#besides ken and takeru

[cherrykasugayama]

Fleeting Memories

Kenshin struggles to overcome his grief after the death of his wife, straining his relationship further with his children. He became detached and distant. (Last Part!)

Warning: Heavy angst, bad daddy Kenshin, unnamed MC

Children: Uesugi Takeru (13 years old), Uesugi Ken (13 years old), Uesugi Sakura (5 years old)

Other children: Takeda Oujiro, Takeda Himeko (11 years old)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

.........

Thank you to anyone who has read this story, tbh it is lacking so much and I swear there are a lot of cringe moments. It was fun doing this. I hope you will enjoy this last part.

Also shout out to @reii-ichi for this lovely art!💕

Always happy to see more daddy Kenshin content! 🤭

The castle bustled with the energy of a new day, but Kenshin sat alone in his study, nursing a cup of sake.

....................................

-Kasugayama Castle-

He stared at the papers on his desk, war reports, letters from retainers, but they blurred together. His mind drifted back to the image of his daughter crying.

Letting Sakura return was a mistake, he thought bitterly, taking another swig of sake. She doesn’t belong here.

“Father,” Ken’s voice broke through his thoughts. The blonde boy stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable.

“You broke her gift, didn't you?”

Kenshin didn’t look up. “I have no time for such a useless trinket.”

Ken’s jaw tightened. He muttered a curse under his breath and left without another word.

...........

Sakura giggled and skipped among the scattered blossoms.

Takeru followed close behind, arms crossed but smiling faintly as he watched her. “You’re going to trip if you keep running like that, Sakura.”

“No, I won’t!” she called back, spinning in circles. Her laughter rang out, light and carefree, until it was interrupted by a sudden, harsh cough.

...........

Kenshin stiffened, the cup in his hand freezing mid-air when he heard one of his children screaming. He hot to his feet, the sake cup shattering as it hit the floor. The urgency in Ken’s voice sent a chill through him.

He was already moving, his feet pounding against the wooden floor as he rushed to the garden.

The sight stopped him cold.

In the garden, Takeru knelt on the ground, holding a limp and pale Sakura in his arms. Her doll lay forgotten in the grass beside her.

“She just fell,” Takeru stammered, his usual calm composition completely broke as tears streaming down his face. “She said her chest hurt, and then... ”

Kenshin didn’t speak. He crossed the garden in two long strides, his heart racing as he knelt beside his children.

“Wake up,” he said sharply, his voice more commanding than gentle.

She didn’t respond. He pressed a hand to her forehead, it was burning hot. His heart clenched.

“Inside. Now.”

Takeru hesitated, his tears spilling over. “But—”

“Now!” Kenshin snapped, scooping Sakura into his arms and carrying her toward her room. He moved with such urgency.

“Someone, get a healer!” Ken shouted, running close behind.

............

Ken paced back and forth, his hands clenched tightly at his sides. “Why aren’t they here yet?” he growled.

“They’re taking too long!” Takeru snapped, his voice sharp, filled with an anger that rarely surfaced. He knelt by Sakura, holding her small, limp hand, his face pale. “She doesn’t have time for this!”

Ken slammed his fist against the wall, startling a servant nearby. “I’ll drag them here myself!” He turned to leave, determination blazing in his eyes.

“Ken, stop!” Takeru called after him, but it was too late. His twin was already gone. Left behind, Takeru gritted his teeth and knelt down, he gently held Sakura's hand.

“She’ll be fine,” he murmured, as much to himself as to her. “You’ll be fine. Just hold on.”

After a while, Ken burst through the doors, his clothes dusted with dirt and his eyes burning with fury. Behind him stumbled the healer, her face pale and fearful.

“You’re late!” Takeru roared, his voice echoing through the room.

The healer bowed deeply, trembling as she stepped forward. “Forgive me, young master, I came as fast as I—”.

“Enough,” Kenshin’s cold voice cut through the tension, silencing everyone.

His piercing gaze fell on the healer. “Do your job,” he ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.

The healer knelt beside Sakura, her hands shaking as she examined the child. Sweat beaded on her forehead under Kenshin’s and his sons’ watchful stares.

“She has a high fever,” the healer began, her voice barely audible. “It is severe, and—”

“And what?” Kenshin’s voice was low and dangerous. He stepped closer, his shadow looming over her. “If this child does not recover, you will regret ever stepping foot in this castle. Do I make myself clear?”

The healer paled, bowing so deeply her forehead nearly touched the floor.

“I- I will do everything within my power to help our young lady, my lord."

............

Sakura’s condition remained fragile on the next day. Shingen and his children had been staying at the castle during the turmoil, but word arrived that issues in Kai required Shingen’s immediate attention.

“I have to go,” Shingen told Kenshin, his voice heavy with regret as they stood in the hallway. “Kai needs me, but I wish I could stay longer.”

“Go,” Kenshin said simply, his tone unreadable.

Oujiro tried his best to hold back tears, while Himeko clung to her father’s arm, sobbing uncontrollably. The usually spirited 11-year-old girl could barely speak through her cries.

“I don’t want to leave!” she wailed. “Sakura’s still so sick. What if she doesn’t—”

“She will,” Shingen interrupted firmly, though his expression softened. He knelt before his daughter, placing his hands on her shoulders. “She’s strong, Himeko. You have to believe in her. Say your goodbyes for now, and we’ll return soon.”

Himeko sniffled but nodded. She approached Sakura’s bedside, her lower lip trembling as she clutched Sakura’s hand.

“Get better, okay?” she whispered. “I will visit again, we will play together.”

Sakura, barely conscious, gave a weak nod, her lips curling into the faintest smile.

...........

Days passed, and the castle grew quieter.

Kenshin had long convinced himself that his stoicism was a strength, a shield to protect his children and himself from the pain of their loss. But now, as he sat outside Sakura’s room, he felt that shield crack.

The faint sound of her cough seeped through the walls, gnawing at his resolve. He couldn’t focus on anything, his mind kept returning to her frail form, her trembling voice calling out for him.

Ken and Takeru remained by her side constantly, but Kenshin found excuses to linger nearby, watching through the doorway or pretending to check on the healer’s progress.

He hesitated before stepping inside, his footsteps almost silent.

“Father?” Ken’s sharp voice cut through the quiet. The boy was awake, his arms crossed as he glared at Kenshin. “Why are you here?”

Kenshin frowned. “Do I need permission to check on my own daughter?”

Ken didn’t back down. “You haven’t cared before. What’s changed now?”

“Ken,” Takeru muttered, trying to de-escalate.

But Kenshin’s gaze didn’t waver. “I was wrong,” he said simply, his voice firm.

Ken blinked, caught off guard by the blunt admission.

Kenshin knelt beside Sakura, brushing a damp strand of hair from her face. His hand lingered for a moment, trembling slightly before he withdrew it.

Ken and Takeru exchanged a glance, they still feel skeptical, but decided to leave their father be.

...........

On the next day, Takeru and Ken had to continue their lessons and training as they could no longer skip them, so Kenshin decided to watch over his daughter.

The healer knelt trembling on the tatami floor, her hands shaking as she packed away her supplies. “The fever is dangerously high,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “If it doesn’t break soon…”

Her words hung heavily in the air, unfinished.

Kenshin's arms crossed, his shadow stretching ominously across the room. Without his sons nearby, his cold presence was even more pronounced. His piercing gaze bore into the healer, making her almost paralyzed with fear.

“You’re telling me there's nothing more we can do?” Kenshin’s voice was low, yet it carried an edge of menace that made the healer flinch.

“M-my lord, I have tried everything,” she stammered, bowing deeply. “It is up to her will now…”

Kenshin stepped forward, his footsteps deliberate and heavy. The air grew colder as he towered over her.

“If she dies, your failure will not be forgiven,” he said, his voice like ice. “Pray to your gods that your efforts are enough.”

The healer bowed even lower, her forehead nearly touching the ground. “Y-yes, my lord.” She scurried away, the sound of her hurried footsteps fading down the corridor.

Kenshin stood motionless for a long moment, staring at the small, fevered form on the futon. He had been through wars, had watched men fall in agony, yet nothing had ever torn him apart like the sight of his daughter, so frail and helpless.

Her tiny face was flushed, damp hair clinging to her forehead. Her breaths came in shallow, uneven gasps.

“Daddy…”

Her voice, weak and trembling, shattered the icy armor around his heart. Her eyes fluttered open, barely able to focus on him.

“I… I’m sorry,” she whispered, her small hand twitching as if trying to reach for him.

“I didn’t mean to be bad… Please don’t hate me.”

Kenshin’s chest tightened painfully. His jaw clenched as he knelt beside her.

“You… foolish child,” he murmured, his voice cracking.

“Please… don’t be mad,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I’ll get better soon. I’ll be good.”

Kenshin couldn’t hold it in anymore. The walls he had so carefully built around himself came crashing down.

“Stop,” he whispered hoarsely, his hand fisted tightly. “Don’t say that. Don’t…”

Sakura’s lips quivered, tears slipping from her fevered eyes. “I’m sorry…”

“No,” Kenshin choked, bowing his head, his tears falling freely. “Don’t apologize. This isn’t your fault... ”

It's mine.

For the first time, he allowed himself to call her name.

“Sakura.”

Her name felt heavy on his tongue, but it was a truth he could no longer deny.

“Stay with me,” he whispered. “Don’t leave. I can’t... I can’t lose you too.”

“You don’t hate me?” Her voice weakening, a sign that she was falling asleep.

“Never,” Kenshin said firmly, he reached out for her tiny hand. “I could never hate you. I’ve been a fool.”

Sakura was already asleep so he didn't know if she heard all of it. Kenshin didn’t move. He stayed at her side, his hand never leaving hers, as the night stretched on.

He would not fail her again.

.............

In the solitude of his study, Kenshin set the broken crane on the workbench.

He surveyed the tools and materials at hand. Among them, a small container of nikawa sat tucked in the corner. The glue, made from animal hide, had been used by his craftsmen for years to repair furniture and ceremonial items. He set it over a brazier to warm, the faint smell of the adhesive filling the room.

Carefully, he cleaned the splintered edges of the crane, sanding them down just enough to fit the pieces together snugly. The nikawa softened as it warmed, turning into a smooth, sticky paste. Kenshin dipped a fine brush into the adhesive and began applying it to the fractures with meticulous care.

The process was slow. Each piece needed time to set before he could move on to the next, and the delicate wings required extra attention. His hands, so accustomed to the weight of a sword, trembled slightly as he held the fragile crane.

As dawn broke, Kenshin pressed the final piece into place and held it steady until the glue set. The crane was not perfect, small scars remained where the wood had splintered, but it stood whole once more.

........

The early morning felt unexpectedly calming. Kenshin stayed at Sakura’s side, his hand resting lightly on hers. Ken and Takeru dozed fitfully nearby, they were clearly exhausted because of their lessons and training. Despite warnings that they might catch the sickness, they refused to sleep anywhere but near their little sister.

Sakura’s breaths, once shallow and uneven, had begun to deepen. Kenshin barely moved, his heart pounding at every little sound she made. He was afraid to hope, but when the healer finally arrived to check her again, the woman’s face lit up with cautious optimism.

“The fever has broken,” she said quietly, bowing to Kenshin. “Young lady Sakura is recovering.”

Ken and Takeru, who had just woken up, smiled widely at the news. Kenshin closed his eyes briefly, sighing out in relief as well.

.........

When Sakura woke, her fever has indeed broken as the colour has returned to her chubby little face, Kenshin was there, the repaired crane in his hands.

“You fixed it?” she whispered, her voice soft but filled with wonder.

Kenshin nodded. “I tried my best, but it's not perfect.”

Sakura took the crane, cradling it gently. “It’s perfect,” she murmured, her eyes lighting up with joy.

“Did he... just fix something for Sakura?” Ken muttered, rubbing his eyes as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Maybe he’s possessed,” Takeru suggested.

“Thank you, father.” she murmured, her voice stronger than before.

Kenshin frowned. “It’s ‘Daddy,’” he corrected, his tone firm but not unkind.

The little girl blinked adorably at him, then gave a tiny, shy smile. “Daddy…”

The corners of Kenshin’s lips twitched upward, and he nodded. “Much better.”

Ken and Takeru both froze at the exchange.

Ken whispered in disbelief, “Did he just asked her to call him 'Daddy'?”

Takeru grimaced, looking deeply uncomfortable. “I think she did. Please don’t make us say it.”

“Yeah, no way,” Ken muttered. “He’s ‘Father’ or ‘Old Man.’ That’s it.”

Kenshin shot them a pointed look. “Would you like to say something, boys?”

Both twins straightened up immediately, shaking their heads vigorously. “Nothing, Father!” they chorused.

Sakura giggled weakly, watching her brothers squirm. “Daddy’s nice…”

Ken raised an eyebrow at her. “You sure we’re talking about the same person, Sakura?”

Sakura giggled again, her laugh light and joyous. “Ken… you’re silly.”

Ken crossed his arms. Takeru leaned in, careful not to squish her as he hugged her.

“You better get strong soon. I need someone to help me fight Ken.”

“Hey!” Ken protested, but he leaned in too, wrapping his arms around both of them.

Kenshin watched his children, his heart swelling with a mix of love and regret. He knelt down and pulled all three of them into a firm embrace.

The twins froze, glancing at each other in silent panic.

“I think Father is truly sick. Or this might be a dream.” Ken whispered, pinching Takeru’s arm.

“Ow!” Takeru hissed. “It’s real, you idiot.”

Sakura snuggled closer into her father’s arms, her giggles bubbling up again. “Daddy’s hugging us…”

Ken groaned. “Can you not call him that?”

Sakura’s laughter grew louder, which made her brothers and father smile as well.

Kenshin held them tighter, vowing silently to protect his children and never let them drift apart again. It might be difficult to atone for all of his mistakes, but he would never give up, just like how his children had never given up on him.

Outside, the cherry blossoms danced in the wind, their soft petals swirling like whispers of hope. Kenshin glanced toward the window, the faintest smile tugging at his lips.

It was almost as if his late wife was there, watching over them, her presence lingering in the gentle breeze. He could almost hear her voice, warm and full of pride, urging him to cherish this precious bond, to hold his family close.

And for the first time in years, Kenshin felt a fragile but certain peace take root in his heart.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x05 - Bring Down the Dark Tower / Old Reliable

Previously on Digimon Adventure: It was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither Yamato nor Takeru is sufficiently telepathic. Meanwhile, despite Daisuke's best efforts, the forces of the Digimon Kaiser successfully overthrew the forces of the Digimon Kaiser.

Now, with a clear understanding of how the Kaiser's influence works, the Chosen Children forge ahead on a new mission.

Deep in the frozen tundra of a Digital World region, the Digimon Kaiser is inexplicably using the frog-like Gizamon as beasts of burden for construction.

Not to construct the Dark Tower, which is already up and going, but something using steel girders. The Gizamon do their best to hop along, weighed down by their burdens, while the Kaiser cracks his whip on the ground to keep them moving.

Wormmon waddles up, dragging a fur coat through the snow with his itty-bitty forelegs.

Wormmon: Ken-chan, take this.... Kaiser: Quit bothering me!

Ken kicks Wormmon in the head, knocking him over into the snow with the coat falling on top of him. While he's distracted, one of the Gizamon falls over, dropping the materials they're carrying.

The Kaiser whips back around and whips the fallen Gizamon over and over.

Kaiser: Get up, already! You cretins are too slow!

Maybe if you weren't using frogs in a frozen climate, they wouldn't be. I know Ken thinks he's playing a video game, but he is not very good at this video game.

In the dub:

Wormmon: Wear this, it's cold. Emperor: Rrgggh.... Leave me alone! (Emperor kicks Wormmon; Gizamon falls over) Emperor: Get up!

All three whiplashes against the fallen Gizamon are cut, and we see only him raising his whip to begin striking before the next bit unfolds.

As the Digimon Kaiser raises his whip for a fourth lash, Gomamon leaps into the middle of it. He grabs the Kaiser's whip, clutching it between his Yes They Are Hands and refusing to let go.

Gomamon: Stop it! They're all tired! Besides, Gizamon can't move very well on land! Kaiser: Pompous little.... I already know enough about Digimon without needing you to teach me!

Obviously, he doesn't, or else he wouldn't be using Gizamon here. But the Kaiser is beyond reason at this time. He jerks his whip out of Gomamon's grasp, then brings it back and lashes Gomamon across the belly, knocking him over.

Kaiser: There has to be a punishment for anyone who dares to resist me. Hey! I'll make things easier for whoever takes down this little pest!

For the rundown, Gizamon is a Child-stage Virus-attribute Aquatic Mammal Digimon. We saw a group of them during Vamdemon's takeover of Odaiba. They harassed Hiroaki's news crew and were a persistent menace until Vamdemon's bats ate them all.

Narrator: Gizamon. A Child-stage Digimon with webbed hands and feet. Their sharp dorsal fins cut through the water's surface like a knife!

They're also, per the first rundown, more comfortable underwater than on land.

In the dub, Gomamon's interception comes before the Emperor can start whipping. Nonetheless, you can still see the wounds on the Gizamon behind him.

Gomamon: Hey, quit it! They're all tired and need rest! Maybe someone should use this whip on you, you big bully! Emperor: #1: Don't ever talk to me without calling me 'Sir'. #2: Don't ever TALK TO ME!!!

In the original, Gomamon points out that the Kaiser is making baffling tactical choices with his enslaved Digimon. Choices that convey his ignorance and lack of understanding towards the Digimon. He's clacking them around like toys in a toybox rather than making the effort to even understand how best to apply their various capabilities.

He's punishing them for inefficiencies that he created through inept mismanagement. Ken isn't very good at dictatorship.

The dub snips that in favor of Gomamon clapping back with a violent taunt. Gomamon's a gutsy brawler type so it's a perfectly in-character thing for him to say, but I don't like what it costs us.

Emperor: Whoever among you can defeat this creature will receive a special prize package. The rest will get some lovely parting gifts. So who is up for the challenge? (The Gizamon crowd in around Gomamon) Emperor: (rundown) I know all about Gizamon. They're amphibian Digimon with webbed feet. Their fins cut through the water like knives.

There's something ironic about having Ken deliver the rundown when his ignorance towards Gizamon was a point of contention in the original version of this scene.

The Gizamon crowd in around Gomamon.

Gomamon: NO, DON'T!!!

The Gizamon attacking with Sonic the Hedgehog spin jumps, bashing through Gomamon one after another until he's left bruised and defeated on his back, unable to stand.

Kaiser: Hmph! All bark and no bite.

Wormmon squiggles out between the Kaiser and the Gizamon to remind him of his promise.

Wormmon: The ones who defeated him get to rest, right? Kaiser: No, something else.

Sorry, Wormmon. The Kaiser never promised 休ま yasuma, that they could rest and have some time off. He promised 楽にしてやる raku ni shiteyaru. I'll go easy on them, I'll make it easier for them. And he has just such a plan in mind.

The Kaiser retracts his whip, and a set of Evil Rings descends upon the Gizamon. Most are taken before they know what's happening. One Gizamon tries to run for it, but the Evil Ring catches them in short order.

Kaiser: Huhuhu... It's easier now, isn't it? The prison for this area is nearly complete! Pick up the pace and finish the job!

Obediently, the enslaved Gizamon turn away and return to work. This is why you never become a class traitor. Once they're gone, Ken turns to take his leave. Wormmon follows for a second, but stops and glances back at Gomamon lying broken on the ground. Only for a second, though, before he double-times it to catch up to Ken-chan.

In the dub:

Gomamon: They won't attack me! (They attack him relentlessly) Emperor: That was way too easy. Wormmon: Yeah, they've defeated him, Master. Now tell them what they've won. Emperor: Right! (Dark Rings enslave the Gizamon) Emperor: Here's your reward: You all have the honor of being my slaves. Now get back to work building the prison! (The Gizamon go back to work and the Emperor goes to leave) Emperor: MOVE IT, Wormmon! I want you to make me a hot chocolate. Wormmon: What about Gomamon? Emperor: Let him freeze.

