digimon. Inori grasped her head, trying to control her breathing as her mind spiraled. Everything she thought of was conflicted by something else, making it hard to concentrate. She couldn’t keep lying to her best friend, it just didn’t feel right. 

“–ori? Earth to Inoriiii!” Inori blinked as Hiroko’s voice slowly filtered back into her ears through her overpowering thoughts. Gulping, she took a deep breath, trying to think of what to say.

“H-Hiroko, I know….It sounds….I’m not sure…” She couldn’t seem to form a full sentence. Feeling her cheeks grow hot from embarrassment, Inori was about to just hang up before Hiroko spoke up again.

“Hey, hey, Inori. It’s okay, it’s okay.” Her friend’s calming tone was enough to fully ground Inori again. She shifted uncomfortably in her now sweaty uniform, while Hiroko continued to speak. “You know what? Forget the interview. I shouldn’t be making you guys talk about stuff that you probably don’t want to think about, right?” Inori blinked, surprised at the sudden change in Hiroko’s tone. It wasn’t exactly what she was panicking about, but she was relieved that Hiroko was finally dropping the matter.

“Uh…y-yeah. Yeah, I’d…appreciate that.” she replied, softly, feeling her heartbeat return to normal pace.

Hiroko didn’t respond right away, and when she did, the guilt in her voice was loud and clear. “…I’m…I’m really sorry. For asking so much about him, I mean. I shouldn’t be trying to find out every detail about him without even meeting the guy.” Inori had to try very hard to hide a relieved sigh.

“It’s okay, Hiroko. I know you can’t help yourself when you find out some new exciting secret about me.” She smirked at the sky while Hiroko sputtered on the other end.

“Uh–hey! That’s–that’s not what happened! Well–maybe it is, but still!” She could practically see her friend pouting. “Ugh, whatever, just glad I didn’t upset you too much. But…would I still be able to meet him?” Inori frowned, before letting out a dramatic sigh.

“Hmmm, I dunno. You’d have to promise not to bring your camera with you if I invited you over…” Hiroko burst out laughing, which caused Inori to start snickering as well.

“That’s the Inori I remember! Don’t worry, girl. This can just be a cool ‘Get To Know You’ meet-up…but in private!” Inori continued to laugh at Hiroko’s antics as she stood up, making her way back towards the heart of the city. As they continued to talk about a time and place to meet up, Inori couldn’t ignore the small feeling of guilt lingering in her mind. She knew she could trust Hiroko, but not enough to tell her what Aegiomon really was. Still, it hurt knowing that her friend's perception of her brother was mostly fake.

… Brother . The concept of the word finally registered in her mind. She really thought of him as a brother? She had only ever called him a close friend, even when he was younger. But, looking back on it, it made sense. They had become so close with each other that they practically were siblings at this point. She felt glad, knowing that he had been accepted as part of their small family so quickly.

Inori smiled as she looked up at the now setting sun. Yeah, she thought. He is my little brother. And nothing less.

Chapter Text

The afternoon sun streamed in through the blinds of the living room as Kosuke sat on the couch. He was rifling through a bin of papers, just one of many that he had stored in one of the tiny closets scattered around the apartment. Inori’s closet, to be specific.

Kosuke frowned at the thought. He really didn’t like taking up space in their home with his work, but a lot of the documents he procured through his investigations had the chance of helping him in others, and he didn’t want to risk going through the trouble of obtaining them again. Then again, it had been a long time since he had looked through all of them, so it was likely most of the papers were heavily outdated. He figured the risk of losing something crucial was minor compared to some simple house-keeping. At least this means Inori will actually get some space to herself, the man thought with a slight smile.

He began running his papers through the shredder. The process was always tedious, and the old machine was starting to give out from how often Kosuke used it. He’d have to replace it at some point, he figured with a frown. The man allowed his mind to drift elsewhere as page after page was devoured by the clunky thing.

