#espimon is fine

[izzyizumi]

Me, meeting someone in the Digi-fan-base: Soooo what do you think of Espimon?

Person: lmao I mean I like the series [/think it's ok TM] but it's a total trash 'Mon, I can't see why ANYONE in this fan base would actually LIKE it or its story so far----

mE, SHOVING THE BREADSTICKS INTO MY BAG: SORRY I HAVE TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW.

[koushirouizumi]

Digi-GhostGame Ep. 54 (J.P.N) ~ ESPIMON, GAMMAMON & HIRO + {Koushiro Izumi}-relevant shared C.V.: - Espimon (Yumiko Kobayashi) {2020!Koushiro} - Mutsumi Tamura (Hiro Amanokawa) {Tri!Koushiro; Kizuna!Koushiro; The Beginning!Koushiro}

“YOU’RE... {MY} Friend!!!”

- Gammamon (C.V.: Miyuki Sawashiro) to Espimon

“TOMODACHI?...” {“Friends?...”}

- Espimon, responding

Audio Clipped by @izzyizumi​ / @koushirouizumi​ {DO NOT re-post this clip} {DO NOT remove caption}

{Additional note: this post is mainly intended SPECIFIC SERIES [GhostGame] POSITIVITY FOCUSED. please remember + RESPECT this when interacting {Failure to acknowledge interacting rules WILL result in a Block}

[Note: Positive/respectful Tags/replies are OK!]

[skydigiblogs]

okay okay, i'm finally watching appmon

i'm only like 5 eps in and watching it while doing art

the buddy apps so far that we've met (gatchmon and dokamon) are so fucking funny. they're both weirdos for entirely different reasons.

also appmon really feels like the bridge between xros wars and ghost game so far--- applink emphasizing the power of connections like digixros, and a lot of worldbuilding elements that feel like they were stripped for parts into ghost game (the AR field and a lot of how the mons interact with IRL stuff).

i guess also the grb factor feels reminiscent of the l virus but i'll put a pin in that until the resolution of the plot ghfghfmghfghhj

i guess that shouldn't be a surprise considering that, like, GG was completely fine having espimon (an appmon) be a main supporting cast member, but

yes i know adventure 2020 technically came between appmon and ghost game, but. adventure media including the reboot exists as an extant form of digimon that just is to my brain lmao.

[detectiveichijouji]

I decided to post them together, since i cannot separate them. And this is the only reason in this project they're TOGETHER -- because i can't get to separate them at all.

---

ノエル・ルブラン (Nöel Leblanc)

A 20 year old gentleman who’s actually the human form of the elusive and eccentric phantom thief Arsenemon. Noel is polite and kind, but tends to not take many things seriously. He’s playful and this can go off the rails if not for the intervention of his partner-in-crime Miss Espimon. Since he’s a shapeshifter digimon, he can take the age and appearance he desires. He can be anyone and anything, but by interacting with humans like Youta & Mizuki and Daisuke, he became attached to this particular human form and identity. Noel was overseas with Mizuki and Youta when the giant DigiEgg appeared in Tokyo, and he did see his human friends receiving a mysterious message talking about the digimon. He pondered contacting Daisuke and the others, but Youta and Mizuki said he didn’t need to worry about that and to believe in those six and their digimon.

火野陽太 (Hino Youta)

A noble 21 year old guy with a strong sense of justice. While Youta still has a smugness attitude and not thinking very well before talking, he has gotten a little more sensitive and tends to be way more chillier than he used to be. Yet, he won’t hold back against anyone who dares to mess with his friends Mizuki and Noel. Coronamon, his Digimon partner, tends to be more vocal, calling him out when he's about to lose his cool, and now has strong opinions. The lion-like Digimon used to not stand up to any order in the past, but now, if he thinks something is unfair, he will be the first one to point it out. Youta was overseas with Mizuki and Noel when the mysterious giant DigiEgg appeared at the top of the Tokyo Tower, but he and Mizuki got a strange message on their phones. One dog tag has a sun and is golden, the other has a moon and a star and is silver. They represent the Space Trio and how he deeply cares about Mizuki and Noel.