I really like the "I'll go easy on them" exchange. It's so slimy. The "special presents" bit tries to match the same tone, but without Wormmon's optimistic misunderstanding, I don't think the treacherous backhand lands quite as hard.

The dub version calls more attention to Wormmon's concern for Gomamon's wellbeing, while the original leaves it implied through Wormmon's body language. This plays into the ongoing key difference between versions, as the Digimon Kaiser generally doesn't interact with Wormmon of his own volition.

So far as he cares, Wormmon can do whatever. Wormmon is utterly beneath his notice or concern, except when Wormmon actively tries to interact with him. Where, as usual, the dub has the Emperor using Wormmon as his personal assistant.

Once the Kaiser is gone, Gomamon uses what's left of his strength to pick himself up. He crawls through the tundra, making his way to a Gate TV half-buried in the snow.

Gomamon crawls right up to the TV, presses his face against it, and closes his eyes. All he gets out is a pitiful:

Gomamon: Jou....

In the human world, Jou receives the distress signal while on his way into school. Specifically, the sign above him reads "Waseda Preparatory School", setting our time frame as at the end of the school day. Jou's finished his normal classes and is heading into the private cram school his family's paying for him to attend.

This cram school is probably based on the real-life Waseda University in Shinjuku. Though they spell Waseda differently. Probably for the same reason cartoon characters might drink "Cola-Cola" and watch "PeopleTube".

He's with a couple of his peers when his Digivice starts ringing with Gomamon's distress signal.

Jou: (quietly) Gomamon.... Green Shirt: Looks like today's our proficiency test for math. Tan Shirt: Aww, seriously? That sucks. Green Shirt: Hey, Jou-- Jou: I'm skipping cram school today. Both: Eh!? Jou: Bye!

Without another word of explanation, Jou dashes off at full sprint.

In the dub, we go to our first commercial after the Emperor and Wormmon leave Gomamon in the snow. When we come back, Gomamon offers a bit of internal dialogue.

Gomamon: (thinking) I've just gotta climb up this little hill.... (Gomamon trudges through the snow) Gomamon: (thinking) Okay, maybe it's not such a little hill after all... (Gomamon finds the TV) Gomamon: What's that? (Gomamon crawls to the TV) Gomamon: Joe....

I don't know why Gomamon seems surprised to see the TV when it's pretty clearly what he was trying to reach in the first place. Even in the dub, his extra dialogue suggests he went this direction for a reason.

(SOS Signal goes off) Joe: Gomamon! Green Shirt: So, how about it, guys? You all ready for that big anatomy test today? Tan Shirt: Yeah, I spent the whole night looking in the mirror. How about you, Joe? Joe: Uh, I just remembered that I forgot to remember something. I gotta go!

XD This is good.

The timing might be (unavoidably) confusing here due to the lack of American context for 塾 juku, Japanese cram schools. Without knowing that Joe's here for extracurricular evening classes, this comes off like it's the start of the school day.

Since Joe won't reach Odaiba Elementary School until well after the end of the school day, that makes it seem like it took Joe a re-e-e-eally long time to get there.

Might have been better off taking more liberties with this scene and having them, say, discuss having a crazy workload of homework to do or something. IDK. In any case, timeline in the dub is a little bit funky due to culture shock.

Speaking of Odaiba Elementary, Daisuke's on his way to Computer Club when he happens to spot Iori descending the stairwell to the ground floor.

Daisuke: Huh? Iori! Iori: What is it, Daisuke-san? Daisuke: Don't "What is it" at me! You're going home!? Iori: I have practice today. For kendo. Daisuke: You do!? While the DIgital World's in crisis!? Iori: Once per week, I get to train at the police dojo with my grandfather. That's all.

Iori bows respectfully to Daisuke, then turns and leaves.

Daisuke: HEY!!! Hikari: (approaches) What's wrong, Daisuke-kun? Daisuke: (suddenly cheerful) Hikari-chaaaaaan! You're going, right? To Computer Club? Hikari: Uh-huh! Of course! Daisuke: (considering) Well, as long as Hikari-chan is there, I don't need the others. (blushing) In fact, it might be better if they weren't there.... Hikari: O_o What? Daisuke: (backpedaling) Oh, nothing, nope nope! C'mon, let's go!

Smooth, Daisuke. Real smooth.

In the dub:

Davis: Hey, Cody! Cody: Oh, hi, Davis. What's up? Davis: What's up? Are you crazy? Where are you going!? Cody: I'm going home. I've got kendo practice this afternoon. Davis: What!? Practice later! The Digi-World's in danger! Cody: Sorry, Davis, but my grandfather is the teacher and he would be very disappointed if I missed a lesson. (Cody bows respectfully) Cody: See ya. (Cody leaves) Davis: Yeah, but.... Kari: (approaches) What's the matter with you? Davis: (suddenly cheerful) Kari, great! I'm going to the Computer Room. Why don't you come with me? Kari: Sure, let's go. Davis: (considering) Really? You and I together all alone in the dangerous Digital World? (blushing) Finally! It'll be like my dream come true! Hikari: O_o Excuse me? Davis: (backpedaling) I-I said I'm studying French, parlez-vous?

Cody doesn't mention the police dojo, instead fretting about his grandfather's feelings which seems in-character for him to do.

Davis leaps to the wild conclusion that Kari joining him will result in a romantic outing for just the two of them. Daisuke also reaches that wild conclusion, but we get to watch the gears turn in his head to see how he got there.

Of course, when they arrive at Computer Club, Daisuke's foolish hopes are dashed. Iori may have had to go home but Takeru and Miyako are there, right on time.

Daisuke: Gck... (defeated) They're all here.... Hikari: (approaches Takeru) What's wrong? Takeru: We got an SOS Signal from the Digital World.

That snaps Daisuke out of his funk. Flipping into business mode, he jogs over to look at the map Miyako has on the computer screen. A single square deep in black territory is flashing red.

Hikari: (gasp) Takeru: It's from one of our nakama. Miyako: And the signal's coming from a black area. It's a long ways away from anywhere we've been to before. Hikari: Does that mean the Digimon Kaiser's territory is expanding? Patamon: Did he build a new tower? Miyako: That's possible.

Reckoning with the question that Davis brought up in the dub last episode: Even if we tear down the Dark Towers, what's to stop him from building more?

In the dub:

Davis: Eh... Eheh... (defeated) I just can't win.... Kari: (approaches T.K.) What's going on? T.K.: We just got a message from the Digital World! It's a Distress Call from one of the Digimon! Kari: Who!? T.K.: I'm not really sure yet. Yolei: I've got it! The signal is coming from one of the black areas controlled by the Digimon Emperor, and it's a lot farther than any area we've been to. Kari: Well, this should add to our Frequent Flier Miles. Yolei: According to this map, the Emperor's area is getting a lot bigger! I bet his ego is too!

Not the sickest burn we've ever heard. Sorry, Yolei, but I don't think "Is your ego swelling from the weight of your immense triumph!?" will be the line that breaks the Emperor's spirit.

Daisuke: The Digimon Kaiser is such a jerk. Going to such a far-off place and.... Hikari: ...even as we speak, I'm sure....

Daisuke's mad, but Hikari seems hurt by the unspoken implications they're raising. Her voice cracks as she says her words. Daisuke goes quiet for a moment, watching with concern at how badly this is affecting Hikari. Then he takes charge.

Daisuke: Alright, now that we're all here, let's get moving and go to the Digital World! Upamon: What do you mean, everyone!? Iori's not here dagyaa! Daisuke: He's not coming. Upamon: Why dagyaa? Daisuke: He's got kendo practice. Upamon: What's kendo dagyaa?

Daisuke bops Upamon three times with a rolled up folder.

Daisuke: (top of the head) MEN!!! (hit to Upamon's side) DOU!!! (hit to Upamon's little wing flaps) KOTE!!!

In kendo, there are a few basic attacks you're allowed to make against your opponent. 面 Men is your headgear. 胴 Dou is your chestplate. 小手 Kote are the padded gloves on your arms. You're meant to call out which part you're striking at, as Daisuke does here.

Upamon: WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME DAGYAA!?!? Daisuke: Because that's what kendo is. Upamon: Huh?

There had to be have been a better way to explain it. Daisuke is being a prick.

In the dub:

Davis: It won't be long before he controls the entire Digital World! Kari: Then every single Digimon is in danger. (Davis watches Kari, concerned, for a moment) Davis: Alright, I've had enough of this clown! Let's all head to the Digital World! Upamon: But we have to wait for Cody to get here! Davis: He's not coming! Upamon: What's he doing? Davis: He says he has kendo practice. Upamon: One question: What's kendo? Davis: Yaa! (Davis strikes Upamon three times) Upamon: WHAT DID YOU HIT ME FOR!?!? Davis: You wanted to know what kendo is! Upamon: Huh?

Davis doesn't do the kiais right. He makes one quick "Yaa!" and then attacks three times consecutively to different parts.

Kari and Davis aren't as emotional with their lines. They're bothered, but still forming complete sentences in a matter-of-fact tone. So the moment where Daisuke is struck by how badly Hikari's hurting doesn't carry through well.

Across town, we find Iori at the police dojo with his grandfather.

Iori, breathing heavily, tries to focus. But the image of Upamon flashes before his eyes, distracting him.

Chikara: MEN!!!

Before Iori knows what's happening, Chikara knocks his 竹刀 shinai, a type of bamboo sword designed specifically for kendo, aside and lands an unguarded strike to the top of the head.

After the match, they remove their kendo gear and sit across from one another in Japan's traditional 正座 seiza position.

Chikara: What's wrong, Iori? Your concentration seems to be lacking today. Iori: I apologize, Grandfather.

Linguistic note: The word for grandfather is お祖父さん Ojii-san. It's what Taichi's rude 爺 Jijii insult for Gennai is derived from; A popular bastardization of ojii-san to mean a doddering old codger.

Iori goes the other direction and addresses his grandfather as お祖父様 ojii-sama, using the honorific intended for showing respect to a wise elder, a master, a mentor figure, or other person worthy of immeasurable respect.

Which makes sense, given that Chikara is Iori's master in kendo.

Chikara: Is there something else weighing on your mind? Have you met a girl you like? Iori: I haven't-- Chikara: IORI!!! You and your sword are both too rigid. Your father Hiroki was the same way.

Iori's father is Hiroki. Yamato's father is Hiroaki. Great. Thanks.

Incidentally, Chikara's name 主税 is a homonym for 力 chikara, the word for strength or power. We see that word a lot in anime.

Chikara: Let's take a break.

Chikara unfurls a cloth behind him, the contents of which are obscured. Then he turns back.

Chikara: Iori, would you like a smoochy-smooch too? Iori: O_o ... Chikara: (embarrassed) No, when I say a kiss, I mean this.

Chikara holds up a carton of the Chu x2 or ChuChu Jelly drinks we saw a couple episodes ago. チュチュ Chuchu is an onomatopoeia for the sound of kissing, hence the tragic miscommunication. He was offering Iori a snack.

In the dub, they again replace the specific strike kiais with a generic:

Chikara: HYAAAAA!!! (Chikara strikes; Cut to them sitting across from one another) Chikara: Let's take a break. What's the matter with you today, Cody? You just don't seem to be concentrating enough. Cody: I'm sorry, Grandfather. Chikara: You haven't lost interest in the martial arts, have you? Or hanging out with your old grandpa? Cody: Of course not! Chikara: I can read faces. Your expression tells me that something is troubling you deep inside. Your father acted the same way when he was a boy. (Chikara lays out his cloth) Chikara: I have been to many lands and met many people, and in all my travels, I have found only one thing I can count on. PRUNE JUICE, HA!!! Cody: O_o Huh...? Chikara: YUP, take two big glasses! You'll be fine! (holds up ChuChu carton)

Yeah, we'll file this in the "They were screwed from the outset" category. No way of making the chuchu bit work. Not only that, but they needed something he could say that would fit with the comically distended smooching lips they were given to work with.

Not to mention the censors probably wouldn't let them play a joke where grandpa innocently and accidentally asks a third-grader if he wants some chuchu straight. Like, you could just have him say, "Want a little chuchu?" with the kissing face and kids would get it. But Fox Kids would also get it and they would have you hanged.

There were some severe limitations on how they could possibly play this gag. I'm willing to classify the prune juice moment as "They did the best they could under the circumstances."

They also dropped Chikara asking if Cody's met a girl too, swapping it out for pre-emptive guilting.

My favorite dub moment, however, is "I can read faces." What a unique power you have, grandpa. XD

This replaces "You and your sword are too rigid," which is something Iori's been struggling with since we met him. He has trouble adapting to changing circumstances and reacting impulsively.

Miyako missed out on the first trip to the Digital World because Iori needed to run home, pick up snacks he'd asked his mom to make, and then come all the way back and eat the snacks with the group before they could leave. He can't just go, "Change of plan," and do something else. Which is why he's here, right now, instead of where he clearly thinks he should be.

Fortunately, Chikara's prompting seems to have gotten through to Iori, who accepts the opening to come out with it.

Chikara: What's wrong? Iori: Grandfather, would it be alright if we ended practice here for today? Chikara: Hm? Iori: I feel awful for backing out in the middle of practice but-- Chikara: You may go. It's up to you to decide what it is you must do now, and to have faith in the choice that you have made. Iori: Yes, sir! Please tell Mom that I'll be late coming home!

Iori gathers up his kendo gear and hurries out the door. He stops just past the threshold, turns, and bows to his ojii-sama. Then he leaves quickly, in a rush to get back to Computer Club.

Chikara: (affectionately) He's so like his father.

Then, once Iori's gone, Chikara demonstrates exactly where ChuChu Jelly got its name. Sucking down the packet with loud, obnoxious smooching sounds.

In the dub:

Chikara: You want some? Cody: No thanks. I'm afraid that my problem is even too big for prune juice. Chikara: Hm? Cody: There are others who are counting on me to do something and I'm afraid I might let them down. Chikara: I once told your father: People will rely on you only to the extent that you rely upon yourself. Try your hardest and you won't let anyone down. Cody: Right! I've gotta go, Grandpa! Thanks for the advice! (Cody runs out the door with his gear, then stops and bows) Cody: Seeya! (Cody leaves) Chikara: (kind of offended) No problem is too big for prune juice! (slurp slurp)

XD Okay, they pay off the prune juice thing beautifully. They've made it his Old Man Quirk.

So. Yeah. Iori's problem is that he's here because he can't adapt. He has to keep appointments he's made even when he really should just cancel. And now it's eating him up inside because he knows where he should be instead.

The dub rewrites this as Cody hiding from his responsibilities. He ditched the others because he's insecure about his ability to perform as a DigiDestined. But Chikara gives him a jolt of self-confidence so he can get out there and get it done.

Back at Computer Club, everyone hears footsteps racing down the hall.

Upamon: Ah! Iori came anyway dagyaa! Daisuke: Those aren't Iori's footsteps! EVERYONE HIDE!!!

Including Daisuke, the team uselessly runs around the computer room like headless chickens until it's too late and they're boned. The door slides open, with all of the Digimon still in full view.

Group: Huh...? Hikari & Takeru: JOU-SAN!!! Jou: (entering, nervous) Uh, hi.... Upamon: :-(

Upamon's disappointed, but at least Hikari and Takeru are happy to see Jou again.

Jou: I'd heard about it, but it's still so weird to see Digimon here. Takeru: Guys, this is Kido Jou-san. Daisuke: (pleased) Wow, this guy, huh? Nice to meet you! Miyako: I bet his grades are incredible! Hikari: This is Motomiya Daisuke-kun and Inoue Miyako-san. Takeru: We just received an SOS Signal from the Digital World. Jou: That was from Gomamon. Takeru: Did your Digivice react too?

Everyone's excited to meet Jou. Hopefully this will go better than meeting Yamato did.

In the dub, Joe's footsteps are faint and hard to make out. Contrasting Jou's footsteps, which were loud and frantic, implying a full sprint through the hall.

Upamon: OH BOY!!! I KNEW CODY WOULD SHOW UP!!! Davis: It's not Cody, okay!? Now everybody hide! (Everybody uselessly fails at hiding until Joe enters) Group: Huh!? Kari & T.K.: It's Joe! Joe: Hi, guys. Upamon: :-( Joe: Wow, even though Tai told me about it, it's still strange seeing the Digimon here in the real world. T.K.: This is Joe, our old friend that we told you about. Davis: Oh! The doctor! That's really cool! Yolei: Would you mind taking a look at my tonsils for me? Kari: Joe, this is Davis and Yolei. Joe's not really a doctor yet. T.K.: I'm glad you're here! We got a Distress Call from the Digi-World. Joe: I know. It's from Gomamon. T.K.: So your Digivice was triggered too? That's why you came!

Daisuke and Miyako have no idea who this guy is, but Davis and Yolei have been briefed on the old guard well enough to recognize him as the aspiring doctor.

While Jou and Takeru are talking, Chibimon tries to get into a grocery bag Jou brought with him.

Chibimon: Candy? Candy!?

Jou pulls the bag up away from Chibimon, who hops helplessly in the air trying to reach it.

Jou: Ah! We'll eat these on the other side! Chibimon: The other side? Hikari: Jou-san, you're planning to come with us to the Digital World? Jou: I'm worried about Gomamon.

Takeru holds up his new-type Digivice to show to Jou.

Takeru: The new Chosen Children have Digivices that can open the Gate to the Digital World. Jou: Yes, Koushiro told me about that, and also that a terrible enemy called the Digimon Kaiser has appeared on the other side. Miyako: Right. I'll open the Gate, then. Daisuke: (English) Okay!

The children raise their Digivices to the computer screen and--

Iori: (throwing the door open) I'm sorry! Upamon: (scolding) Iori! You're so late dagyaa! I was about to go to the Digital World by myself dagyaa! Iori: (noticing the new arrival) Ah! Kido-san, right? My name is Hida-- Gate: (chime) Daisuke: Hey, the Gate's open! Miyako: Chosen Children, LET'S ROLL!!!

Okay, this time Miyako can say the line because she's actually coming with them so it's grammatically correct. Sorry for being pedantic. :P

Daisuke and Miyako have no idea who this is, but apparently Iori does.

In the dub:

DemiVeemon: Gimme! (Joe pulls the shopping bag up) Joe: Hey! These are supplies for an emergency! Kari: Do you plan on coming to the Digital World with us, Joe? We could really use your help. Joe: Absolutely. I'm worried about Gomamon. (T.K. shows Joe his new Digivice) T.K.: These are the Digivices of the new DigiDestined. They're the only things that can open the Gate to the Digital World. Joe: Yeah, Izzy gave me a heads up about them. And he also told me all about this jerk that calls himself the Digimon Emperor. Yolei: Alright, let's open the Gate! Davis: Right! (The team prepares to go) Cody: (throwing the door open) What about me!? Upamon: Cody! YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT YOU MADE IT Cody: (to Joe) You're going to have to forgive him. He's hyperactive. Gate: (various electronic noises, nothing distinctive) Davis: Hey, everybody! The Gate's open! Yolei: Alright, come on! Let's GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Original Upamon scolds Iori for being tardy, but Dub Upamon's just excited to see him.

Joe calls his grocery bag full of stuff "emergency supplies". That's a fair description, given what we'll see coming out of that bag.

The Chosen Children cross through the Gate and immediately regret that their Magical Girl costume changes don't dress them in warmer clothes.

Daisuke: Ehhhh It's so cold! What's going on here!? Hikari-chan, are you okay? Hikari: Yep.

Oh, never mind. Daisuke's just being a weenie. Hikari has exposed shoulders and she's fine. Toughen up, Daisuke.

(HIKARI'S GENERATION HAD TO WALK UPHILL BOTH WAYS)

Now that they're in the Digital World, Iori tries again.