School was almost finished, which meant Inori would be home more often. He was relieved since it meant he could focus more on his work at home and less on looking after Aegiomon. Sure, he didn’t mind staying with the kid, but with most of his job requiring him to be out and about, he sometimes had to leave Aegiomon on his own. And judging by the boy’s overly curious nature, he wasn’t quite sure that he had stayed home the entire time he was gone. The young faun was fascinated by humans, and he remembered taking him out just to people-watch in the park. His excitement over the simplest of things reminded him of Inori when she was younger, always finding new things to enjoy about the city, despite its challenging living conditions. Thinking about it again made Kosuke’s eyes misty, but he blinked it away. He wouldn’t admit it, but having Aegiomon around was like raising Inori’s younger self all over again, no matter how many times he insisted that he wasn’t a kid.

Kosuke’s thoughts were interrupted by a specific paper catching his eye, one he had been about to run through. It wasn’t made of the same material as the others, and it was covered not in text but pencil drawings. Kosuke’s heart dropped when he realized he was holding a page from Inori’s sketch book. How did that get in here? He stared at the page, puzzled. The drawings, while rough, were still very detailed, and some were even fully shaded. They all featured a strange, round creature with two big eyes and three blobs sticking out of its head. Kosuke blinked, trying to make sense of whatever he was looking at.

After a minute, he put it to the side, still processing the strange drawings. I’ll have to ask her about that when she gets home, he decided, turning back to the pile. However, he paused again when he saw another drawing poking out from underneath a couple documents.

“Another one?” he said out loud. He pulled it out and examined it. This page had similar drawings to the last one, but the round creature featured in all of them was now covered in a layer of fuzz, had more narrowed eyes, and a single, blade-like horn sticking out from its head. Was it related to the one before? They looked similar enough.

Kosuke sighed and placed it on top of the previous drawing. He’d definitely need to bring this up with Inori. After all, he still wasn’t too sure how her artwork had ended up in one of his personal storage bins. He returned to work, this time making sure to inspect each document closely, not knowing if Inori had been using his old documents as sketch paper. He didn’t mind, but the thought of accidentally destroying his daughter’s work was enough for him to check each time. After all, the wrath of an aspiring artist was one he did not want to face.

Kosuke lost track of how long he was working for. Regardless, the moment he heard the door being unlocked, his mind jumped back to the drawings. He turned to study them again, just as Inori stepped into the living room.

“Hi, Dad,” she called. Kosuke looked over at her, smiled, and stood up, drawings in hand. He stretched before walking over to his daughter.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he paused to give her a hug and a small peck on the forehead. “How was school?” Inori shrugged, sliding her portfolio bag off her shoulder.

“The usual. The art club’s helping out at an event in a few days, so I’ll probably be staying later to help them out.” She slipped off her shoes and went to pick up her bag, before she spotted the drawings in her father’s hands. “Hey, where’d you find those?”

Kosuke pointed over to the pile of papers next to the bin. “They were in there. Good thing I spotted ‘em, too. Didn’t you know this was the bin for my old investigation stuff?” Inori’s eyes widened as she took in the setup on the couch. Kosuke immediately noticed a change in her eyes, a twinge of fear mixed with regret.

“I…I had put them there so…you wouldn’t find them,” she replied slowly, blushing in embarrassment. “Guess that was a stupid idea, since it was your bin, hehe…” She tapped her fingers together nervously, giving Kosuke a guilty look.

He was surprised, however. “Hide them from me? But why? You know I love seeing your art.” He looked back down at the drawings, examining the round creatures again. Inori chuckled awkwardly.

“A-ah, see, those are of Aegiomon,” she answered, causing Kosuke to look up at her in confusion. “Well, his younger forms, anyway.” Inori quickly added. This only confused him more.

“Other…forms…?”

Inori sighed. “Here,” She took the page that had the blob with three bulbs on it. “This was Aegiomon’s baby form. It’s what he looked like right after he hatched from his egg.” She pointed to one of the smaller drawings, which was of the little blob being held in the palm of her hand. “That’s how small he was back then.” She smiled, as though she was reminiscing. Kosuke just stared in amazement.

“You’re saying that…Aegiomon…was that little guy?” he asked as he leaned in. With the new context, he was baffled that the boy he’d met only a few weeks ago had once been palm-sized. Inori giggled.

“Yup. He was really cute. He was actually a lot like a normal baby. He babbled a lot and liked to sit in my lap. He ate a lot too,” She suddenly made a face. “And…that meant a lot of…y’know…” Kosuke’s eyes widened and he laughed.