氷川美月 (Hikawa Mizuki)

A fine and elegant 21 year old lady. Still has that mysterious aura, but can be a little harsh if you mess with her and her friends Youta and Noel. Still wants to resort to pacific ways, but won't hold back if there's no option left. Her partner Lunamon used to be a wild card and a sassy little kid or a very supportive sweetheart depending on her mood, but now she just keeps the group together. Mizuki and her friends weren't in Japan when the ominous giant DigiEgg appeared at the top of the Tokyo Tower though... But she and Youta got a strange message on their phones.

[their outfits were based on picrew versions of them]

[vermilionvector]

Digimon Ghost Game EP. 59

The problem with this episode wasn't that it's not good from visual/animation standpoint, but it's inconsistent with our established power level. Nevertheless, it's certainly a milestone for the series.

Kiyo went to work out of town and met with his colleague and fellow anime fan, Meru. Right from the start, their shared interest made them quite a loveable duo, and unexpectedly, she would have an indirect impact in this episode. Having overheard Kiyo calling Gammamon on the phone and questioned what it meant, Meru has unknowingly stepped into one heck of a chaotic mess that were the Digimons.

Later that day, they attended a super sentai show based on the folklore of Jiraiya, a form of hero who vanquished evil. Then, Tonosamagekomon crashed the show, claiming he was looking for Jiraiya. Kiyo, who was worried the audience would be harmed, lied to Tonosamagekomon that he was Jiraiya. I know Kiyo had this courage sleeping inside him but didn't have the chance to show it out much, so it's a good thing this episode gave him this chance. Even though this episode wasn't Amphimon's debut, this would be a great build up nonetheless. I wonder what her debut episode was gonna be like, considering the next episode would be flooded with water.

Tonosamagekomon then kidnapped Kiyo and trapped him on his back. Gekomon, Tonosamagekomon's servant, threatened Kiyo to never try to leave as his lord didn't know what was happening on his back. Meanwhile, Hiro and Ruli who were contacted earlier by Kiyo arrived at the festival site but couldn't find him. Meru, who once again overheard Gammamon's name, approached them and told her story.

Also, we learned Gammamon's new baby vocab: Nababa = Choco banana. This is more important than the main story, trust me.

At night, Tonosamagekomon continuously punished evildoers (both major and minor crimes alike) while Kiyo constantly sank inside his back. By the time the gang caught up with him (Meru also happened to stalk them too, having gone unnoticed by Gammamon who was riding in Hiro's backpack all the time), he's already been absorbed. Gammamon and Angoramon evolved to Canoweissmon and Lamortmon to fight Tonosamagekomon and were on equal footings, being able to push Tonosamagekomon into a corner.

Then, conveniently, the evolution timer went off.

What followed was a one-side beating from Tonosamagekomon. Gammamon was injured badly but yet still able to stand up, with a grim look on his face.

And when that theme played, we knew what was going to happen.

Gulusgammamon was back. boys.

But while I always appreciated his screen time, there were some things I disliked about his return here.

At this point Gammamon and Angoramon both achieved Mega evolution. It's a much clearer and better way of beating Tonosamagekomon. But since "the plot" required them to lose, it's fixed that Mega NOT happened, which was inconsistent with what they could do.

Like I said in Ghost Taxi episode, Gulus's appearance was becoming more arbitrary, as if Gammamon was more aware of what's inside him and became less hesitant to call it out. But to resort to such power, he must have thought that the situation was very dire. But as I mentioned in the first bullet, he could evolve to Mega, but the plot prohibited him from doing so. You could argue that the time limit was for both Ultimate and Mega, but since this is a Digimon show, they could always wing it off with the power of bond.

In short, his return was a bit too late. It'd have been fine if it were before the Megas' debut.