Iori: My introduction was cut short a moment ago. I'm Hida--! Daisuke: This is no time for introductions! Jou: Everyone, you can use these if you'd like.

Was that necessary, Daisuke? XD

Jou fishes a set of heating pads out of his bag, passing them around. The package reads "POP! Kairo". カイロ Kairo are disposable air-activated heating pads. Once you open the package, the air triggers an oxidizing chemical reaction in the pad, providing heat for up to 24 hours.

In the smaller text up top, the little guy is saying, "So wa~arm!" Adorable.

Jou: (handing one to Hikari) Here you go. Hikari: Thank you! Takeru: Like always, Jou-san, you came prepared! Jou: Where could Gomamon be?

Once the team senpai, always the team senpai.

In the dub:

Davis: Hey... I hate the cold... Kari, are you okay? Kari: Mhm! Cody: I'm sorry but we weren't properly introduced before we took our trip. My name is Co-- Davis: HEY, I'm freezing my goggles off and you're introducing yourself!? Let's get going! Joe: Here, you can use one of these. (Joe starts passing out heating pads) Joe: They're hand warmers. (handing one to Kari) Kari? Kari: Thanks a lot! T.K.: Boy, leave it to you! Good ol' reliable Joe! Joe: I watch all the survival shows on TV.

Perfect. No notes.

Well, one note. They took out Iori's first attempt at introducing himself to Joe so the gag where he's again thwarted doesn't hit as hard.

They have Joe explain what the pads are, which is good because American kids won't be able to read the packaging nor will they recognize the kind of product.

Miyako struggles to warm her hands with the heating pad, but she's still freezing. (Try taking off the thick gloves, Miyako. Children!)

Miyako: I'm still so cold....

Then she fumbles it, accidentally dropping her pad in the snow.

Miyako: Oh, crap!

Miyako picks up her pad, which has already melted the snow under it. When she does, she reveals a familiar looking eye.

Miyako: Jou-san! Jou: Huh? ACK!!! GOMAMON!!!

The team hurries to unbury Gomamon, revealing the unconscious Digimon barely hanging in, still covered in his Gizamon wounds.

Jou: Gomamon! GOMAMON!!! Gomamon: (comes to) ...Jou.... Jou: Hang in there. Gomamon: You came.... Jou: Of course I did! Even when we're apart, I always worry about you. Gomamon: (teary) Tentomon said we could use the TV to contact you guys.... Jou: (holds up his Digivice to show Gomamon) Yeah, I got your signal.

Armadimon turns up his nose and looks away from Iori.

Armadimon: I bet if I sent out an SOS Signal, Iori wouldn't come for me dagyaa! Iori: Eh? Tailmon: What are you sulking about, Armadimon?

He's still mad that Iori dumped him for kendo. While Armadimon's sulking, Jou pets Gomamon's head, examining his injuries.

Jou: What happened to you? You're covered in wounds. Gomamon: It was him. That scumbag, the Digimon Kaiser!

In the dub:

Yolei: Rgh... rgh... It won't open! ACK!!! (Yolei accidentally drops the pack and melts part of the snow) Yolei: Joe, look! Joe: Huh? WHOA, GOMAMON!!! (The kids unbury Gomamon) Joe: Gomamon, speak to me! Gomamon: (comes to) ...Joe.... Joe: What day of the week is it? Gomamon: ...it's Saturday.... Joe: Actually, it's Thursday. But you never did know the day, so you're back to your old self! Gomamon: I heard from Tentomon that we could use that TV to contact you if we were in trouble. Joe: (holds up his Digivice to show Gomamon) Boy, looks like you're gonna wipe out my whole first aid kit. Armadillomon: I always get misty at happy reunions. I actually think I'm gonna cry. Gatomon: Don't! Your tears will turn to icicles. (Joe pets Gomamon and inspects him) Joe: You really look terrible, Gomamon. But I mean that in a nice way. Gomamon: I picked a fight with the wrong guy: the Digimon Emperor.

So, the good: Joe and Gomamon are cracking jokes but you can still feel the strength of their bond here. They also don't try to downplay the severity of Gomamon's injuries, with Joe's "first aid kit" remark playing off of his "emergency supplies" mention earlier.

For the bad: Yeah, they are whole-ass deleting the conflict between Iori and Armadimon. Carrying on from the exuberance he showed earlier, Armadimon feeling butthurt because Iori went to kendo has been stricken from the script entirely.

While they're having this moment, Daisuke notices the Dark Tower in the distance.

Daisuke: He built a tower over here too? Jou: A what? Hikari: A tower built by the Digimon Kaiser. Takeru: In the area surrounding the tower, the Digimon are fitted with rings called Evil Rings that make them obey the Digimon Kaiser. Hikari: And they can't evolve. Daisuke: DAMN IT!!! We have to destroy it! Hikari: But we'll have to cross this snowfield to reach it. Takeru: It'll be difficult to trek through all this.

Love Daisuke's passion. He already knows all this but hearing it said out loud still gets him fired up.

Koushiro can be forgiven for failing to brief Jou on this part. It's a recent discovery.

In the dub:

Davis: He's built another Control Spire here too! Joe: What's that? Kari: It's the Digimon Emperor's secret weapon! T.K.: He hunts down Digimon and puts these Dark Rings around them, turning them into his slaves! And the Control Spires supply the power to those rings. Kari: And no one can Digivolve. Davis: DUDE!!! I'm gonna rip it down! Kari: But we're gonna have to cross this ice if we hope to get close enough to destroy it. T.K.: Now I know what Matt means when he says I'm walking on thin ice.

Ba-dum tish. This is pretty good. I also had a laugh at the usage of "DUDE" for the line's expletive. They should have everyone shout "DUDE" every time the Japanese script curses. XD

Alright, we need to get across. Fortunately, Miyako has a plan.

Miyako: Did you bring any skis or skates? Jou: (embarrassed) I wasn't that thorough....

Miyako's plan has failed. Daisuke, ideas?

Daisuke: Jou-san! Do you have rope? Jou: Eh!?

V-mon, Hawkmon, and Armadimon knock down trees for resources. The children lash them together with rope, creating a makeshift sled. They tie the five Partners who aren't beat to shit to it.

Daisuke: Whew. Alright! It's done! Miyako: This should be fast. Daisuke: Right, we're counting on you guys now! Armadimon: We'll push through this (ganbaru) and destroy that tower! Hawkmon: Well said! Iori: (smiling) Thank you, Armadimon. Armadimon: (turns away) Hmph.

Yep, he's still mad.

The team piles onto the sled, and Daisuke gives the command.

Daisuke: GO!!!

In the dub:

Yolei: Did you bring any skates? We need six pairs. Joe: Heh, sorry, I'm all out. Davis: Hey, Joe! Do you have any rope? Joe: Yeah? (The team constructs their sled) Davis: Whew! Well, that's done. Yolei: What a great sled! Davis: Now all we have to do is go for a ride! Armadillomon: That's easy for you to say. We're pullin'. Hawkmon: (pouting) I'm no dog.... Cody: Come on, guys! We're counting on you! Armadillomon: (turns away) ... Patamon: Okay! (Everyone gets on the sled) Davis: Now, mush!

This time, to disguise the conflict they removed between Iori and Armadimon, the dub has the Digimon be mad that the inconsiderate humans are using them as sled dogs.

As the Chosen Children make their way to the tower, their arrival doesn't go unnoticed. Over at the prison construction site, Wormmon reports in to the Kaiser.

Kaiser: They're here!? Wormmon: (nod)

Not just here, but coming in at breakneck speed thanks to Daisuke's ingenious plan.

Daisuke: (English) YAHOO!!! Miyako: Faster! Faster!

As they approach the Dark Tower, a line of Yukidarumon standing guard come into view. Daisuke and Miyako are having too much fun to realize what they're seeing, but Hikari and Takeru behind them are visibly on guard.

Miyako: Are those snowmen? There's so many! So cute! Takeru: (serious) No, those are....

Once they're close enough, the Yukidarumon's legs come into view. Each one wearing an Evil Ring as an anklet. While Miyako and Daisuke suddenly realize their mistake, we go to commercial.

Hey, they were being optimistic. It would be nice if these were just playful snowmen that the Kaiser's forces had made in their spare time.

In the dub:

Emperor: So they're here!? Wormmon: Mhm. (The sled shoots across the tundra) Davis: Go, Veemon! Yolei: What a way to travel! (The Yukidarumon come into view) Patamon: Uh-oh. We've got visitors. Yolei: Oh look, snowmen! How cute! T.K.: No, they're Frigimon. But what's that around their legs?

Technically we're the visitors, Patamon. They're stationed here.

This time, it's T.K.'s turn to be optimistic. He was hoping that it's fun jewelry. It is not. It is the least fun that jewelry can ever be.

Coming back from commercial, the Digimon Kaiser watches the sled approach from a nearby hill.

Kaiser: Fire!

On his command, the Yukidarumon unload, throwing punches into the air that send waves of frost towards the sled.

Yukidarumon is an Adult-stage Vaccine-attribute Ice and Snow Digimon. We met one of them on File Island previously. After being freed from their Black Gear, they helped Taichi cross island fragments to reunite with Yamato. He had to spend a night sleeping on Yukidarumon's frozen shoulder while they crossed part of the ocean.

They later joined Mimi's army to fight in the last battle at the end of their world.

Narrator: Yukidarumon! An Adult-stage Digimon with a warm heart who typically avoids fighting. They freeze their opponent with their immensely destructive Zettaireido Punch!

A rare case of an attack name that's partially in Japanese. 絶対零度 Zettaireido means "Absolute Zero".

Under enemy fire, the Partner Digimon move in a zigzag pattern to evade the Yukidarimon's shots. One shot cuts it too close and blasts snow in Daisuke's face.

Daisuke: You...! Jou: We can escape by maintaining our speed and sliding through between them. Daisuke: Escape!? Jou: Our goal here is to destroy the tower, right? Then we'd be better off moving on than getting bogged down in fighting here. Daisuke: Oh! Got it. Takeru: Guys, give it everything you've got! Digimon: RAAAAAAGH!!!

No argument from Daisuke this time. We have a good reason to avoid combat and he accepts it without making a fuss. He's learned his lesson from last episode.

In the dub:

Emperor: Attack! (The Frigimon fire) Emperor: (rundown) Freeze them, Frigimon, with your Sub-Zero Ice Punch! It's amazing how these docile creatures can be turned into such abominable snowmen.

Very flavorful and hits the key point that the Frigimon are typically peaceful creatures. A+

(The Digimon dodge shots until Davis gets snow in his face) Davis: That's cold! Joe: Forget about the Frigimon! They're not very fast! We can outrun them! Davis: What!? Joe: Our mission is to destroy the Control Spire, right? So it's better to keep going than to waste time fighting! Davis: But they're attacking us! T.K.: Joe's right! Run past them! Digimon: (various tired exertion noises)

Davis, on the other hand, has learned nothing.

Just as Jou planned, they shoot straight through the gap in the Yukidarumon blockade and keep right on going.

Miyako: We're in the clear! Daisuke: Piece of cake! Kaiser: Aim for those hills!

On command, the Yukidarumon fire over the Chosen Children's heads. Their shots collide with a snowy hillside.

Daisuke: (triumphant) Where were you even aiming!?

He finds out pretty quick, as their shots dislodge an avalanche of snow coming straight at the Chosen Children's sled.

Daisuke: TURN!!!

A sharp left turn takes them away from the avalanche, but leaves them headed straight for a ravine.

Daisuke: JUMP!!!

The Digimon make it across but the sled nearly doesn't. It takes all the team can muster to pull it up.

In the dub:

Yolei: Alright! Davis: We made it through! Emperor: Aim for that hill! (The Frigimon shoot at the hillside) Davis: They missed us by a mile! (Avalanche) Davis: WHOA!!! IT'S AN AVALANCHE!!! (The sled turns) Kids: (miscellaneous shouting) (They jump the ravine)

Davis doesn't shout in-the-moment commands to guide the sled in this version.

The team makes it over the ravine but they aren't out of the woods yet. Past the ravine, another cliff comes up fast, this one opening out into open water. The sled turns too sharply, nearly upending it. Not everyone manages to hang on.

Most of the kids hang on, but Iori plunges into the icy waters below.

Daisuke: IORI!!! Gomamon: I've got him!

Gomamon leaps from the sled to follow Iori down and rescue him.

(Incidentally, Hikari/Takeru shippers will probably be happy to know that Takeru hangs on to Hikari to keep her from falling at both cliffsides. It's easy to miss because it happens in brief frames of animation.)

Taking shelter in a cave, the team makes a fire to warm Iori up. Armadimon watches Iori with concern while Jou brings him some medicine.

Armadimon: Iori.... Jou: I also have some cold medicine. You should take it. Iori: Yes, thank you. Miyako: (impressed) Senpai came really prepared! Hikari: What do we do now? Iori-kun can't move like this. Takeru: The rest of us will go! Group: Mhm! Daisuke: Yeah!

In the dub:

(Cody falls) Gomamon: I'll save him! (They warm Cody up in the cave) Armadillomon: Warmin' up yet? Joe: Drink this herbal tea. It's 10% herbal and 90% tea. Cody: Thanks a lot, Joe! Yolei: Boy, that Joe really comes prepared. Kari: That's nothing. Wait until you see him during hay fever season. T.K.: We'll have to leave Cody here. Group: Mhm. Davis: WHAT!?!?

Davis inexplicably has a problem with this plan despite having nodded his approval a second ago.

Joe offers Cody herbal tea instead of medicine. There are some herbal teas that are really good for easing cold symptoms.

Kari makes a self-referential quip about the dub's overuse of "Joe's allergies" for comedy in the first anime.

Alright, we have a plan. Everyone's on board, right?

Jou: I'll stay here to look after Iori-kun. Takeru: Thank you. Iori: I'm going too! Takeru: Eh!? Iori: I had to cut my practice short to come here! I won't be able to face my grandfather if I don't do this. Hikari: That's too much to ask of you. Jou: It would be better to let the others handle it. Armadimon: That's right dagyaa. Iori, your wellbeing is more important dagyaa. Iori: Armadimon... Very well, I'll wait here. Daisuke: Leave it to us. We'll smash that tower to pieces!

Just like that, the team sets off, leaving Iori behind with Jou.

In the dub:

Joe: T.K.'s right. I'll stay back here and take care of Cody. T.K.: Thanks, Joe. Cody: I'm going too! T.K.: Huh? Cody: My grandfather told me if I rely on myself and try my hardest, I won't let any of you down! Kari: You're not letting us down. Joe: And besides, you'll need to conserve your strength. Armadillomon: That's right, Cody. We've got a long fight ahead, so we're gonna need you! Cody: I guess you're right... I'll wait here. Don't be gone long! Davis: We'll be back. Quicker than you can say Digimon Emperor!

...what long fight do we have ahead? The fight is where the rest of the team is going. Once they knock down the Control Spire, the Digimon Emperor will lose all forces in the region.

Armadillomon, have you been peeking at the script? Or are he and Joe gaslighting Cody into thinking there'll be more mission after this?

The changes to Cody's episode plot rear their head again here. Iori is upset at being left behind because if he doesn't contribute then he walked out on Chikara for nothing. Cody is upset because he has inadequacy issues and fears disappointing the group.

While the rest of the team takes off on the sled, Jou and Iori sit by the fire with Armadimon and Gomamon for a heart-to-heart.

Jou: Are you okay? Iori: Sorry about that.... Armadimon: Iori, I shouldn't have said that stuff earlier. You left halfway through kendo practice? Iori: That's okay, Armadimon. I wanted to come. Jou: I skipped out on a proficiency test at cram school today. But it can't be helped, because this is what I wanted to do. We're called Chosen Children but, the truth is, we're the ones who have to choose what we should do; What we want to do. Iori: Jou-san....

Iori seems touched by Jou's words, but there's no time to dwell on that 'cause a tremor suddenly rocks the cave. Jou leaps to his feet.

Jou: WHAT THE--!?!?

Scurrying out into the snow, the boys find the Digimon Kaiser waiting for them with (ohhhh my god) beachside marine Digimon Shellmon beside him. Shellmon has a visible Evil Ring around their right bicep.

Shellmon is an Adult-stage Data-attribute Mollusk Digimon. We met one of them on File Island near the very start of the Chosen Children's adventure. They'd made the area around a set of confusing phone booths into their territory.

Kaiser: Huhuhuhu.... Narrator: Shellmon! A primitive Digimon shaped like a hermit crab. Their Hydro Pressure sprays fluid with enough pressure to shatter boulders!

Oh boy, I do not love that the substance Shellmon sprays is not described as water.

In the dub:

Joe: Are you okay? Cody: A little tired. Armadillomon: Me too! I could really use a little nap. I vote we take this opportunity to get some shut-eye! Cody: I couldn't sleep! I feel I should be out there helping the others! Joe: I know exactly what you're feeling. I used to feel that way too, but I thought it was nausea. And then I slowly began to realize something. All of us are here for a reason. There's a big picture that we can't see yet, and I don't mean a widescreen TV. So us staying behind is for a reason! Cody: But what...? (Earthquake; The boys rush outside) Emperor: Huhuhuhuhu.... Emperor: (rundown) Meet my newest slave, Shellmon. His Aqua Blaster attack shoots water so hard, it can demolish solid rock.

Excepting the rundown, this could not be further from script if it tried. First, because the episode deleted Armadimon and Iori's conflict, it also has to delete their reconciliation. Armadillomon is given throwaway dialogue to set up Cody and Joe's talk instead.

Jou's heart-to-heart with Iori was about personal agency. It ties directly into Yamato, Sora, Jou, and Mimi's portion of the first show's final arc. He's passing down the wisdom he learned from those events directly.

Joe makes the exact opposite point that Jou did. We have no choices, we have no control, we are merely the tools of a greater destiny. This is Joe's answer to Cody's feelings of inadequacy. We were all put here for a reason and you just need to have faith that destiny will play out for you.

Which then segues directly into the Emperor's arrival. Implicitly, "Destiny has placed us here so that we may play our role in the grand design of our team's victory." Like, the message does flow pretty well within the episode itself.

It's also about as far from "You have to be the one to decide what you should be doing, what you want to do," as physically possible. And also I have a personal grievance with "Jesus, Take the Wheel" as a philosophy. As a point of personal taste, I don't like teaching children that they are not the arbiters of their lives but merely exist in deference to higher authority, with no true control over what they do. So the dub's version of this rubs me the wrong way.

Even if it's well-executed (and it is), rewriting the episode to sell zero-agency fatalism as a cure for insecurity was never going to sit well with me. It's well-fitted, but I do not like this.

In any case, moving along. The Digimon Kaiser has made a grievous tactical error, and it falls to Jou and Iori to punish his mistake.

Kaiser: I hope you don't think that you can escape from me.

Jou casts a look at the Dark Tower, standing tall in the distance, then whispers to Gomamon.

Jou: Gomamon, we need to stall him here while Takeru-kun's team destroys the tower. I'm sorry, I know you're still injured, but I need you to prolong this fight for as long as possible. Gomamon: Got it.

Gomamon hops down from Jou's arms and pads across the snow, calling out to Shellmon.

Gomamon: HEY, SHELLMON!!! COME AND GET ME!!!

Shellmon's happy to acquiesce, raising their giant hand and slapping it down where Gomamon was standing. Gomamon hops backward to evade.

Jou: (thinking) Takeru-kun, Hikari-chan, hurry and get to that tower!

...Armadimon and Iori, meanwhile, hug each other uselessly by Jou's side. Armadimon's in fine condition but sure, let's make Gomamon fight Shellmon.

I understand the reasoning of not wanting to Armor Evolve and trash Shellmon. We're trying to hold the Kaiser's attention here, so winning right away would be as bad as losing right away. But we could at least put in a Digimon who isn't beat half to death.