“Not fun, is it?” he asked jokingly. Inori, whose face was still scrunched up, shook her head. Kosuke laughed again and patted his daughter on the back. “Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do for a baby. I should know.” He said this as he brushed Inori’s hair away from her face. She smiled in response.

“It was pretty hard hiding him from you, with all that going on. I was tempted to say I got a pet, but I knew you wouldn’t like that I had gotten one without letting you know.” She rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. She turned her attention back to the drawings. “It’s…pretty crazy. I had no idea what to expect with this guy. I remember nearly having a panic attack when he suddenly Digivolved in–”

Kosuke held up a hand. “Wait, Digi-what?”

Inori paused, then chuckled a bit. “Digivolved. It’s a Digimon’s process of growing up. That’s how he went from his baby form to Tsunomon.” She pointed to the pictures of the second, more fuzzy creature. Kosuke held it up in his hand so they could both look.

“Digivolving, huh?” he mused. “Isn’t that sort of like the growing-up process of those monster tamer games kids like to play?” Inori giggled and nodded.

“Yeah, maybe. But in this form Aegiomon was more like a toddler. He could talk a little, which was how I figured out what he was.” Inori sighed fondly. “He loved running away from me and hiding. I was so terrified that you’d accidentally spot him one day that I ended up locking him in my room for a while. But then he would always make a mess of it by the time I got home.” She laughed at the memory.

“I’m surprised you were even able to hide it so well,” Kosuke commented. “Let alone even know how to take care of a baby. I’m really impressed.” Inori blushed, dipping her head.

“Are you kidding? You never questioned why we would run out of food so fast?” she asked jokingly. “Tsunomon practically inhaled anything I gave him.” Kosuke chuckled in reply, looking just as dumbfounded as his daughter.

“I guess I just assumed you were having a growth spurt and needed to eat more. But really it was Aegiomon who was doing all the growing,” He looked back down at the drawing. “So after spending some time as this guy he Digivolved into his current form?” To his surprise, Inori shook her head.

“Nope, there was one more form, actually,” She reached down to her portfolio bag, opened it, and stuck her hand inside. After a few seconds of rummaging, she pulled out another folded-up piece of paper. “I couldn’t bring myself to hide this one.” she explained as she opened it up, smoothing out the creases until Kosuke could make out the sketches on it. They were of a…well, he still wasn’t quite sure. It looked like some type of animal, but at the same time it wasn’t recognizable at all. The creature was red with blue stripes, had four limbs with three stubby claws on each, long ears, and a fan of tails on its back.

Kosuke’s eyes darted around, taking in the Digimon’s form. “You’re telling me this is Aegiomon?”

“Yep!” Inori chirped. “He was called Elecmon while he was like this. He told me this was his Child stage, or whatever it’s called, and I can kinda understand. He definitely acted like a young kid. He was still pretty cheeky and curious, but he finally understood that he needed to stay hidden.” Inori smiled, focusing on a particular sketch of Elecmon playing with what appeared to be a pencil bag. “He stayed like that for the longest, maybe a good month or two. I had considered him a pet this whole time, but now that he was more intelligent, he started feeling more like a close friend of mine. I’m not sure how, but it felt like we really hit it off.”

Kosuke smiled at her. “Maybe you two were meant to be together. You did say you were the only one who seemed to notice his egg, right?”

Inori nodded. “Yeah,” She trailed a finger along one of the little sketches as though she were trying to pet it. “It’s funny; I never really thought back on all those long nights spent taking care of him until today. It seems like it was just yesterday when he hatched in my hands.”

“Yeah, looking at old photos will do that to you,” Kosuke replied, noticing the same misty look in Inori’s eyes that he had not too long ago. “It’s fun to reminisce, isn’t it?” He took the page from her to get a better look, taking note of a small drawing of Elecmon looking at a star. “This one’s cute.”

Inori brightened upon spotting it too. “Oh, that! I remember that night. Elecmon had told me that he’d seen a shooting star and made a wish. He wanted to be human just like me. I thought it was impossible, but boy, was I wrong.” She giggled. “He Digivolved into Aegiomon a few nights later. I’m sure you remember that.” She gave her father a sly look, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ah, yes. That night when I woke up to you screaming at the top of your lungs and found a faun standing in your room.” The two cracked up at that. Kosuke thought back to that night as he laughed. His first time meeting Aegiomon had been pretty abrupt. Inori had had to give a brief overview of why he was there, and even then Kosuke wasn’t completely over the shock of seeing a supposed “Digital Monster” standing in his daughter’s bedroom.