Back to the episode, shortly after his return, we saw a few shots:

Espimon seemingly recognized Gulus. I don't know if Hokuto told him anything about Gulus or he's just genuinely surprised.

BlackAgumon, BlackGargomon and BlackGrowlmon's return, all in one place. I don't know how the hell they appeared so fast. Maybe they have always been stalking Hiro's gang. Their return corresponded to earlier episodes with Gulus, but all of them appearing together could mean that we won't get more BlackXXX Digimons, which could also mean that Gulus's plotline might be resolved soon.

Sadly, Gulus had to be a part of Meru's first experience with Digimons as she has been watching from afar all this time.

Gulus then proceeded to beat the hell out of Tonosamagekomon (and he should be grateful that Gulus went "easy" on him, using only punches and kicks). Hiro stepped in to stop Gulus. And here, Gulus stated his goal: for Hiro to sync with him (which we've already seen almost being accomplished in EP. 13), then he could easily save Kiyo and other victims by killing Tonosamagekomon. Hiro declined such savagery, but still intent on saving them nonetheless. Gulus was going to proceed to do whatever he pleased like in EP. 13, but then Gekomon interrupted him and saved the victims himself.

On retrospect, this scene was very funny to me. Gulus has always been portrayed as this brooding, merciless, life-threatening being. Unmatched and unbeatable. But then Gekomon, a mere Rookie, had the gall to interrupt him and easily destroyed the impetus of saving the victims that he was using to manipulate Hiro jut a few seconds ago. It was so disrespectful that I found it hilarious (especially that short "Huh?" Gulus muttered). And Gulus's malice to get rid of Gekomon after all that was totally understandable.

Luckily, Hiro intervened again, and Gulus conceded. But before he disappeared, he said it's only "a matter of time" before he got what he wanted eventually. Either he knew what's going to happen (with the memory from his past life), or he's just confident that the future would be so grim that Hiro would eventually rely on him anyway.

(Also, not gonna lie, this scene is kinda hot. And this shot is like 1-1 recreation of a doujin cover I've accidentally stumbled upon on Twitter).

Lastly, the most unexpected resolution, Meru, being an anime otaku as she was, volunteered to take care of Tonosamagekomon and Gekomon, thinking living with monsters cool (as we all are, Meru). This was the first time that a human without a Digivice took Digimons under her care. Not even Yuto or Kotaro who were more directly involved with Digimons were given such privilege. I don't know if she only thought of them as cool AI Holograms and didn't know about their true identities as Digimons, but that's only a minor detail. I hope we see more of her in the future. A few more supporting characters always give more life to the series.

[jadeazora]

That fake-out there, you think it’s gonna be a happy ending after Shadramon is pulled out apparently fine, but death catches up with him anyway.

Also, kinda get the vibe we’re setting up a Gammamon death at some point, with the watch lighting up as Datamon is bragging about regenerating a Digimon with its memories and Hiro zeroing in that death and returning to a Digiegg is just a Digimon’s nature. Moreover, we still don’t know why Espimon is looking for the “real Hiro”, it might be to partner up if something happens to Gammamon.

[firstagent]

Ghost Game #47 Review

The previous episode was perhaps even more pointless than this one, but its one major redeeming factor was that it kept all the suffering in house. We didn’t need to meet or suddenly empathize with a new character, and in fact our tepid empathy for Kotaro made the body horror easier to enjoy. Putting this Tamotsu kid through the ringer this time proves our point. Before we learn about his connection to Kiyoshiro, he’s just a random kid literally plucked off the couch, infected with the memory of a dead Digimon, and sent down the usual route. There’s something to be said about a Digimon who engages in this kind of cruelty For Science. This episode is far too pre-occupied with other nonsense to actually say it.