In the dub:

Emperor: It appears I've discovered your secret little hideout. (Joe glances at the tower) Joe: Gomamon! Now I know the reason we were supposed to stay behind: So the others can have time to destroy the Spire. I need you to create a diversion. Keep him busy with some of that great Gomamon charm of yours. Gomamon: Gotcha! (Gomamon approaches Shellmon) Gomamon: Why did one Shellmon take the other Shellmon's lunch? Because it was shellfish! (Shellmon tries to crush Gomamon) Gomamon: I guess you heard that one already! Joe: (thinking) That's the great Gomamon charm!?

Joe's newfound fatalism shows up here again, and I still don't like it.

Gomamon trying to wow Shellmon with dad jokes instead of stall out the fight arguably works better than the original, because it sidesteps the question of "Wait, why aren't we sending Armadimon in instead?" Could Armadillomon crack wise like Gomamon? I think not!

The other team's closing in on the Dark Tower, but the Yukidarumon have regrouped and formed a new barricade in front of it.

Daisuke: This time, we fight! Let's go, V-mon! V-mon: Yeah! Daisuke: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

Fladramon armors up and engages. Three of the Yukidarumon let off shots of their Zettaireido Punch. Fladramon hurdles their shots and returns fire. The triple projectiles from his Knuckle Fire hit home, knocking the three foes off their feet.

In the dub:

Davis: Time to get down to business! Veemon, let's do it! Veemon: Mm! Davis: DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!!

Over at the other fight, Gomamon's still holding the line by dodging Shellmon's crushes.

Jou: KEEP GOING (ganbarre) GOMAMON!!! Iori: Armadimon. Armadimon: Iori. Iori: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

A minor detail that's easy to overlook but more visible here is that Jou has a reassuring and/or guiding hand gripping Iori's shoulder. Ever the senpai.

Clad in his armor, Digmon catches Shellmon's hand moments before it can come down on Gomamon. An animation error clones Shellmon's hand, causing it to exist in simultaneous quantum states of reaching for Digmon while also closed around Digmon.

Jou: Is that Armor Evolution!? (Digmon catches Shellmon's hand) Digmon: GOMAMON, MOVE!!! Gomamon: Thanks!

Get out of there, Gomamon. Shellmon is so determined to punish you for your dub counterpart's dad joke that they sprouted new limbs to do it with. XD

In the dub:

Gomamon: You have no sense of humor! Joe: Try the knock-knock jokes!

Bit too late for that. Shellmon's more into slapstick.

Cody: (to Armadillomon) Are you ready? Armadillomon: You bet. Cody: DIGI-ARMOR ENERGIZE!!! (Armadillomon Armor Digivolves) Joe: Armor, huh? Not bad! (Digmon catches Shellmon's hand) Digmon: URGH!!! Gomamon: Thanks, Digmon! Digmon: You're welcome!

Good news, Gomamon's out of there. Bad news, Digmon's in there and getting crushed. Worse news, Jou's so awestruck by Armor Evolution that he's let go of Iori.

I'm gonna have to take back that Senpai Cookie, Jou, as Iori steps out into the danger zone out of concern for Partner.

Iori: Digmon...

Shellmon changes tactics suddenly. Letting go of Digmon, they lower their head and prepare to fire their signature non-water fluids.

Jou: LOOK OUT!!!

Digmon throws himself on top of Iori just before Shellmon fires, taking the force of Hydro Pressure to his back.

Digmon: I will protect you, Iori dagyaa.

The Digimon Kaiser watches this display of affection coldly and dispassionately. But, at his feet, Wormmon's eyes quiver with emotion from the strength of the bond he's seeing.

Shellmon slams their hand down on Digmon's back again and again, but Digmon weathers each hit. Unfaltering in his determination to protect his Partner.

In the dub:

Cody: Hey... Leave him alone.... Shellmon: AQUA BLASTERS!!! Joe: CODY!!! (Digmon takes the hit for Cody) Digmon: Don't worry, Cody! I'll proteck you! Emperor: Rrgh! Wormmon: Mrr....

Digmon mispronounces "protect" and it's super noticeable. XD In his defense, he's under pressure right now.

Shellmon calls their attack in this version. Additionally, the Emperor and Wormmon both vocalize noises rather than silently watching.

Cutting back momentarily to the Tower team, Fladramon knocks down three more Yukidarumon with a second shot of Knuckle Fire.

Fladramon: KNUCKLE FIRE!!! Daisuke: Get 'em! Takeru: Fire attacks are very effective against Yukidarumon. We should leave this part to Daisuke-kun. Hikari: We can take to the air and destroy the tower from there. Miyako: Got it.

While they're making plans, Digmon's had enough time to devise a plan of his own.

Clutching Iori to his chest with his scoops, Digmon times his moment. When Shellmon raises their hand for another slam, Digmon rolls onto his back and fires three drills, aiming for the arm that keeps slamming down on him.

Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!!

The rockets break through the Evil Ring, releasing Shellmon from the Kaiser's control.

Jou & Gomamon: YOU DID IT!!!

The dub censors out most of Shellmon's slam. They slam their hand down on Digmon's back five times, with the last two cutting to a closeup of Iori lying under Digmon and watching helplessly. The dub lets Shellmon do one before cutting away.

Flamedramon: FLAMEDRAMON, THE FIRE OF COURAGE!!! Davis: Strike three! T.K.: Flamedramon can handle the Frigimon by himself so it's up to us to destroy the Spire. Kari: Okay, but I think we're gonna have to do it from the air. Yolei: Got it.

They played the wrong stock audio clip for Flamedramon's attack. Man, everybody is fucking up left and right for this third act. International clown show.

More censorship when we cut back to Digmon. Shellmon gets another five slams in before Digmon counters, with the first two coming during the same closeup shot of Iori. The dub lets them have none, instead splicing in a single straining reaction of Digmon tanking the Aqua Blasters to replace all shots.

The impression the dub creates is that Shellmon simply grabbed Digmon and is pinning him to the ground. Why Shellmon suddenly lets go of Digmon is anyone's guess.

Digmon: Hold on tight, Cody! (Shellmon lets go and Digmon rolls onto his back, then fires) Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!! (Gold Rush destroys Shellmon's Dark Ring) Joe & Gomamon: ALRIGHT!!!

In any case, it's over. Shellmon's defeated and--

AND THEN THERE'S THIS ASSHOLE

With zero warning, a new contender explodes from the water. This is a new one. Ebidramon is an Adult-stage Data-attribute Aquatic Digimon. First introduced in the Sega Saturn's "Version S", Ebidramon was then added in the .5 update for the Deep Savers V-Pet.

Their name is derived from 海老 ebi, which means shrimp, lobsters, prawn... that whole category of shellfish. And, of course, they are a dramon. The Lobster Dragon Digimon. Crayfish dragon? Crawdragon!

Narrator: Ebidramon! Though small in stature, they still possess the tremendous attack power typical of the dramon class. Their special attack is a rushing charge with both pincers called Twin Neptune! Kaiser: Crush them, Ebidramon!

Before Digmon knows what's happening, Ebidramon clamps their pincers down on his neck and nose drill. Ebdramon then lunges backwards, yanking Digmon into the water with them. He's gone in seconds.

Jou and Iori race to the water's edge, but they're gone. Sinking into the depths, already out of sight.

Iori: DIGMON!!! Jou: If only Gomamon could evolve... Oh, why haven't they brought down the tower yet!?

As if on cue, Hikari, Takeru, and Miyako close in on the Tower. Nefertimon's Curse of the Queen, pronounced correctly this time, softens up the metal or stone or whatever it's made of near the base.

Pegasmon follows up with Needle Rain, pummeling chunks out of the softened material until his needles have carved out a sizable chunk.

Then Horusmon finishes the job. The red crescent blade of his Mach Impulse cuts through the weakened base, bringing the tower toppling to the ground.

Jou: It's coming down! Now you'll be able to evolve! Gomamon: Yeah! Kaiser: What!? Wormmon: The other ones must have destroyed the tower. Kaiser: YOU SHUT UP!!!

Operation Mordor was a triumphant success, and the Kaiser's livid about it. I love Wormmon's matter-of-fact explanation. I wonder if he'd already considered that this might be happening but kept his mouth shut to avoid invoking Ken-chan's ire?

It needs to be said that, mechanically, our situation right now makes zero sense based on previously established information. Even with the Dark Tower destroyed, it only acts as a transmitter for the Dark Digivice's power. The Kaiser should have that in his pocket, and thus still be able to suppress Gomamon's evolution.

But also Ebidramon's Evil Ring should be falling off, making it a moot point. Unless the Dark Digivice is sustaining that too. But if it is, then why isn't it suppressing Gomamon's evolution?

That we still need to defeat Ebidramon but the Kaiser can't stop Gomamon from evolving is... confusing.

In the dub:

Emperor: (rundown) No problem. I'm never out of ideas or slaves. Ebidramon here uses his Twin Scissors attack to crush the enemy like a snail. Emperor: Ebidramon, destroy them all! (Ebidramon pulls Digmon into the water) Cody: DIGMON!!!

The dub puts its last commercial break here, as we watch Digmon sink into the depths. Good spot for it.

Joe: If there were some way you were able to Digivolve... What's taking them so long with that Spire!?

As usual, Needle Rain and Mach Impulse are rebranded as Star Shower and Tempest Wing. Curiously, Curse of the Queen is rebranded as nothing. Nefertimon fires without calling any attack.

Joe: They did it! They destroyed the Control Spire! Now you can Digivolve! Emperor: What!? Wormmon: He said, "They destroyed the Control Spire. Now you can Digivolve." Emperor: It's just a figure of speech!

Not quite as on-the-nose about the way Joe and Cody played the Emperor like a fiddle just now, or how pissed off the Kaiser is about it.

Well, you heard the man. Gomamon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Deep beneath the waves, Ebidramon has one pincer still gripping the drowning Digmon by the neck while the other bashes on his skull. Ikkakumon descends, jamming his horn into the base of the pincer and prying Digmon free.

Digmon and Ikkakumon return to the surface, but Ebidramon pursues Ikkakumon to retaliate.

Digmon: OVER HERE!!!

When Ebidramon turns to face him, Digmon fires.

Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!!

Digmon's drill missiles slam into Ebidramon's forehead, ricocheting off without detonating but stunning them from force of impact.

Iori: GREAT JOB!!! Jou: FINISH IT, IKKAKUMON!!! Ikkakumon: HARPOON VULCAN!!!

Ebidramon barely manages to recover from the last attack before Ikkakumon's missile strikes the top of their head. They're swept up in a massive, battle-ending explosion, never to be seen again.

...

...

Wait, did we just kill that guy?

The. The ring was on their upper right arm, like Shellmon. But this is the last we see of Ebidramon so... we may have just killed that guy.

We'll. Uh. We'll hope for the best.

In the dub:

(Ikkakumon frees Digmon and everyone surfaces) Digmon: Now it's my turn! (Ebidramon turns to look) Digmon: GOLD RUSH!!! (Direct hit) Cody: YOU'VE GOT HIM!!! Joe: FINISH HIM, IKKAKUMON!!! Ikkakumon: HARPOON TORPEDO!!!

I think we killed Ebidramon in the dub too. I'm putting this on both versions of Jou getting a little bloodthirsty. Force of habit.

Once Ebidramon's fucking dead I guess, the Kaiser again quietly pisses off. Probably hightailed it out of there when he realized Jou's not playing. He will send your ass back to the Village of Beginnings. He does not give a fuck.

The children return to the Gate to unpack.

Jou: Well, Gomamon, this area is yours. Gomamon: Yeah, I'll be in charge of protecting this area from now on. Jou: If anything like this happens again, I'll come right away. Gomamon: Sounds good. Takeru: In that case, let's head home.

It's a good idea, but not quite yet. There is something that Iori has to take care of first.

Iori: Um, this has been bothering me for a while.... Jou: What is it, Iori-kun? Iori: One more time. My name is Hida Iori.

Iori bows respectfully to Jou, completing his introduction.

Daisuke: It's a little late to be giving introductions! Iori: No, once you start something, it's important that you see it through to the end. Hikari: Iori-kun is so conscientious and honest, just like Jou-san! Takeru: He also has an insatiable thirst for knowledge, like Koushiro-san. Jou: One person to fill two roles. What a dependable kouhai! Iori: (blushing) Daisuke: (teasing) Yup, so dependable!

Laying it on a little thick, guys. XD We get it, the new kids are each successors to two separate Chosen Children.

In the dub:

Joe: Alright, Gomamon, you're in charge here now. Gomamon: (sarcastic) Great, a frozen wasteland. Just what I always wanted. Joe: At least you'll have plenty of time to practice your jokes. Gomamon: Very funny. T.K.: I guess we'd better be heading back home.

Dub Joe and Gomamon have a very different relationship from what Jou and Gomamon have, but you can still feel the affection all the same.

Cody: Before we go, there's one thing I just have to finish. Joe: Oh, really? What's that? Cody: Our introduction. Hello, my name's Cody. (Cody bows respectfully) Davis: I don't get it, Cody. What's the big deal? Cody: My grandfather says that, next to prune juice, manners are the most important thing a man can have. Davis: Ehehe.... Kari: You know, Cody reminds me an awful lot of Joe. He's always honest and sticks to the rules! T.K.: I think he reminds me of Izzy. Just loaded with curiosity! Joe: Part Izzy and part me? That's a scary combination! Davis: He's got a split personality!

Pretty good. I will say that Cody's response doesn't really address Davis's point adequately. Though Davis also doesn't quite convey his objection very well either. Daisuke is specifically confused because we're well beyond the point where an introduction would make sense, but Iori feels he has to go through the formality nonetheless because it's something he's been trying to do.

This plays into the incident with his mom's ohagi and the kendo incident today. This is how Iori thinks. He is a ball in motion. It doesn't matter if the gesture is unnecessary. It's a matter of principle. He must complete the task he set out to do, regardless of whether that task is even beneficial to anyone anymore. He is a child of obligation.

Cody says he needed to do it because of good manners, but this fails to suitably answer the question, "What's the point of doing it now?" A question that Davis only sort of asks anyway so... Again, this flows okay, but it's a pale imitation of the original dialogue.

My other nitpick is that the erasure of Cody's first attempt at introducing himself means we violated Rule of Three. This isn't something he's been repeatedly thwarted in. But it is still something he started and was interrupted during, so it still works.

From his control room, the Digimon Kaiser watches that black square turn white. (Must have been some lag.) He grips the arms of his chair angrily.

Kaiser: The area I just captured... Well then, let's change things up a bit, Wormmon. What do you think our next step should be? Wormmon: ... Kaiser: Wormmon! Wormmon: You said not to talk. Kaiser: ANSWER THE QUESTIONS YOU'RE ASKED!!! Wormmon: AHHHH I'M SORRY!!!

In Wormmon's defense, this is new. The Kaiser has barely acknowledged his existence since episode 1. Hikari's team must have him rattled if he's looking to Wormmon for ideas.

Speaking of whom, the Chosen Children return to Computer Club.

Daisuke: Serves the Digimon Kaiser right! He must be losing his mind over the liberation of an area he just conquered! Hikari: And we're only getting started. Iori: Jou-san, I hope you'll come here again. Jou: Yeah, my Digimental is sure to turn up at some point, so I'll make sure to drop by. Iori: Also, please come by my house sometime. I think my grandfather would be pleased to meet you. Jou: Is that right? In that case-- Hikari: (appearing out of nowhere) I WANT TO GO TOO!!! I've heard your ohagi is ama~azing.... Daisuke: (appearing out of nowhere) If Hikari-chan goes then I'm going too! Hikari: You can't, Daisuke-kun! Daisuke: Ehh!? (whining) But whyyyyy.... Hikari: Because you and Chibimon would eat my portion too! Daisuke: Chibimon, you can't come. Chibimon: EHHHH!?!? THAT'S SO MEAN, DAISUKE!!! Iori: Um, I can ask my mother to make enough for everyone. Miyako: In that case, I'm going too! Takeru: Me too! Daisuke: Eh!? Takeru too!?

We leave off the episode here, on this unmitigated disaster that's about to be unleashed on Iori's poor mother. She does not deserve this.

In the dub:

Emperor: Blast! They've destroyed another Control Spire! And that was a freshly-conquered area, too! Alright, then. I'll just have to go to Plan B! ...Wormmon, what is Plan B? Wormmon: ... Emperor: Well!? Wormmon: We can all become friends? Emperor: THAT'S NOT PLAN B, YOU FOOL!!! Wormmon: Don't blame me; I can't spell!

Because the dub's been having the Emperor treat Wormmon as a toadie all series, the impact of him suddenly acknowledging Wormmon isn't going to land here. So they pragmatically swap out the "SHUT UP" "You told me not to talk" gag for a different gag. The new bit features a genuinely adorable moment of optimism from the poor long-suffering Wormmon.

I love both versions of this scene.

Davis: I bet he's home crying. "Mommy, those mean kids broke another one of my Spires! Wahhhh!" Kari: The fight's not over yet. Cody: Joe, will you come back and fight with us again? Joe: Sure. Who knows, maybe I'll even find a Digi-Egg of my own someday. But I have to watch my cholesterol.

I had to google the relationship between eating eggs and high cholesterol in order to get that. But Joe is an aspiring doctor so it's just like him to make inscrutable medical jokes that no one around him gets.

Cody: I was wondering if you'd like to come over to my house sometime. I think you'd like my grandfather and I know he'd like you. Joe: Sure, I love prune juice. Kari: (appearing out of nowhere) Is it okay if I come over too? I would just love meeting your grandfather! Davis: (appearing out of nowhere) If Kari's going, I'm going too! Kari: Do you always have to do everything I do? Davis: But you and I are partners! Kari: Sorry, Davis, but you already have a partner. Davis: Uh, you mean him? DemiVeemon: Yeah! You got a problem with that!? Davis: Ugh, it's just not the same.... Everyone: Hahahahahahaha! Narrator: Where will the Digimon Emperor build his next Control Spire? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

This banter's a lot more playful in the original, where the whole time gradually dogpiles on Iori's family ohagi. The dub version is a steady dunk on Davis for his (and Daisuke's) flirtations with Hi/Kari.

Including yet another clear and firm rejection of Davis's affections that he will ignore, as opposed to Hikari who seems to appreciate Daisuke's friendship and tends to tiptoe around the elephant in the room.

Hikari's attitude towards Daisuke tends to be... Like, she has to know. There's no way she's oblivious, with how thick he lays it on. But I think she's trying to gently avoid getting caught up in a situation where they need to actually have it out. She's trying to keep their friendship where it is without having to reject Daisuke's feelings to his face and risk breaking their relationship entirely. Silently pleading with him not to pursue this and the complications it would bring.

That's the impression I get.

Whereas Kari is very much, "Ugh, it's this asshole again." She's being harassed and she wants it to stop, but Davis won't take no for an answer.

Assessment: Once again, we have destroyed a Dark Tower and set free the Digimon that the Kaiser had enslaved. Except Ebidramon. Fuck that guy in particular, apparently.

Man, this episode went to fuck in its final act. Animation errors, dubbing errors, plot inconsistencies, and also we killed that guy. I haven't seen shit this messy since that time the dub team accidentally let random children playing in the studio get dubbed over the footage.

I definitely didn't appreciate Iori enough as a kid. I remembered him as the forgettable other new kid, but he has a wealth of personality and identity. Reminiscent of Jou and Koushiro but in ways that make him distinct and unique.

Not sure if neurodivergent or just overly well-mannered but this poor kid's trapped in a cage forged from his own neuroses.

And now... I'm hyped for next episode 'cause pattern recognition says it's time for...!