As the laughter died down, Kosuke continued. “I’m glad I got to meet him, though. It would’ve been pretty hard to keep hiding him from me at that point anyway.” Inori nodded in agreement.

“Honestly,” she began, turning to look back down at the drawings. “I’ve started seeing him as a little brother. He looks young enough, even though he keeps telling me he’s an adult, which still doesn’t really make sense.” Kosuke just shrugged.

“Well, kid or not, he still reminds me a lot of you,” He put a hand on Inori’s shoulder and lowered his voice. “I…know this might sound strange, but…he’s starting to grow on me too. He’s almost like a son I never had.”

“Almost like what?” Both of them jumped and jerked their heads towards the doorway. Aegiomon was standing there, his head tilted to the side in confusion. I didn’t even realize he came in. Kosuke thought, pulling his hand from Inori’s shoulder to rub the back of his neck. Inori let out a cross between a sigh and laugh.

“You scared us,” she complained jokingly. Aegiomon’s ears drooped slightly as he entered the living room.

“Sorry,” He dipped his head while still looking up at them, a cute gesture that made Inori cover her mouth to hide a giggle.

“Hey kiddo,” Kosuke waved at the boy. “Nice outfit.” Aegiomon smiled bashfully. He was wearing some of the new clothes Inori had bought him earlier in the week. They were just a simple, pale green shirt and baggy shorts, but it was nice to have a change from the same hoodie and sweat pants every day.

Inori smirked. “You look adorable. I knew those clothes would be perfect.” At that, Aegiomon crossed his arms, his face turning red.

“I don’t wanna be adorable, I wanna blend in,” he grumbled. “Whatcha guys doing, anyway?” he walked over to the couch and poked his head in between the two.

“Oh, I just found some of Inori’s drawings in one of my bins. We were looking at them together.” Kosuke answered. Aegiomon’s eyes fell on the pictures and widened.

“Wait, are those…of me?” He turned to Inori, who glanced away in embarrassment and nodded. “You drew me? And didn’t tell me about it?” Inori sweat dropped and gave an awkward smile.

“I-I was…trying to hide them from Dad,” she explained. “I sorta…forgot about them after a while.” Aegiomon just continued to stare at her, before his face erupted in a bright smile.

“That’s so cool!” He bounced a little in excitement. “They look amazing!” He took the drawings of Elecmon from Kosuke’s hands and studied it. “Wowww…” Inori glanced up at her father, who was covering his mouth, trying not to laugh.

“I can show you how I did them, if you want.” she offered. Aegiomon’s eyes sparkled even more as he hopped over to his sister.

“Yeah yeah yeah! I wanna see how you did that awesome shading!” Inori let out a giggle at his elation and sat down on the loveseat couch, the little faun quickly rushing over to sit by her side. Kosuke smiled at the duo before turning back to his own papers. A rush of dread filled his mind as he realized he still had so many more to go. But those documents weren’t going to shred themselves. He sighed quietly and sat on the longer couch, listening to Inori and Aegiomon chatting nearby.

“So, the shading here is actually a bunch of lines that crisscross over each other. The closer they are to each other, the darker the value gets. It’s called cross-hatching.”

“Oooh! So that’s like the cross-hatching with yarn, but you’re drawing lines instead, right?”

“Yeah, basically!”

Kosuke couldn’t stop smiling at the interaction. He started to notice that he was smiling a lot more now that he had met Aegiomon. He hadn’t realized how much he actually enjoyed having the boy around. He really was like a son.

The thought made him chuckle inwardly. I never really thought about what it’d be like to have a son, but I think I know now. He glanced up at one of the shelves lining the living room walls, focusing on a particular one that held a small photograph. It had been taken years ago, but it still clearly showed him, Inori, and another woman embracing each other as they smiled at the camera. Kosuke smiled back. He really is the missing piece we needed. I’ll always be grateful for that.