[digimoninteractions]

[ID: Screenshots from the second eyecatch of Digimon Adventure Zero Two. Image 1: Wormmon leaps onto Ken's shoulder, Hikari crouches beside Tailmon, Takeru holds Patamon, and V-mon, Armadimon, and Hawkmon stand beside their human partners. Image 2: All the kids embrace their partners. Image 3: A close up of all the kids together holding their partners. End ID]

[digitalgate02]

Friend and I were having a brainstorming hours ago about Rui and Meiko and i'd like to quote it:

(for reference, we were talking about the shitpost edit i made)

Friend: OH MY GOD MEIKO BEING THERE IS MAKING ME LOSE MY SHIT Me: Meiko is here because i had no patience to edit Pipimi for another character LMAO but Meiko probably would get along with Rui, FITE ME Friend: yeah LOL and yeah she would well, she's older than him so even if he's technically senpai as a Chosen, she's senpai in all other respects Me: Meiko and Rui do not have siblings so i can see Meiko enjoying having someone close to a "sibling" because idk why, she would both had too much BS in their lives they can relate to to some extent Friend: it would be hilarious if they met through the Chosen network without the others putting them together so Meiko tells Taichi and the others (whom she's still in frequent contact with) that she picked up this cute kouhai and Rui tells the 02 kids he's been talking to this nice girl lately and then one day when they figure it out it's like WAIT- Me: i mean, i dunno if the 02 kids know Meiko besides Takeru and Hikari and the older six meeting Rui… so it would be even funnier if they didn't know, but then Takeru and Hikari just connect the dots it's like the idea someone had of Ken and Wallace being sort of penpals but not realizing-- Friend: so basically Meiko, Rui, and Wallace end up being chatroom penpals completely outside the others noticing- Me: good, i'd see it happening LOL Friend: Iori: I know what they say about six degrees of separation, but this is… Me: Takeru and Hikari are like "oh my god… all of you…" basically Digimon Adventure Outsiders [/making a parody of that Kamen Rider spinoff of course] Friend: yes LOL

If i weren't focused on Re:Connect and other things i'd write this down, or make some silly comics of it.

Rui, Meiko and Wallace start their own group. The shenanigans of the movie-exclusive characters lol

[bagerfluff]

Right Where I Want To Be

Older Takaishi Takeru x Non-Binary Reader

Prompt - “You’re endearing when you're half asleep”

You looked over at Takeru.

He was leaning against a tree with a book in his lap. His face was intently looking at the book, not looking up no matter what.

Meanwhile you were playing with Daisuke.

Everyone had decided to go to the Digiworld since it was a school holiday.

Miyako and Hikari were talking about something, and so was Lori and Ken, while you and Daisuke played with a soccer ball.

Takeru, on the other hand, was just sitting under a tree. He had sat there when you guys first got here, and it’s been about two hours since then.

You wanted to know what Takeru was doing over there, why wasn’t he relaxing? You knew Takeru had a lot of work to be done.

He was trying to get better at his writing skills while being on the basketball team.

You looked back at Daisuke, trapping the ball under your foot. “I’m going to check on Takeru”, you said.

Lightly kicking the ball back to Daisuke. “Come on”, Daisuke said, clearly saddened by the fact his play buddy was leaving.

“Ask Ken to play with you, he’s better than me”, you said to Daisuke, not looking back at him.

You heard Daisuke call Ken behind you but you didn’t listen to anything after that.

You walked over to Takeru, him not even looking up at you as you did. “Whatcha doing?” You asked once you were standing in front of Takeru.

Takeru looked up at you, “writing”, he answered. You turned around and sat next to Takeru, “really? You could do that later”, you said while glancing at the paper.

“Well I have to practice”, Takeru said simply. You shook your head and leaned back, placing your arms behind your head.

Takeru looked at you before glancing at the others. Lori had joined Hikari and Miyako while Ken and Daisuke kicked the soccer ball around.

“You could be hanging out with the others”, Takeru said out loud. “Eh, I would rather be with you”, you said simply.

Takeru snapped his head towards you, “really?” He asked, closing his notebook. You tilted your head over to him, a smile on your face.

“Yeah, I need to rest anyway, remind me to never play soccer with Daisuke ever again”, you said.

Takeru laughed and placed his stuff on the ground. Takeru scooted closer to you, “what even made you try to”, Takeru asked.

You started talking about playing soccer with Daisuke and what made you do it.

“Sounds pretty bad, if you didn’t want to then why didn’t you come sit with me when we first came here?”

Takeru asked while you shook your head, “you looked like you needed to be alone for a bit, besides I thought it would be good exercise”, you explained.

You did all of this as you watched Ken and Daisuke run around with smiles on their faces. Takeru smiled, nodding along with your explanation.

Takeru leaned closer to you, resting his head on your shoulder.

You hummed and rested your head against Takeru’s. “Sleepy?”, you ask, making Takeru nod in confirmation.

Takeru closed his eyes, feeling sleepy with how relaxed he was. You smiled and brought a hand to his hair, absentmindedly playing with it.

Takeru yawned and cuddled closer into your side. You moved your hand down to Takeru’s waist and held him tighter.

“Were you telling the truth?” Takeru asked, half asleep. You hummed and lifted your head up to look at him.

“When you said you’d rather be with me doing nothing”, Takeru mumbled.

“I have fun when I’m with you, so yes. I would rather be with you doing nothing then doing anything with anyone”, you kept your voice low while talking.

Making sure that Takeru could fall asleep. Takeru smiled and pushed his head closer to your neck, nuzzling his nose against it.

“Hmmm, I like that”, Takeru said, though it was hard to hear since it was said into your neck.

You let out a little laugh, Takeru was cute when he was half-asleep. “You’re endearing when you're half asleep”, you said.

Takeru blushed and hummed against your neck. You looked at the others. Ken and Daisuke were laying on the ground laughing together.

Miyako and Lori were talking about something while Hikari and Tailmon talked. Everyone was doing their own thing, the thing that made them happy.

And you were doing what made you happy. You were with Takeru. You closed your eyes, leaning your head on Takeru’s.

You soon fell asleep, right where you wanted to be.

[beginningobserver]

TTRPG with 02 Kiddos ft Rui-kun

[AO3 Version]

• Canon compliant (KenMiya/Kenyako) + 02 group and Rui-kun (also includes DaiLui) • Comedy; Teen/Adult audiences.

Story: Takeru liked to read storybooks as a kid. He really enjoyed those stories from different places and cultures, myths and folktales. It’s not a surprise he was aiming to be a professional writer, and it was also working on his childhood memories alongside the digimon and the Chosen Children. It’s also not a big surprise that he would find fun in writing TTRPG sessions with friends -- yes, Hikari, Iori, Daisuke, Ken and Miyako. But this time he prepared something extra fun for their new friend, Rui.

-------------------//-------------------

The group of fearless warriors kept walking through the forest looking for the great evil who is trying to destroy their world and kingdom. In this group they had…

“Hey, Takeru quit narrating everything and hurry up! The kingdom won’t be saved if you keep doing monologues!!”

“Ah… But you see, I’m--”

“He’s right,” V-mon pouted, “Don’t you want to save the kingdom ruled by our king!?”

“Who was the king again…?” Patamon blinked.

“YOU FORGOT WHO’S OUR KING!?” Daisuke and V-mon gasped dramatically.

“... Did we mention a king before?”

“It’s Taichi-san,” Takeru explained, “Since he’s working in a Digital World-related department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs… Makes sense for him to be a king, right?”

“True,” Patamon nodded sagely.

“Y’ALL ARE WASTING OUR TIME!!” Daisuke interrupted them again, “Taichi-san will be mad if we don’t beat the great evil!”

“Huh, what’s ‘the great evil’ again?” Miyako popped in.

“The great evil, Ow the Edge. ”

“What?” Iori squinted his eyes, “I thought you would put Ichijouji-san as the enemy.”

“Excuse me…?” Ken looked at them, frowning, “My days of villainy have ended a long time ago, I don’t want to be the bad guy anymore.”

“Besides, I don’t want to date the villain!” Miyako pouted, “Unless you want an evil couple.”

“Here she goes, talking about her relationship status again,” Daisuke muttered in a growl. He hated the fact he’s still unable to confess his feelings for Hikari.

“What did you say, Dai-su-ke?” Miyako grabbed her guitar in hands, ready to smash it into Daisuke’s head.

“N-nothing??!” He babbled, wavering.

“I think we’re going off-topic,” Tailmon interrupted them, unamused.

“Who’s Ow the Edge, Takeru-san?”

“Ow the Edge…” Daisuke squinted, “Ain’t you making fun of Sh※d※w the H※dg※h※g, are ya!?”

“No, it’s definitely not related to Sh※d※w the H※dg※h※g. It’s just Ow the Edge.”

Daisuke’s brain couldn’t tell if Takeru was trolling them or being serious.

“Anyway, Ow the Edge is the evil guy and we’re going to beat him right now.”

“Wait a second,” They all looked at the seventh human there on the table, Rui.

“What is it, Rui-kun?” Hikari asked.

“I… I don’t understand why Takaishi-kun gave me this paper and told me to memorize it…”

“Oh I just made up something for you, to read. Don’t worry~”

Daisuke whispered to Rui, “When he says that, get ready for something terrible happening to your character. Trust me and Ken, we’re his favorite victims.”

Ken nodded in silence, agreeing with Daisuke. Rui was still not sure what that meant though….

“Where were we again?” Takeru said, then he cleaned his throat and proceeded with the story.

The group had the most loyal knight of the kingdom in the lead who wielded a glaive, a magician and a bard couple (the bard girl had an axe which was also her guitar, the magician boy a twin spear with the ability to turn enemies into allies when touched by its edges), a duo of archers wielding crossbows and a swordsman (the youngest of them!)

They were going into the Forbidden Forest and--

“One question,” Wormmon stopped the group, “Why is it forbidden?”

“You see, little familiar, the forest is forbidden because it’s off the kingdom’s domains.”

“So we would be violating by trespassing, am I correct?” Iori deadpanned.

“But we’re six people and six digimon,” Armadimon added, “To not be trespassing we should just let two people pass.”

“... Makes sense” Daisuke and V-mon mused.

“No, it makes no sense at all,” Ken sighed.

“Can you please let Takeru continue?” Tailmon stared at them.

“Ahem,” Takeru cleaned his throat again,

They were going into the Forbidden Forest and suddenly… It started raining. Then, the knight said…

“Alright, leave it to me, I’m a master of the lightning spells!”

“Is he really the right person for that?” Miyako whispered to Takeru, “Letting Daisuke play with fire is not a smart idea…”

“HEY, I have the Digimentals of Courage and Friendship!” Daisuke snapped, “It’s obvious I’d be experienced in fire and lightning magic!”

“True,” V-mon nodded, “It’s not like Daisuke had exploded things while cooking!”

“Yeah it’s not-- HEY!!” Daisuke stared at V-mon, angrily.

“I think I should use the power of my Digimental” Iori looked at his sword, “Why would we need The Digimental of Friendship if there’s no Lightnin--”

A strong lightning crashed into their direction, but the knight’s Lighdra-glaive’s spells protected the group.

“... Nevermind,” Iori blinked.

“Are you okay, Miyako-san?” Ken asked Miyako, who he was shielding with his own body.

“Y-yeah… I am, thank you Ichijouji-kun” she answered with a smile.

“Miyako-san…”

“Ichijouji-kun…”

They were going to kiss, but--

“STOP FLIRTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RAIN!!” Daisuke shouted, “I’M NOT A WALKING UMBRELLA FOR THAT!!”

“But you’re protecting us from the lightning, not from the rain,” Hawkmon corrected him.

“It’s Iori who is protecting us from the rain” Tailmon gestured to the boy using the Submari-Sword to keep them dry.

“But we’re not like third wheels for their romance!” Daisuke pouted.

“We’re six digimon and six humans, so we would’ve been the third, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten wheels” V-mon said as he counted in his fingers.

“I don’t mean it literally!! ”

“Oh…”

“I don’t mind that,” Iori said, then he and the group kept walking in the rain, but the sword was generating a force field protecting them from the water.

“Fine, fine… But stop flirting while we’re working!” Daisuke growled, and then kept using his glaive to control the lightning away from them.

“But…” Rui interrupted them again,

“Was it, Rui?” V-mon asked this time.

“Wouldn't it be more effective if they could seek a place to stay and wait for the rain to stop?”

They looked at each other and then to Rui…

“Are you criticizing Takeru’s story?” Patamon stared at Rui.

“Uh…”

“ANYWAY!!” Takeru said quickly, before they could get into a fight.

The group kept going through the dense and eerie Forbidden Forest,

“Why is it raining here though?” Wormmon asked, still on Ken’s back.

“Because of a spell casted by Ow the Edge” Takeru explained, “Human beings are not allowed in his territory.”

“Well, we should be closer!” Daisuke seemed fired up, then he pointed at the lair in the horizon, “THERE IT IS, THE… THE…”

The Lair of the Great Evil -- The LOGE.

“The Loge?” Hikari tilted her head.

“Are we going to a theater then?” Miyako blinked.

“No, the LOGE, not loge” Takeru corrected them, “It's an abbreviation of the ‘Lair of the Great Evil’.”

“Shouldn’t it be ‘LOTGE’ then?” Ken asked, unfazed.

“Lodge?” Daisuke frowned.

“No, it’s LOGE, we shouldn’t count ‘the’ there!” Patamon snapped.

“Why would you name it with a HARD abbreviation like that!?” V-mon complained.

“Oh I like to see your reactions” Takeru smiled.

“WHAT!?”

While the knight, the magician and the aspiring writer who’s also an archer were in a heated discussion about the lair’s name and abbreviation…

“...”

The mysterious and nefarious Ow the Edge appeared in front of them!!

“...”

“...?” Rui looked at Takeru on the table, confused.

“Ahem, Rui-kun it’s your turn.”

“Huh…?”

“The paper I gave you, it’s your character” Takeru gestured to the paper in front of Rui on the table.

“O-oh…”

“Wait,” Daisuke squinted his eyes at Takeru again, “Don’t tell me you…”

Like, I said… The mysterious and nefarious Ow the Edge appeared in front of them!!

“Oh ho ho ho… I’m Ow the Edge, the villain of this game…” Rui was… reading the paper normally?!

“Ow the Edge is Rui-kun??” Miyako exclaimed in confusion.

“Well… I’m--”

“You’re not taking it seriously enough…” Takeru sighed.

“Not enough…?”

“No offense but you’re reading and not acting, dagya.”

“Uh…”

“Yeah, you have to put some feelings on it!!” Patamon added.

“Hey guys, we shouldn’t go too harsh on Rui” Daisuke argued, “He’s still learning how to play!”

“True, I hate doing this but… Takeru-kun, can I simply give him an example?” Ken asked, politely and gently.

“Sure, you’re like a pro!” Takeru chuckled.

“Are you plannin’ to…” Daisuke raised an eyebrow.

Ken cleaned his throat and then…

“Huhu…HAHAHAHAHA, I’m the Digimon Kaiser, the one who controls the power of the darkness! I will dominate the Digital World and make you all OBEY me. CHERISH me. And LOVE me. Say, you dare to face me? HAH! Pathetic human beings, I’M THE PERFECT CHOSEN ONE! And ONLY ME can come here and PLAY this game!”

“Yeah, he just got overboard again…” Daisuke shrugged.

“Is he okay?” Rui was petrified by that 180º flip while the rest of the group was shaking their heads.

“Yeah, he got a little rusty since it had been like, 10 years since he was some edgelord throwing tantrums in the Digital World…” V-mon shrugged.

“Oh, that’s why Takaishi-kun said ‘like a pro’ when he asked permission to give an example…”

“R-rusty…??” Wormmon and Ken said, intrigued.

“I guess you unlearned how to be an edgelord, Ken…” Tailmon commented, shaking her head.

“I’m rusty…” Ken repeated it, quite disappointedly…

“Didn’t the Kaiser say ‘insects’ all the time?” Patamon mused.

“And he also used a whip,” V-mon added.

“He still uses the whip,” Wormmon and Hawkmon said out of the blue.

“Huh?” the others blinked. Ken and Miyako blushed awkwardly though.

“Are you sure this is the right hour to Talk about--” Daisuke squinted his eyes once again, this time at Ken, Wormmon, Miyako and Hawkmon.

“OKAY RUI-KUN” Takeru interrupted them quickly,  “YOU GOT YOUR CLASS OF ACTING SO GO AND UNLEASH THE EVIL IN YOU!!”

“A-alright… I guess I can try again” Rui nodded.

Then, Ow the Edge appeared in front of them, laughing maniacally and stomping his cane-staff on the ground!

“...OHOHOHO! I’m Ow the Edge, the great evil of the world! You peasants are stepping on my yard and you will regret it.”

He looked at Takeru, “Is it better…?”

“Yeah, a little better 👌” Takeru smiled.

“I’m rusty…” Ken was still sulking in the corner.

The warriors wielded their weapons, ready for an imminent clash--

“Hold on, I don’t think it’s right to fight him,” Daisuke interrupted them all.

“? Why not?” Hawkmon asked, “Isn’t he the source of all evil?”

“No, I’m the great evil, not the source of all evil” Rui said, deadpanned.

“Isn’t that the same thing!?” Patamon babbled.

“No?”

“I mean we can’t fight Rui, he’s our friend!” Daisuke argued back, “I can’t believe you did that to him, Takeru!”

“Daisuke, you're taking it too seriously now” Takeru chuckled nervously.

“No, you were just--”

“Or are you afraid of fighting me, Daisuke-kun?” Rui said it in a very seductive way with a smug smile.

“I… I don’t want to fight you, that’s all” Daisuke blushed and turned his face.

“Ok, I think he really got the spirit, dagya” Armadimon commented with the others, perplexed.

“Why not? You fought Ichijouji-kun in the past, didn’t you?” he scoffed.

“Yeah, but Ken was not our friend back in time!” Daisuke snorted, “So no, cut it out. I refuse to fight you!!”

“I guess you don’t care about your pathetic kingdom then,” Rui shrugged, “I’m the great evil, will you let your people perish only to spare me?”

“I’ll save you too then!” Daisuke stomped his foot on the floor.

“Where did I see this scene before…” Tailmon mused.

“Uh… It was when you confronted Ken-chan, I guess” Wormmon replied.

“So, will you accept defeat, Daisuke-kun?”

“No, I won’t!” Daisuke snapped, cupping Rui’s face “I will come after you no matter what you say, no matter what Takeru makes you do! You’re MY friend and I refuse to fight you!!”

“... W-what??” Rui blushed.

“HOLD ON!!” Miyako shouted, and interrupted their game.

“Daisuke, what’s wrong with you?” She looked at Daisuke, seriously, “This is just a game, a harmless game, no one is going to fight for real here!!”

“But I.. I… * ahem * I was also acting, yeah… Uh… yeah,” he immediately took his hands off Rui’s face, babbling.

Though Rui was… also blushing awkwardly.

“I guess someone is not into Hikari anymo--” V-mon had Daisuke covering his mouth again.

“Uh, what?” Hikari blinked.

“DON’T LISTEN TO V-MON HE’S… HE’S TOO TIRED FROM THE GAME, SO UH… I LEFT MY RAMEN ON THE STOVE, BYE!!” and he left the table, carrying V-mon.

“... Did I do something wrong?” Rui frowned.

“No, you just managed to beat Daisuke-kun without fighting him,” Takeru said awkwardly, “Don’t take it seriously.”

“Oh… Okay…?”

With the knight and his familiar out of the battle, Ow the Edge smirks and turns into the rest of the group and says:

“One down, Five left.”

“HOW CRUEL!!” Hikari screams, “HE WAS WILLING TO HELP YOU!”

“... You can touch me, really. I’m untouchable.”

“What do you mean?” Iori raised an eyebrow.

“... I’m cursed, remember? Great evil… We need an excuse for Daisuke-kun’s absence, sorry.”

“Ooh…” Armadimon exclaimed, “That’s clever.”

“We shouldn’t touch him then!” Hawkmon nodded.

“Alright,” Takeru said with a serious gaze, “if Daisuke is not here, the second-in-command is Ken-kun so--”

“... I’m rusty.”

Everyone looked at Ken, who was still sulking like a kid in the corner.

“Ichijouji-kun?” Miyako blinked, “What’s wrong?”

“You guys said I’m rusty… I don’t like to be the Digimon Kaiser anymore, but it’s still part of me… I created him and now I’m… I’m unable to be him even for a simple TTRPG sample!!”

“Y-you’re upset that you can’t do the Digimon Kaiser anymore!?” the five babbled, intrigued.

“... 💧” Rui blinked, still not sure what was going on.

“I guess we accidentally beat Ken,” Patamon shook his head.

“Two down…?” and yet Rui is still confused about this entire game.

“I think I need a break” Ken sighed, and then he and Wormmon left the table.

“Ah, wait…!” Miyako called him, but then she turned to the rest of the group, “I will calm him down and we will be back! Let’s go, Hawkmon!”

“Right, Miyako-san!”

Then Miyako and Hawkmon went after Ken and Wormmon. Rui frowned, he was thinking maybe he was just really bad at playing tabletop games…

Takeru sighed, “Well, I guess it’s only the four of us now… And our digimon partners, of course.”

“If you… want to stop I’m okay with it” Rui was feeling very awkward right now.

“Are you guys still up to it?”

“I’m curious about how it will end,” Iori mused.

“I don’t mind continuing it…” Hikari added.

“They might come back, didn’t they say it?” Armadimon asked, looking at the entrance of the apartment.

“Hmm… We’re at Daisuke’s house, so it would be odd if he just left” Tailmon replied with a shrug.

“I wonder where he went…” Patamon said, looking at Takeru.

“...”

With the couple down, our brave group was reduced into three members and their familiars. The heavy atmosphere of the heated battle against Ow the Edge and our heroes intensified second by second.

“I guess you can’t beat me.”

Said the great evil with a shrug. His cocky attitude and malicious grin were making the last hope of the Kingdom weaver, but FEAR NOT! The good guys had a trump card in their hands.

“Trump card??” Rui, Hikari, Iori and the digimon exclaimed, confused.

“Oh trust me, being an amateur writer means I need to make the story a little exciting.”

“But what’s that trump card, dagya?”

“It’s a secret.”

“WHAT!?”

“What does it supposed to mean!?” Hikari and Iori exclaimed.

“So… To be sure,” Rui approached them, “What happens if I beat you three? Do I win?”

“Technically yes,” Iori explained, “But this is an ongoing game, we have sessions and turns, so you could say you would win a turn or session.”

“The others can come back, can’t they?” He was worried about Daisuke and Ken’s reactions to that game though…

“Yup,” Patamon nodded, “They’re not dead in this game, unless the Game Master kicks them off the game.”

“Oh… So I didn’t kill them in-game…” he sighed in relief.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about that!” Tailmon smiled, “Takeru will find a way to add them again once they’re back.”

“But what is that trump card, dagya??” Armadimon pouted.

“It’s…”

“It’s…?”

“...”

“...?”

The aspiring writer and archer then summoned… A jar of sugar.

“A JAR OF SUGAR!?” Hikari exclaimed.

“Isn’t Rui-san…” Iori looked at Rui.

“Uh… Am I supposed to… do some dramatic reaction at the fact he got a jar of sugar?”

“Wait, I thought you hated sweets,” Patamon blinked.

“Yes, I do.. So… Uh… * ahem *”

“NO, MY ONLY WEAKNESS…!! SUGAR!!” He dramatically knelt on the floor, using the cane as support, “I’M DYING… NOOOO!!”

“We haven't used it yet” Takeru looked at him, deadpanned.

“Oh… Ok.”

The aspiring writer and archer then showed the jar to Ow the Edge, and with a firm tone of voice he threatened:

“We will end your days of evil with the HolyAngemon Sugar Brand! UNLESS!!”

“Wait, are you sparing me too??”

“No, I’m proposing a deal!”

“Ah, I see… You want something in return…”

“We won’t use the sugar if you stop threatening the kingdom,” Iori explained.

“Hmm…”

“You will undo the evil deeds you caused to us,” Patamon added.

“What evil deeds…?” Rui then took the paper and started checking the text, “Uhh… Fine, fine.”

“And you will turn all the sweets you turned into dust back to normal, dagya!”

“Wait… Did I go this far before…? 💧”

“No, Armadimon is just doing an ad-lib right now,” Tailmon shrugged.

“I suppose it’s because you don’t like sweets,” Hikari added, “You would turn them into dust.”

“... I might not like sweets but I have no problem with them,” Rui shrugged, “It’s just… I don’t like it that much…”

“Oh… I’m sorry” Armadimon bowed his head awkwardly.

“It’s okay, no hard feelings.”

And then the warriors stopped the great evil and everyone lived happily after.

“So we--”

“AH CRAP, I REALLY OVERCOOKED IT!!” They heard Daisuke’s voice from the kitchen.

“Daisuke, are you okay--” Takeru said and he and the others ran to the kitchen.

“Noooooooo… MY RAMEN!!” he dramatically cried.

“He really left his ramen on the stove…” Patamon commented.

“You thought we were joking!?” V-mon snapped, “It was our dinner!! For the night of games!!”

“Oh… Oh no” Armadimon sniffed, “Our dinner…”

“It’s okay everyone!!” They heard Miyako’s voice from the entrance of the apartment, “Our girl Miyako and her boyfriend had brought some dinner for us all!!”

“Miyako and Ken saved our dinner, dagya!!” Armadimon chirped.

“Hmm… Yeah, maybe we can eat ramen another day” Daisuke smiled, "Alright folks! Let’s clean the table and eat!”

“Alright!!” They all said together.

[descendent-of-the-sixth-heaven]

*As Cherry is scolding her husband, Ken who is being held by her suddenly giggles. It seems like the baby enjoys listening to his mother nagging at his father. Meanwhile, Takeru is being held by Miyako who is sitting beside Nobunaga*

Miyako: When I look at him, it feels like looking at my own son when he was a baby. Though my grandchild is much more adorable than you were.

How cruel to say such a thing to your own son. Although I don’t mind, I never thought of myself as particularly ‘adorable’ in any way.

[genork-the-fandork]

Coffee

Word Count: 640 Prompt: Seventh Beginning A/N: The final drabble. I never had them kiss, did I? Ah, well. I prefer the unspoken bonds when it comes to Digimon. And these two have one of my favorite bonds. Thank you, everyone, for reading my silly little drabbles. It's been a great event! @takariweek

"Digimon drinking coffee is… alarming," Hikari pointed out as she watched Patamon and Tailmon slurp down their drinks. She didn't often consume coffee herself, and she had a feeling most of Takeru's orders were for Patamon. It didn't seem to negatively affect the Digimon in the slightest, but she still worried. A part of her was always worried about them.

"As long as we don't give V-mon any, everything should be fine." Takeru's cheek was smooshed from where it rested on his hand. He looked content, and it made Hikari feel the same to see him that way. It had been quiet since their brothers had parted from their Digimon, and they'd made a semblance of a promise to enjoy every day with Patamon and Tailmon that they could. As always, Takeru had taken one of their many promises seriously.

Hikari rested back against the leather of the booth seat, her neck falling against the curve of it. Casting her eyes to the side, looking at her friend, she smiled. "Something's about to happen, huh?" She had been feeling it in her bones the last few days. Somehow, even before they knew for sure something was happening, that they would be called to save Japan or the world, they two had always sensed it. Maybe it had to do with how crucial Hope and Light had always been to the workings of the Digital World, or maybe they had always had a little bit of Homeostasis within them. Regardless, it had always seemed… rather psychic of them. It was something they couldn't tell their brothers, but at least they could share it with each other.

A thoughtful look passed over Takeru's face, and he met her gaze out of the corner of his eye. "I think so, yeah. Probably specific to the newbies." Not that they were "newbies" anymore. But Takeru had always thought of them as such, or at least referred to them that way. Sometimes it was like they two were their parents, even though Miyako and Ken were older than them and Daisuke was their age. Always looking after them, wise beyond their years. Maybe they'd both been born with some piece of the Digital World inside them.

"Let's hope it won't cause too much trouble," Hikari mused, turning back to look at Tailmon polishing off her drink.

"We always say that. It never works."

They laughed, and their Digimon looked up, their heads tilted in confusion at the sound. Takeru reached across the table to pet Patamon's head, and Hikari touched her own hand to Tailmon's claws. "We'll be okay. Whatever time we have left with them, we'll spend it wisely."

"We always have. Something to be said for the last two usually standing." Takeru grinned, and Hikari's face automatically mirrored the expression. Two halves of a whole, as they always seemed to be. There was something to be said for that. Although they were not usually ones to say it outright.

"Leave some fun for the others, hm? Wouldn't want Daisuke complaining that he didn't get to have his chance in the spotlight." Hikari bumped her shoulder into Takeru's, and the blond returned it.

"I suppose I can. Besides, when it all comes down to it, Daisuke will probably be the one to save us all." True to the parental role he'd taken on ever since meeting their friends, he smiled proudly. "He's come a long way."

"We all have. And it's just the start." Hikari held out her hand, and Takeru took it. Their fingers didn't even need a mental command to intertwine. Their lives may have just been starting, in some sense of the word, but theirs was a bond forged from years of trust. One that would never go away, no matter how much the Digital World tried to hammer it away.

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 9 - Hikari has a secret admirer!?

[AO3 version!!]

Tailmon is a mature cat with lots of responsibilities, but she also could lose a few brain cells to please Hikari. At least she and Hikari are doing well now!! Since the day she was rescued from Vamdemon’s hands, life has turned into a pleasant adventure for her. Even with the deepest struggles and despair they had faced… Tailmon and Hikari had the help of their friends, and Taichi, to surpass all the sadness and misfortune in the world.

But… Today’s case… It’s a little complicated.

“... Ichijouji-kun… I need your help.”

Ken was looking at Hikari, who suddenly appeared at the end of his classes and in front of the entrance of his school. Wormmon looked at Ken, who glanced from Wormmon to Hikari in confusion.

“Yes? How can we help you?”

Oddly, Tailmon was not in her usual digimon level form -- she was devolved into Plotmon. This brought some suspicion to both Ken and Wormmon. Seriously, what’s going on there?

“I can’t talk here…” she used her free hand to grab Ken’s arm gently and drag him on a walk, “Can we go to your home, please?”

Ken blinked. What does THIS mean!? His curiosity just hit him badly that he decided to accept the idea. And while they were on the way to his apartment, he noticed Hikari looking behind, and around… Continuously. So… Maybe she has been stalked? -- Ken mused.

Once they arrived at the Ichijouji’s residence, he asked if she wanted something to drink, because he definitely noticed her being quite wary. Hikari accepted a warm tea cup, and then he prepared it for both of them.

“So… What’s wrong?” Ken finally had the moment to ask for the details.

“Someone… is stalking us,” Hikari said, a bit timidly and awkwardly.

“Ah I see” he sipped his tea, then made his next question “Do you know who is?”

“No. All I know is… They left a letter on our apartment’s doorstep”

“Hmm…” Wormmon mused, while Ken did it in silence, “Why do you need our help, Hikari-san?”

“I thought about going to the place they asked us to go and…”

“... And?” Ken and Wormmon repeated.

“... Tell them that I already have a boyfriend...”

“I see…” they said together.

“... And I’d like to ask if you could pretend to be my boyfriend in front of them.”

Ken and Wormmon spat their tea on each other’s faces.

“W-what!?” Ken babbled, “I don’t think this would work… I mean, I think you should’ve asked Takeru-kun or Daisuke for that--”

“Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun wouldn’t look like the perfect match for this plan… Takeru-kun might be nice but he’s a little scary and I don’t want to have him threatening whoever is this secret admirer. And Daisuke-kun… W-well, he’s Daisuke-kun…!”

“He would end up messing this up” Plotmon explained, “Besides, he doesn’t seem the kind to intimidate someone.”

“Daisuke’s going to murder me…” Ken muttered.

“True, Ken-chan is boyfriend material” Wormmon nodded sagely.

“W-Wormmon!!” Ken blushed. Then, he asked: “Did you tell anyone else about this? Taichi-san? Miyako-san? Iori-kun?”

She and Plotmon shook their heads gently, but frowning. Hikari added: “No, because we didn’t know what to do… Until I had this idea from a TV show I was watching recently.”

“Then, how do you plan to make it work?” Ken and Wormmon said in unison. 

“We do this quickly and then we get away with this, without anyone knowing about this plan, ok?” Hikari replied with a timid smile.

Ken did not ask for this, and he hasn't cogitated about Iori as a fake boyfriend because Iori’s younger than Hikari. But deep down Ken knew this wouldn’t work well, but Hikari is so good at manipulating people that when he realized…

“Please, I… I trust you to discover who they are and intercept them”

“F-fine… But… I’d like to say one detail: I like someone else, and I hope we can keep this person away from this…”

“Oh okay! Let’s don’t do anything like that in public, only when we meet that secret admirer.”

… it was too late to go back.

Hikari met Daisuke and Takeru at class the next day, as usual. But Tailmon kept in Plotmon form, which wasn’t usual at all. Daisuke and Chibimon were the first ones to suspect of something wrong:

“Maybe Tailmon got sick!” It was Daisuke’s theory.

“Have you ever seen a digimon sick before?” Takeru asked, innocently.

“I’ve seen one sick! Chibimon got a cold once! He sneezed like a hedgehog!”

“H-hey!!” Chibimon protested.

“But it was a funny sneeze sound that I wish I had recorded for myself…”

“Maybe she’s not sick,” Patamon mused, “Digimon in this world tend to run their energies so fast to maintain higher forms…”

“Ah… That’s true,” Daisuke blinked. Chibimon agreed with a nod.

“Maybe we should ask Plotmon herself?” Takeru suggested, with a warm smile on his face.

“Tailmon devolved because she’s tired” Hikari interrupted them, “Because she got a little sick yesterday. So both are right.”

“Yes, I don’t recommend staying close, it might be contagious,” Plotmon added.

“C-contagious!?” Daisuke and Chibimon gasped.

“It’s just a cold, nothing to worry about,” Hikari giggled.

“No, it is” Plotmon disagreed, with a serious tone, “It might be too contagious so better you, Takeru and Patamon don’t get any closer. Hikari is fine because she’s infected too.”

“W-W-WHAT!? AND YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WHILE SICK!?” Daisuke panicked.

“Um… I-It’s not that bad…”

“HIKARI-CHAN PLEASE GO HOME, NOW! I’LL TELL THE TEACHERS! You can get my notebook for the lessons you miss, but please GO HOME NOW!”

“Plotmon… Forgot to say this is only with Chosen Children!”

“E-eh!?”

“Exactly!” Plotmon added, “Non-partnered humans and digimon cannot get infected. They’re safe. It only affects Chosen Children and partnered digimon.”

Takeru looked at Patamon for a moment and whispered to him: “Hikari-chan and Plotmon are acting weirdly today… That’s definitely a lie.”

“Yeah, but it’s working on Daisuke and Chibimon…” Patamon pointed at the other duo just… standing away from Hikari and Plotmon.

“... I forgot Daisuke-kun and Chibimon are the kind to believe in everything without hesitation…” Takeru sighed.

After class…

“I can’t believe Hikari-chan is sick and we can’t stay close to her!!” Daisuke sighed.

“... Daisuke-kun,” Takeru looked at him seriously, “Did you do something to Hikari-chan and Tailmon?”

“W-what? No! I didn’t!” Daisuke growled,  “Do ya think it’s my fault now!?”

“No… It felt like she was trying to keep both of us away from her…”

“Did you do something instead?” Chibimon asked, but innocently.

“Nope.” Patamon answered with a shrug.

“But why would she…” Daisuke seemed concerned, he was glancing at the street while he and Takeru were eating some burgers at a fast food store.

“Should we investigate it?” Chibimon asked the boys and Patamon.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Takeru confessed, “It would be better if we wait until they can explain it to us.”

“Besides, stalking is a bad idea,” Patamon said, looking at Takeru, “Right, Takeru?”

“I don’t say stalking Hikari-chan…” Daisuke frowned, “I don’t want her or Tailmon to get hurt if they’re sick…”

“She’s not sick,” Takeru sighed, “More likely she’s hiding something from us.”

“Yeah… Hmm, do ya think she’s mad at us?”

“If we didn’t do anything wrong, that might not be the case,” Chibimon commented.

“Yeah!” Patamon agreed, “It might be for another reason.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t worry,” Takeru gave Daisuke a smile, “Hikari-chan and Tailmon might be fine, if anything bad happens she will call us five to help her.”

“Y-yeah, it’s not like she got a super secret right?” Daisuke chuckled, but then he saw Hikari on the other side of the street, “Ah, she’s there.”

“I guess she’s waiting for someone… Taichi-san, Miyako-san or another friend outside our group.”

“Yea-- HUH!?”

Daisuke gasped, and then he saw Ken with Hikari now.

“T-TAKERU!” he babbled, “S-SOMETHING IS… UH… WEIRD HERE.”

“Ichijouji-kun? Huh, I didn’t know she would meet him today…”

“But I thought Ken liked-- A-another person I’m not allowed to say because that’s private and if I let anyone else know he might hunt me down!”

“But I thought it was Daisuke who liked Hikari” Patamon and Chibimon said together.

“H-hey!! It’s not like I have a crush on her or something!!”

Well, you’re definitely panicked here about this… -- Takeru thought, shrugging. It’s not a secret that Daisuke has a crush on Hikari, and everyone in that circle is pretty much aware of that, including Hikari herself. But Daisuke… He thinks he’s so good at hiding it to not notice the truth, that he’s too transparent when it comes to his crush on Hikari.

“Takeru.”

Oh no, will he…

“Let’s follow them!”

“Daisuke-kun I don’t think it’s a good idea--”

“Like goddamnit, I just wish they could have told us! We would understand! We wouldn’t do anything to separate them from each other! And it’s not like the-one-who-Ken-has-a-crush-and-I-can’t-tell-ya will be mad either…”

“Don’t you think you’re jumping to conclusions too fast?” Patamon blinked, his face was a legit 😐 right now.

“Miyako’s gonna be disappointed tho” Chibimon frowned, “Hikari got Ken before her.”

“B-before we start panicking about this…” Takeru tried to calm everyone down, “Maybe we should ask them directly. But not now. We have to respect their privacy.”

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound right,” Patamon said, and then ate a french fry, “Here, eat a crunchy french fry!!” He offered it to Chibimon.

“I think I just saw Daisuke-san, Chibimon, Takeru-san and Patamon at the burger shop,” Wormmon commented with the other three.

“As long as they didn’t see us, it will be okay,” Plotmon said calmly.

“But why are we meeting in an alley?” Ken frowned, “There’s something off…”

“It’s what’s said in the letter” Hikari said, “I knew it would be too risky so…”

“You could’ve asked Miyako-san’s help instead… She’s your jogress partner after all…”

“Yeah, but…”

“But?” Ken raised an eyebrow.

“... The reason Tailmon devolved was…”

“Hohoho, there you are my beloved Tailmon~”

Ken put himself in front of Hikari and Plotmon, with Wormmon on guard. The boy just screamed: “Who’s there!?”

“Huh??” the digimon, who looked like a Tailmon costume wore by a humanoid monster (a la Etemon) just popped from the shadows, “Who the heck are you? Where’s Tailmon!?”

“... Betsumon?” Wormmon tilted his head.

“So that’s the reason,” Ken looked at Hikari, “You got the letter talking about someone having a crush on Tailmon, then you knew you were being watched by Betsumon so you lied about the fake date plan and couldn’t put the other in danger. Am I right, Hikari-san?”

“What what what??” Betsumon growled, “you brought this punk with ya!? I asked one thing and you--”

“Miyako and Hawkmon also know,” Plotmon said, “But I can’t Jogress-evolve into Silphymon with Aquilamon. So it would be pointless.”

“Why?” Ken and Wormmon asked.

“Because I have THIS with me,” and then Betsumon showed one of those portable Dark Towers.

“Oh, that makes sense now…” Ken replied with an unpleasant voice tone. Oh of course it’s one of those portable Dark Towers. Again. Someday he will find who’s building those and make them never build one ever again.

“But how can we fight!?” Wormmon seemed concerned, and he glanced at the other three, “You should’ve called for Takeru-san or Daisuke-san’s help.”

Hikari then gave her D-Terminal, “Please, use this.”

“Digimental…?” Ken took it and then… “I got it…” he glanced at Wormmon, “Wormmon, ready?”

“Yeah!”

“What?” Betsumon raised an eyebrow, “Will ya pick a fight against me? I’m a perfect level digimon, you can’t--”

“Light Digimental Up!!”

Wormmon Armor-evolved with the Digimental of Light to a mythological beast, with traces of the Mayan’s Quetzalcoatl, the plumed and winged serpent: Coatlmon.

“Oh I guess you wanna fight someone bigger than you!” Betsumon laughed.

Apparently, Betsumon was smaller than Coatlmon. Ken, Hikari and Plotmon were just staring at him coldly, as if that opponent digimon was just a big joke. That wasn’t funny though…

“That’s my chance…!!” Betsumon’s eyes flashed like lights, and he took the advantage of his ‘Cold Gag’ technique to try to snatch Plotmon from Hikari’s hands.

But Ken shielded Hikari and Plotmon, giving time for Coatlmon to attack and then coil around Betsumon, forcing him drop the portable Dark Tower on the floor. Plotmon jumped from Hikari’s arms, caught the tiny tower and handed it to Ken, who tossed it to the ground and broke it with his foot.

“M-MY DARK TOWER!!” Betsumon cried, then used his paws to hit Coatlmon’s head like if he was hitting the boke of a manzai show -- his special technique: the Tsukkomi Punch !!

“Ouch!” Coatlmon devolved to Wormmon and set Betsumon free, falling in Ken’s arms… He was mentally drained and couldn’t keep his Armor form!!

“Hahaha, that was my best shot!” Betsumon laughed menacingly, “Now let me get my prize!”

“Not so fast,” Ken smirked, a legit Digimon Kaiser smirk. When Betsumon realized, Angewomon had fled in his direction.

“W-WHAT!?” Betsumon screamed, but he recognized that smirk, “Y-YOU’RE THAT… THAT GUY!! THE DIGIMON--”

And then, Angewomon knocked him down with a punch.

“-- KAIS--ACK!!” And then he was knocked out.

“It had been a while since I heard someone calling me by that name…” Ken sighed, then he looked at Hikari, “Case solved, now we should just send him back to the Digital World and you and Tailmon will be free from him.”

“Thank you, Ichijouji-kun but… Are you and Wormmon okay?”

Ken nodded his head, “Yeah, it just caught me off guard for a little… So those things are still in use…” he looked at the shattered Dark Tower on the floor.

“Ken open the gate,” Angewomon asked politely, with Betsumon on her shoulder like if she was carrying a sack of potatoes.

“A-ah, right…” Ken took his D-3 and pointed to a random space in the alley, “Digital Gate, open.”

The gate opened and Betsumon was dumped into it as if Angewomon was taking out the trash. And then, Ken closed the gate.

When they were leaving the alley, they saw a very very EMOTIONAL Daisuke with Chibimon on his head, dragging Takeru by his wrist (with Patamon on Takeru’s head) -- Ken gulped: They will have to explain a lot of this to those two now…

“KEN! YOU, YOU--!!”

“Daisuke I--”

“-- YOU SHOULD’VE SAID ME THAT YOU TWO WERE PLANNIN’ SOMETHING FOR MIYAKO’S BIRTHDAY ALREADY!!”

“Eh!?” Ken and Hikari blinked. Then Daisuke gestured to the store they stood in front of -- a store with stuff for parties.

“At first I thought you and Hikari-chan liked each other!” Daisuke babbled, dramatically of course “But Takeru and I found that too strange! And I know you like you-know-who so it would be bad if you were like that cheap prince named Wallace, the dude from America, y’know!”

Ken and Hikari looked at each other. Didn’t Daisuke see them leaving the alley, so maybe they could roll with it, right?

“But! But Hikari-chan is Miyako’s bestie, and you’re so tall and chill so it wouldn’t mind carrying a few boxes for her, right!?”

“Uh… Yeah!” Hikari nodded, “I called Ichijouji-kun to help me with the packages! But turns out we had to catch a digimon and send it back to the Digital World, so we did it without calling the others!”

Takeru had been shaken by Daisuke’s gestures (because Daisuke didn’t let go of his wrist) and he was completely exhausted from being dragged like that. Daisuke sighed relieved:

“Ok, I’m glad you two are fine… But what was that thing about not gettin’ close to Chosen Children and partnered digimon to not infect them with a flu?”

“H-huh?” Ken looked at her.

“Oh…!!” Hikari was sweating now, but kept calm, “I know you guys would spill the beans if I told you about Miyako’s birthday surprise party, so… I asked for Ichijouji-kun’s help instead.”

“I see… Well then, next time call Takeru and me! We can handle it! We’re strong too!!”

“Right! I will call you and Takeru-kun if we need help then.”

“Call me for wh--” then Daisuke just turned back, still dragging Takeru by his wrist “He-hey! Daisuke-kun--”

“... Should we tell them later?” Ken and Wormmon asked the other two.

“Yes, we should tell them later,” they replied.

“Now that he mentioned it… Isn’t Miyako’s birthday in May?” and then the boy raised an eyebrow, “We’re in August…”

“Considering it was Daisuke who made that assumption, better not remember him yet” Tailmon shrugged, Hikari giggled.

Suddenly, Hikari’s phone rang and she answered the call, it was Miyako: “Hikari-chan! I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with that sneaky creep digimon! But… Are you okay? Did it work?”

“Oh, it worked! You were right, Ichijouji-kun and I beat that Betsumon and… I think we will have to explain it to Takeru-kun and Daisuke-kun later…”

“Oh… Well, I’ll message them later. Are you with Ken-kun now?”

“Yes, he’s here! Do you want to talk to him?” and then she gave the phone to Ken, and he was… a little confused and tense?

“H-hello…?”

“Hello, it’s Miyako!” Miyako said with a happy voice tone, “A-ah, I’m sorry for that! I dumped this on you because of a school club activity… But it was our only option, the other two wouldn’t work for that job!!”

“W-wait, it was your idea??” Ken blinked.

“Hehe… Sorry~”

Of course it was actually Miyako’s plan. Hikari isn’t the kind to make risky plans… Or ask someone to pretend to be a boyfriend to shoo some stalker out. However, Miyako… Yeah, this explains why Hikari was so tense and nervous. But she was also watched by Betsumon, so…

“... N-next time please explain to me before sending Hikari-san. We almost made Daisuke freak out thinking we were secretly dating.”

“Of course he would put a nail in my perfect plan!” she growled, “But I will explain everything to everyone! Sorry and Thank you~♡”

She hung up. Ken silently gave the phone to Hikari again. Oh that day was… Too stressful, he might go home and crash in bed. He looked at Hikari, his brain kinda fried by whatever happened that day:

“Why did Miyako-san make a plan like this if Tailmon was the target?”

“Uh… We thought Betsumon was a partnered digimon… So we thought it was someone else and Betsumon.”

“That… That sounds right,” he remembered how both Daisuke and V-mon are though…

“We were hiding one more detail though” Tailmon began, explaining, “Someone tried to attack Hikari when she found the letter, and then I protected her. I ran after the suspect, but then I got hit by something and devolved into Plotmon.”

“You mean… Betsumon attacked you?” Wormmon commented.

“Yeah, and then… When I went to look for Tailmon…” Hikari continued from there, “Betsumon found me and asked to bring Tailmon. Hours later, she came home as Plotmon and told me what happened.”

“Hmm…” Ken mused, “That Betsumon was looking after something then…”

“But let’s not worry about it now” Hikari said quickly and awkwardly, “It might be just some love sick Betsumon, right?”

“No, it doesn’t seem to be the case…” Ken thought, “But I’ll keep an eye on our surroundings…”

If it was on purpose or just a digimon in love with Tailmon they don’t know. Whatever comes next is uncertain, so better not waste time thinking too hard about it…

[ladyofthecastleproject]

The Knight and the Chosen Children

[AO3 version]

Summary:

Hikari catches Mimi talking with Lightnimon, and this causes a huge conflict between the kids and Mimi. With no other options, the group follow her to what they believe to be a trap. Then, the 02 Team and Mimi meet Lightnimon, who finally reveals a shocking secret.

[Note: It's 2008; There's more drama between Mimi and the kids but, well, it's the lightest of those drabbles. You know, for fun.]

The group, Mimi, Palmon and Gummymon were heading to the next area after saving more and more digimon from Ranamon’s troops. None of them heard about Frostmon anymore, but rumors were spread about some digimon seeing her and the terrifying Lightnimon together.

Ken hated to believe in rumors by experience, but Daisuke never sent him a message after their first reencounter in a while. He would send a message right now, but… Not a very intelligent idea if it could ruin Daisuke’s persona.

“So, where do you think they took Wallace-san?” Iori asked, the group had stopped to eat and find supriments like food and wood for bonfires “And where would Daisuke-san be right now?”

“Those are tough questions to answer,” Miyako frowned, “We’re looking for two people and only one we know something about.”

“You don’t think Daisuke-kun is dead, right Miyako-san?” Takeru asked her, “I agree with Ichijouji-kun, he wouldn’t let it happen…”

“Besides,” Tailmon said, “V-mon is with him so we shouldn’t worry about them. They must be fine. If something bad had happened to Daisuke, V-mon would be the first to come tell us.”

“Hmm…”

“What’s wrong Ken-kun?” Miyako looked at him, and then everyone in silence focused on the boy.

“I’ve met Lightnimon before.”

“You did!?” they all, except for Mimi and Palmon who weren’t present at the moment.

“He mentioned he knows where Daisuke is,” he explained, making everyone come closer to him but then he added “Though he said he couldn’t tell me that.”

“UGH, that digimon is getting on my nerves!” Miyako stood up and kicked a pebble away from them, “I’m so tired of that mean masked-mon! I want to smash him with my own hands--”

“If you do that, wouldn’t it be impossible to learn where Daisuke is?” Gummymon raised his ear, as if he was asking permission to talk.

“He’s right, Miyako-san” Hawkmon said, “We can’t hurt him.”

“I don’t like that guy. It’s not nice to threaten people like he did, dagya.”

“I’m curious about what he knows,” Iori mused, “If he’s on our side, why would he warn us about not getting in his way?”

“Maybe he’s just a bully” Patamon replied with a shrug, “Maybe--”

“Mimi-san did not return yet…” Hikari wasn’t totally into that conversation, so she was whispering that to herself. She got up and went after Mimi, with Tailmon following her with her concerns.

“Sigh, we didn’t get any success” Then, Hikari heard a familiar voice, following it until find…

“It’s okay, you’re doing all your best” … Mimi talking with Lightnimon. But he wasn’t attacking her!? “I’m sure we will manage a way to find Wallace and save him.”

“Yeah, about that…” Lightnimon was speaking very casually and was familiar to Hikari. However they didn’t notice her and Tailmon there hiding behind those trees, “We invaded their headquarters after I got the information from Frostmon, but… We couldn’t get him out of there.”

“Oh… I hope we can get a chance to take him away from those evil digimon…” Palmon commented, “Huh, I think there’s something watching us…?”

“Shoot-- I will meet you later, please inform the others to go to that place I told you.”

“Ok, we will.” Mimi nodded and Lightnimon vanished.

Mimi and Palmon then started to head back to the group, only to find Hikari and Tailmon in front of them. Both the girl and cat-like digimon were staring at Mimi, not very satisfied with what they heard.

“Hikari-chan?” Mimi gasped, “Why are you--”

“You’re working with him all this time!?”

“I-It’s not what you think!!” Palmon babbled.

“We heard you three talking about Wallace and to lead us to a place” Tailmon said seriously, “He’s planning to ambush us.”

“No, he’s not” Mimi stared back, “You don’t understand how he feels!”

“He attacked us, Mimi-san!”

“It wasn’t his intention! He… He wants to talk, just that.”

“Maybe we should go, if he knows where Daisuke is…” Tailmon mused, “But better we don’t let our guard down.”

“He won’t do any harm” Palmon frowned, “It’s not a trap, he really wants to talk with you.”

“How can we trust him?” Hikari pouted, “How can we trust you Mimi-san?”

And then Hikari & Tailmon left, running back to the group.

“Mimi, isn’t this…”

“I know, we need to calm them down or they will attack Lightni-kun.”

After both girls were back, there was a huge anticlimactic atmosphere caused by this. Ken, who was the other person to know about Lightnimon, couldn’t let things be like this… But he also had no idea what Daisuke was planning to do.

They decided to follow Mimi to the place she mentioned, miles away from the enemy’s territory.

If was a trap, or not, they didn’t know. But once they reached said place, they saw Lightnimon on the top of a tree, and once he saw them approaching, he went down.

 “Oh greetings, my beloved Chosen Children” he greeted them with a bow.

“What do you want!?” Miyako went straight to the point, impatiently “I don’t like you and I don’t want to hear you! But you forced Mimi-san to send us here so--”

“Whoa whoa, hold on your rage girl I won’t do anything!” he babbled, “I just wanted to tell you where Daisuke-kun is, or rather… Show where he is.”

“You will!?” Them, except Mimi, Palmon, Ken and Wormmon, exclaimed.

“Yeah, I will” he nodded, then he grabbed his helmet, “So, the answer is… He’s her--”

But the helmet didn’t come off. Miyako, Takeru, Iori, Hikari and their digimon tilted their heads.

“Darn it, not now!!” He was now acting kinda familiar to them “Stupid helmet, I can’t take it off!”

“What is he doing, dagya?”

“I guess he wasn’t that dangerous...” Patamon blinked.

V-mon got out of the trees, Mimi and Palmon went to help him in silence. Everything was getting much more confusing as before.

“I will pull it, ok?” “Why don’t you use the digivice for this?” “And ruin my cool entrance?!” “Ok Palmon let’s do this” “Ok, Mimi!”

“What…”

Ken’s impatience was growing and he was very unamused right now. Wormmon as well, as the digimon was shaking his head in disapproval.

“What’s going on here?” Hikari asked.

“Ok! One, Two, Three--!!” and then Mimi, Palmon and V-mon managed to remove that stupid helmet from his head. They all fell on the ground, but even more confused noises were heard from the group.

“He’s here!” and with this, helmetless Lightnimon stood back in front of the group.

“Daisuke (-kun/-san)!?”

“Was it really needed, Daisuke?” Ken gave him a serious glare, gritting his teeth.

“No but… I thought it would’ve been a great idea--”

“YOU,” Miyako shouted and pointed at him, “YOU WERE PLAYING DEAD ALL THIS TIME?! HOW DARE YOU?!”

“There’s a reason we couldn’t tell you before” Gummymon flew and landed on Daisuke’s head, “He told us.”

“Huh?” Wormmon exclaimed.

“I didn’t die, but it was too close to it” Daisuke began, now that they had setted up their camp in that area, “I don’t know how I escaped but… I did. I was sure they would go hunt me again, so I had this idea of pretending to be a digimon.”

“Then once we were done with some discussion, we found Mimi and Gummymon lying unconscious on the forest” V-mon added, “We woke them up and they explained that Wallace got kidnapped by a bunny digimon”

“We met that digimon before” Daisuke explained, “She’s Lekismon and an emissary of the big bad, the one who tried to personally eliminate me.”

“In other words… You were playing the spy role for us?” Armadimon asked.

“Yeah... kinda,” V-mon chuckled nervously.

“I’m not a great actor nor a spy, so it was hard to keep things going” Daisuke shrugged, and then looked at them, “V-mon had to hide most of the time, And I had to speak differently and less than my usual. And anytime I slipped… It was too risky.”

“But Wallace knew it was us, though he was quite brainwashed by the enemies. He couldn’t come with us” V-mon sighed, then “I’m sorry Gummymon.”

“It’s okay, at least we know where he is now”

“About that… Maybe we should consider… planning something about it” Daisuke said with a serious tone, “The enemy’s headquarters is full of soldiers. We couldn’t get anything else and Wallace might be controlled again if we don’t hurry.”

“I see,” Ken mused, “So this whole reveal to us is to discuss a way to invade this place and save Gummymon’s partner…”

“Yeah and that it’s sad to do things alone”

“What will happen to Lightnimon now?” Hikari asked, concerned.

“Daisuke and him can’t appear in the same place sadly… But if he disappears and I appear, it will be suspicious.”

“So you will keep doing this?” Palmon frowned.

“I hate to make you guys sad but yeah… I have no other option.”

“Isn't it risky now that we had this meeting?” Iori mused, “We know you’re him and this makes our reactions totally different from before.”

“I know, but I can’t hold it for much longer! If I kept attacking y’all it would hurt more.”

“You have no idea what to do now?” Tailmon asked.

“I think we can help with this,” Hawkmon said and looked at the others, “If we work together we can help Daisuke-san to keep the enemy away from Lightnimon.”

“But how?” Palmon asked.

“Hey, what if…” Takeru whispered to them.

“That’s brilliant Takeru!” Daisuke grinned, “I wouldn’t expect anything else from you!”

“To make it work we all need to keep this as a secret” Ken added, “So please, don’t lose your composure.”

“Right!!” they all said together.

[cherrykasugayama]

Fleeting Memories

Kenshin struggles to overcome his grief after the death of his wife, straining his relationship further with his children. He became detached and distant. (Part 2)

Warning: Heavy angst, bad daddy Kenshin, unnamed MC

Children: Uesugi Takeru, 13 years old, Uesugi Ken, 13 years old, Uesugi Sakura, 5 years old

Part 1

Part 3

Part 4

.....................................................

Kasugayama Castle – Lesson Hall

The mid-morning sun cast a soft glow over the polished wooden floor of the lesson hall. Incense wafted faintly through the air, giving the room an air of calm that the brothers seated within were doing their best to undermine.

Takeru sat straight, as disciplined as ever, his dark hair falling perfectly into place above his sharp, composed features. His blue eyes reflected quiet intensity as he listened to their tutor’s lecture on castle fortifications.

Beside him, Ken was the picture of rebellion. His messy blond hair and lazy slouch seemed to suck the discipline out of the room. He absentmindedly twirled an ink brush in one hand while his other worked on something far more important than the lecture—a doodle.

"Ken."

Takeru’s voice broke the monotony. He didn’t even turn his head to know his brother was up to no good.

"What?" Ken muttered, his brush still moving.

"You’re drawing."

"Observant as ever, dear brother," Ken quipped, not bothering to look up.

Takeru leaned over slightly, his expression slipping into disbelief as he caught sight of the parchment.

The sketch depicted their father, Kenshin, looking thoroughly defeated as a chibi Sakura delivered a heroic headbutt to his gut. Above them, bold letters declared, “LOVE YOUR DAUGHTER OR PERISH!”

Takeru couldn’t help the small twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth. “Is that supposed to be Father and Sakura?”

“Obviously,” Ken replied, holding up the drawing for closer inspection. “Sasuke said people in his village use art like this to tell stories. I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Takeru sighed. "And you chose to insult our father?"

Ken grinned, holding up the parchment. "Boldness runs in our family."

The tutor cleared his throat, glaring at them with all the authority a man who’d just been ignored for a few minutes could muster.

"Lord Takeru. Lord Ken. Perhaps you’d care to enlighten me about the siege of Odawara?"

Takeru straightened, but Ken waved a dismissive hand. "That’s the one where Hojo Ujiyasu’s men hid like scared rabbits until Father cut off their supplies and made them surrender. Easy."

The tutor blinked, momentarily taken aback.

"…Correct."

Takeru turned to Ken, impressed despite himself. "You do listen."

Ken leaned back, crossing his arms with a smug grin. “I always listen. I just don’t feel the need to make a show of it like you.”

Before Takeru could retort, a knock at the door drew their attention. A servant entered, bowing low. "A letter for Lord Ken."

Ken perked up immediately, snatching the letter from the servant’s hands with a suspicious level of enthusiasm.

"From who?" Takeru asked.

Ken didn’t answer, already engrossed in the letter.

The tutor frowned, his patience wearing thin.

“My lords, this lesson is not yet complete—”

Takeru turned to him, his voice calm and authoritative.

"Sensei, my deepest apologies, but this is a pressing family matter. We must conclude for today."

The tutor hesitated, glancing between the brothers. "Lord Takeru, this is highly irregular—"

"I assure you, we will return tomorrow ready to focus fully on your teachings,"

Takeru said, bowing slightly. His tone was polished, yet firm enough to leave no room for argument.

With a resigned sigh, the tutor gathered his scrolls.

"Very well. Until tomorrow, my lords. But don’t forget, Lord Kenshin expects you both at the war council this afternoon." He exited, muttering 'insolent youth' under his breath.

Once the door slid shut, Ken relaxed visibly, grinning. "Nicely done."

Takeru ignored him, already reaching for the letter.

"Let me see that," he said smoothly, his hand darting out.

Ken pulled it back. "It’s private."

Takeru arched an eyebrow. "Private? From Himeko?"

Ken scowled. "I said no—"

But Takeru moved faster, snatching the letter from his brother’s grasp.

"Hey!" Ken lunged for it, but Takeru danced out of reach, unfolding the letter with practiced ease. His grin widened as he began reading aloud.

"Dear Ken,

I received your letter. How brave of you to ask for my help so earnestly. It’s quite charming to see you so concerned for little Sakura. Truly, your heart is kinder than your temper suggests.

Also, the idea of you worrying over me is… flattering. Perhaps you should write more often? I wouldn’t mind having more of your attention.

I’ll speak to my father about intervening with Lord Kenshin. And if all else fails… I’ll simply take Sakura with me. She’ll be safe at our castle.

With love,

Himeko."

Takeru folded the letter neatly, his smirk wide. "She’s definitely flirting with you."

Ken’s ears turned bright red as he snatched the letter back. "She’s not flirting. She’s just… polite."

"Polite?" Takeru raised an eyebrow. "She practically invited you to write her love letters."

Ken stood abruptly, tucking the letter into his sleeve. "Let’s just focus on Sakura before Himeko actually kidnaps her."

Takeru chuckled as Ken stormed off, muttering under his breath. "You’re right. But you’re still blushing."

Ken’s response was muffled, but it sounded suspiciously like a threat.

.........................

Kasugayama Castle – War Council Room

After the lesson, the twins headed to the war council, where Kenshin, his advisors, and a few generals were gathered. Maps lay spread across the long table, detailing troop movements, supply routes, and defensive fortifications.

As the meeting wound down, Takeru seized the moment.

“Father,” he began, his voice calm and measured, “I’d like to discuss Sakura’s safety.”

Kenshin didn’t look up from the map. “She’s safe where she is.”

Takeru pressed on. “The manor is secluded. If something were to happen, it would take too long for aid to arrive. She would be safer here at the main castle.”

Kenshin’s gaze lifted, icy and sharp. “The manor is impenetrable. She stays.”

Ken, who had been silent until now, stepped forward, his voice laced with frustration.

“She’s our sister. She belongs here, with her family.”

Kenshin’s eyes flicked to Ken, his cold expression unchanging. “And I’ve decided what is best for her.”

“She’s not just some responsibility you can lock away,” Ken said, his voice rising. “She’s part of this family, and we want her closer.”

Kenshin’s voice was like steel. “Enough. I will not be questioned on this.”

Ken’s fists clenched, but Takeru stepped in, his hand lightly touching his brother’s arm. “We understand, Father,” he said smoothly, though his tone carried an edge.

Kenshin’s gaze lingered on them for a moment longer before he turned back to the map.

“Dismissed.”

Outside the meeting hall, Ken’s temper finally erupted. “How can he be so blind? She’s alone out there!”

Takeru sighed, his own frustration barely contained. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure something out.”

Ken nodded, but his anger remained.

.........................

Kasugayama Castle – Training Grounds

The sun hung low in the sky by the time Takeru and Ken arrived at the training grounds. The air was heavy with the quiet hum of cicadas, but the tension between the brothers was louder.

Kenshin stood at the far end of the courtyard, his arms crossed as he watched them approach. His presence felt colder than the steel of the katana resting at his side.

“Pick up your weapons,” Kenshin ordered without preamble.

Takeru and Ken exchanged a glance. Takeru took a wooden practice sword from the rack, but Ken hesitated. His grip lingered over the hilt of the bokken before finally snatching it up.

Kenshin’s eyes narrowed. “You’re angry. That’s good. It means today's training will be more worthwhile.”

Ken stepped forward, jaw tight. “Let me spar with you.”

Takeru’s head snapped toward his brother, but Kenshin didn’t react.

“Ken,” Takeru started, but Ken ignored him.

“I’ll fight you, Father. You said I’m reckless and weak. Let’s see if I am.” Ken’s green eyes burned with defiance.

Kenshin’s gaze was unreadable. For a long moment, he said nothing. Then, finally, he turned to Takeru.

“You,” Kenshin said coldly, “will spar him.”

Ken’s eyes flickered with frustration.

“That’s not—”

“If you can’t surpass your brother,” Kenshin interrupted, “you’re not ready to face me.”

Ken’s grip tightened on the bokken until his knuckles turned white.

“Fine.”

Takeru sighed under his breath but stepped into position, leveling his practice sword at Ken. “Let’s get this over with.”

They circled each other in silence, the courtyard thick with the weight of Kenshin’s gaze.

Ken attacked first, fast and wild. His bokken arced through the air, a blur of frustration-fueled strength. Takeru met him head-on, deflecting with the ease of someone who had done this countless times.

Wood clashed sharply, echoing through the courtyard. Ken pressed forward, each strike faster, stronger, fueled by the lingering frustration of the war council. But no matter how much force he poured into his attacks, Takeru parried each one with calm precision.

“Stop blocking!” Ken snapped, breathless. “Fight me properly!”

“I am fighting you,” Takeru replied, sliding past another strike. His voice was steady, but there was an edge to it. “You’re just not thinking.”

Ken lunged, but Takeru sidestepped, striking his brother lightly on the ribs.

“Damn it—!” Ken staggered back, panting.

Kenshin’s voice cut through the air, cold and sharp. “Predictable. You let anger cloud your judgment. That is why you lose.”

Ken’s grip trembled. His heart pounded with more than just exertion. He hated how calm Takeru looked. How easily his brother always seemed to handle everything.

“Maybe if you stopped running—”

Takeru’s eyes hardened. In an instant, he closed the gap between them, knocking Ken’s bokken aside and striking him squarely on the shoulder. Ken stumbled, his weapon clattering to the ground.

He froze, staring at it as silence filled the courtyard.

Kenshin stepped forward, his expression like carved ice. “Weak.”

Ken’s fists clenched at his sides. “I’m not weak.”

Kenshin’s gaze bore down on him. “Strength without control is recklessness. And recklessness gets people killed.”

Ken’s head snapped up, his eyes blazing. “Then teach me to control it! You keep telling me what I lack, but you never—”

“You think strength is given?” Kenshin interrupted, his voice cold. “It’s something you take. Something you bleed for. If you don’t understand that, you don’t deserve to stand here.”

Ken’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak.

Kenshin’s gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before turning to Takeru. “Again.”

Takeru hesitated.

“Father, maybe that’s enough—”

A flicker of warning flashed in Kenshin’s eyes, and Takeru fell silent. He returned to his position, his grip firm around the wooden blade.

Ken retrieved his bokken, his knuckles pale.

“I won’t hold back,” Takeru said softly.

Ken glared at him. “Good. I don’t want you to.”

This time, Takeru struck first. Ken barely deflected the blow, his muscles burning as he pushed back. The clash of wood echoed again and again, each strike heavier than the last.

Takeru’s attacks were controlled, efficient. Ken’s were fierce and desperate. But no matter how hard he swung, Takeru’s blade met his own.

Finally, Takeru swept Ken’s legs out from beneath him, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Ken coughed, his body aching from the fall. He stayed there, staring up at the sky.

Takeru crouched beside him, offering a hand. “You’ll get there. You just need to stop trying to win with anger alone.”

Ken sighed, feeling disgruntled. “I can’t believe I always lost to ‘Hey, let’s talk it out.’ guy. You like to solve things peacefully, but you fight like him...”

Takeru blinked, caught off guard by the humor laced with a hint of self-loathing. “You lost because you let your anger fight for you. If you can learn to control it, you’ll be unstoppable. You can even surpass me.”

“Easy for you to say.” Ken rolled his eyes and took his hand, letting Takeru pulled him to his feet.

From the edge of the training grounds, Kenshin’s voice cut through the air. “Sentiment is wasted on him, Takeru.”

Takeru turned, his jaw tightening. “I wasn’t being sentimental,” he said, his voice firm. “I was being a brother.”

Kenshin’s gaze flickered, but his expression remained cold. “Training is over. Takeru, with me.”

Ken straightened. “What about me?”

Kenshin’s eyes flicked to him. “Stay. Reflect.”

The word stung, but Ken said nothing.

As Kenshin and Takeru walked away, Ken dropped onto the grass beneath the shade of a tree, limbs heavy with exhaustion and frustration. He leaned back against the rough bark, emerald-green eyes clouded with thought before slowly sliding shut.

From the corner of his eye, Sasuke approached, his usual blank expression giving nothing away.

“Lord Ken,” Sasuke began, his tone calm yet careful, “if you’d like, I can spar with you. I promise not to win too quickly.”

Ken smirked faintly, brushing a stray lock of hair from his face. “I’ve had enough humiliation for one day.”

Sasuke tilted his head. “Reflecting, then?”

Ken sighed, leaning further into the shade. The warm light of the setting sun caught in his blonde hair, giving it a soft glow. He had inherited his striking looks from Kenshin, the same sharp bone structure and piercing gaze, but where Kenshin’s features were cold and imposing, Ken’s were softened by traces of his mother’s gentler feature.

“Yeah,” Ken murmured, voice quieter now. “Reflecting… with my eyes closed.”

Sasuke said nothing more, standing nearby in silence.

As Ken took a nap beneath the flickering sunlight, his soft blonde hair stirred gently in the breeze. In that peaceful moment, he looked less like Kenshin’s rebellious son and more like the child he still was.

.......................

The crunch of gravel beneath their feet was the only sound as Takeru and Kenshin walked side by side, their path leading away from one training ground toward another. The air between them was heavy, thick with the weight of unspoken words. Takeru’s fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, his jaw tight, every part of him bristling with the need to speak but terrified of what would come after.

“You have something to say,” Kenshin said finally, breaking the silence.

Takeru glanced sideways at his father, his expression guarded. “I don’t think you understand what it’s like for her. For any of us.”

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. “This again?”

“You demand perfection,” Takeru said, his voice trembling slightly with suppressed emotion. “From Ken and I. But you’ve never shown us what it meant to be loved, you..."

'weren't the loving father I remember years ago.'

Is what Takeru wanted to say, but his words caught in his throat, the accusation too raw, too dangerous. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to redirect. “Sakura is your daughter, yet you treat her like she’s invisible.”

Kenshin’s steps slowed, his face a mask of cold indifference.

Takeru’s composure began to crack at his silence, his voice rising. “And in doing so, you’ve stripped us of everything else. If you have lost the capability to love, at least don't rob it from us. Let Sakura move in with us so we can at least shower her with love, even if you won't.”

The plea hung in the air, raw and trembling. For a moment, Takeru thought he saw something in Kenshin’s eyes, pain, regret, something human. But it vanished, replaced by a chilling resolve.

“If you think you know better, prove it. Draw your sword.”

Takeru blinked, the words hitting him like a slap. “Father, no. This isn’t—”

“Draw. Your. Sword,” Kenshin repeated, his tone brooking no argument. “If you believe you have the right to question me, show me.”

Takeru’s hand hovered over the hilt of his practice blade. His instincts screamed at him to walk away, to find another way. He didn't want to resolve this with fighting. He had always relied on words, on reason, because violence felt too dangerous, too close to becoming… him.

But Kenshin’s gaze bored into him, unyielding, demanding.

Takeru’s hand tightened around the hilt of his blade, and he drew it slowly, the weight of it unfamiliar and heavy.

.....................

The clash of their swords was deafening, echoing off the stone walls. Kenshin’s strikes were relentless, each one a calculated blow meant to overwhelm. Takeru struggled to keep up, his movements increasingly desperate.

“You think love makes you strong?” Kenshin said, his voice calm even as his attacks intensified. “It makes you reckless.”

Takeru gritted his teeth, sweat dripping into his eyes. “It makes me human.”

“And that is your weakness,” Kenshin countered, delivering a blow that sent Takeru staggering.

The fight wasn’t fair. Kenshin was faster, stronger, and more experienced. Every time Takeru tried to gain ground, Kenshin would take it back with ease.

“You hesitate,” Kenshin said, his blade whistling through the air. “You think too much. You hold back.”

Takeru’s breaths came in ragged gasps, his vision blurred with sweat and tears. He fought not just his father but the darkness rising within himself, the strange, terrible thrill of the fight. He didn’t want to feel it, didn’t want to give in to the same hunger that drove Kenshin.

I hate you.

The thought surged through him, fierce and undeniable. He hated Kenshin for the coldness, the cruelty, for the ways he was scared to confront his feelings, the way he enjoyed swinging his sword. And he hated himself for feeling the same fire burning in his own chest.

Kenshin’s blade came down in a crushing arc, but Takeru, fueled by desperation, deflected it with a strength he didn’t know he possessed. With a wild, reckless swing, he disarmed Kenshin, the older man’s sword clattering to the ground.

Silence fell like a hammer, the echoes of their clash fading into the void.

Kenshin looked down at his empty hand, his face unreadable. For a fleeting moment, Takeru thought he saw something in Kenshin's eyes—pride, but it quickly disappeared, swallowed by the mask his father always wore.

“You’ve made your point,” Kenshin said, his voice hollow. “Sakura will return to the castle.”

He turned and walked away without another word, leaving Takeru standing alone in the gathering twilight.

Takeru sank to his knees, his sword slipping from his grasp. His chest heaved, but the air around him felt suffocating, crushing.

He had won.

But it felt wrong.

Tears blurred his vision as he stared at the ground, his body shaking. He had fought to protect Sakura, to demand the love she deserved. But in doing so, he had felt something terrifying stir within him.

I’m just like him.

The thought tore through him, raw and unforgiving. He had sworn to be different, to lead with compassion, with wisdom, as his mother had wanted. But for one terrible moment, he had embraced the darkness. He had fought not just Kenshin but the part of himself that was drawn to the same cold, madness.

His hands clenched into fists, his nails biting into his palms. He would fight it. He had to. For Sakura. For Ken. For Mother. For the family he still dreamed of saving.

But deep down, the fear lingered. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he fought… he was his father’s son. And that truth terrified him most of all.

[seventeenlovesthree]

@digimon02countdown Day 4 - The Digital World

One of my favourite things that was merely hinted at in Adventure, but fully established and expanded upon ever since 02, is the idea that there are several parallel worlds besides the real and the Digital World - and that there is an inherent connection between these worlds and the Chosen Children, their feelings and wishes.

There are several instances in the series that use this concept (and even the stageplay picked it up!), but if there are three characters who have understood this aspect and are proving the theory within the course of 02 to be somewhat true - it's Hikari, Ken and Takeru, in my opinion.

Ken and Hikari have a strong connection to the forces of darkness and light - in Hikari's case, it's also because she was initially chosen by Homeostasis itself, basically carrying a special life force within herself (= light) and is thus capable of functioning as a host...

In Ken's case, the wish to be "chosen", just like his own brother appeared to be, may have been responsible for him being drawn towards the world of the dark ocean - a world that Hikari probably also ended up in due to her empathetic nature and inherent connection to these worlds.

The main duty of the Chosen Children is to keep distortions at bay and maintain the balance of the worlds, preventing them from merging and creating absolute darkness - which is a tough task, considering that all these worlds still appear to be connected.

But the Chosen Children themselves are capable of summoning miracles - simply due to their deepest wishes and desires the Digital World (and other worlds) are able to read and respond to.

We can clearly see that proven by Hikari's wish to be saved by Takeru and Takeru's corresponding wish to save her from the world of darkness - his "hope" to bring "light" back, so to speak. (In my opinion, that is also why Koushirou was subconsciously able to get in touch with Taichi while he was in the real world - and why Taichi was capable of returning to the Digital World.) This experience is also what makes Hikari reassure Ken that, as long as somebody wants them back (= wishes for it), they will be able to leave the world of darkness again.

The potential behind this theory, the existence of countless parallel worlds and the matter of wish-fulfillment will hopefully be part of the 02 movie - because it's such an intriguing concept with so many possibilities.

[glassesandpassion]

☯ + any scene of 02 ep 31 🤭

Send me ‘☯ + a scene from my characters canon’ and I will drabble it from my character’s POV.

“The fog is getting thicker.”

Thicker indeed, to the point Miyako couldn’t see the figures walking right in front of her. Their shapes, color, sizes, those were very much clear to her still, but their thoughts, intentions? As obscure as the forest itself.

Weren’t they friends? Wasn’t Hikari her friend? Ken had an excuse, he’d never allowed himself to be a part of the group despite her and Daisuke’s efforts, but Hikari? Hikari was there from the beginning! She chose to keep Miyako from their little cryptic, depressing chat.

And Miyako tried her best to snap them out of their gloom: she suggested singing songs, playing games, and even made a fool out of herself - but it was fine, as long as it made them laugh! But it was all ignored. The fog was so thick that apparently separated them into two different worlds. She was at that forest while they enjoyed their little Dark Ocean Club of theirs.

Good for Hikari, found a new best friend besides Takeru, hasn't she? As beautiful and gentle as she was, Miyako bet.

Meanwhile, Miyako played the clown behind them. Hikari could’ve spared her the trouble by not acting so eager to team up with her moments ago.

Even Hikari couldn’t resist making fun of someone as ridiculous as her, could she?

[digimoninteractions]

Digimon World Tour (02x40)

[ID: Screenshots from Digimon Adventure Zero Two episode 40 showing: (1) A shot looking down at Patamon, Takeru, Taichi, and Agumon. (2) Koushirou, Hikari, Tentomon, and Hikari on the top level of a bus. (3) Iori, Jou, and their digimon looking at the sydney opera house. (4) Them looking at each other. (5) Hawkmon, Piyomon, Miyako, and Sora sitting on a brick fence looking at the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. (6) Miyako looking at her D-Terminal as Sora sits beside her, trying to keep warm. (7) Them looking at each other. (8) Yamato and Ken standing together, looking opposite directions. (9) Ken holding Wormmon as he, Yamato, and Gabumon all head towards a helicopter. End ID]

[digitalgate02]

02 Team | 02組 (2008 version)

The most known group of children besides their seniors Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Mimi, Koushiro and Jou. They keep focused on fighting whoever tries to mess with both the Digital World and the human world. But lately they just decided to form a more effective group specialized in digimon cases around Tokyo – Probably because someone was having too much free time after school and watching a ton of detective series on TV.

It’s not like it would be a bad idea, right?

Thus the first (?) Chosen Children’s Digimon Cases Unit was born.

Separated posts: Daisuke-Hikari-Takeru • Ken • Miyako • Iori

[greyymon]

something something soccer game episode

something something ken with naturally fluffy hair like his brother/digimon kaiser persona

something something both daisuke and miyako having celeb crushes on ken