No matter how potentially compelling Tamotsu and Shadramon’s situation is, the episode is determined to make this about the main characters. Normally that’s a good instinct, and nothing about Tomatsu makes us want to get to know him any better. But rather than lean into the examination of ethics in science, so much time gets invested into an unnecessary procedural slog. They want Angoramon to look at him but he’s out so they send Espimon after him. Espimon whines about it claiming not to care about them even though he’s around them all the time and does their fetching anyway… twice after they request Jellymon… who’s also gone for some reason. Then they get Mummymon involved but Tamotsu would rather the doctor make a house call and that’s a whole thing. Even when things are pointless, there’s something fun about watching the gang operate at peak efficiency. This story gets mired in so many dumb obstacles that you’re begging for them to just cut to the big reveal and final battle.

The battle is all right with a Shadramon under Nanomon’s control, punishing Espimon for existing, and something involving magnets. Because Science. And at least Nanomon’s attempt to play God isn’t rewarded as Shadramon still dies after being separated from Tamotsu. Tamotsu’s totally fine because… reasons. BlackTailmon Uver shows up again just as they need to expel a hostile Digimon from the world, and Hiro has yet another letter. By this point it’s actually frustrating how nice he sounds explaining how the letter describe his feelings about the incoming Digimon to his father. Given how much Hokuto is screwing them up, saying anything less than “please stop, you’re making everything terrible” is unacceptable. But we’re not getting that, are we?

Initial Grade: D

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[analyzingadventure]

Catching up on Ghost Game, episodes 43-49 Oh boy have I fallen behind, lmao oops

Quick note, since I do want to watch these episodes in one go without it taking forever I might try to keep the commentary to a minimum because. Commenting on shit takes time (since I need to pause, take a screenshot, crop it, save it, add it to the post, write some commentary... It slows things down)

43 - Red Eye

Man this episode is gonna be rough to anybody with a fear of eyes, huh

NO NO

NOT IN THE EYE

HHHHH

OHHH I DON’T LIKE THAT, I DON’T LIKE THAT A LOT

So what the fuck is Eyesmon really after? Just? Does he just want to see and know things for the sake of seeing and knowing? Having eyes on everything? Or is he looking for something in specific?

Emma what the fuck were you gonna do with those scissors 8V

You know there’s an Eyes of Nine joke to be made here somewhere

Yeah this episode was fine, nothing great, but not bad, just fine

44 - Rust

So we got shaking buildings, rusty water, limited edition items... Unknown Digimon is stealing shit for the kid in school who redistributes them or something? Anyway Espimon don’t be a dick and steal Gamma’s choco >:(

OH WE GOT TINY DEVA BUNNIES

Ah, so the monster of the week is Jellymon causing problems dfsghfdg

Tiny Antylamon are so fucking cute tho, and funny in comparison to the Lorge Antylamon from Tamers

That looks so much like a toy it’s so fucking funny (also, the design is interesting actually, like, would an egg shaped, round phone be easier for most Digimon to hold since their hands can be all sorts of funky?)

Oh the tiny bunnies are big bunnies now

This is definitely more of an action episode than anything and all things considdered, it was a nice change of pace! Again, it was a fine episode

Oh wow we still have a few minutes to go lol

OH THE ANTYLAMON WERE MAKING SHIT FOR HOKUTO?? Huh

45 - Ghost Newspaper

OH RYUDAMON’S BACK! That’s nice

Oh jesus the girl got ran over, oh god

OH THIS IS THE EPISODE WITH THE NOT-APPMON, RIGHT (although I’m really behind I haven’t really avoided the usual Twitter spoilers, so yes I did see all the Digimon who’re appearing in these episodes, although I kinda forgot most of them). And he’s voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi, of course

Man Publimon looks so much like an Appmon lmao

We’re not done with this episode yet but this is definitely my least favorite I’ve watched so far, like, actually kinda boring

Oh shit, Publi straight up just... died. I mean, kind of earned, but, man, brutal

Yeah, meh episode at best. NEW ENDING THO! Cute!

46 - Queen’s Banquet

Oh man, Kotaro’s hallucinating, that’s bad, that’s rough, Hiro please notice, dude’s clearly not okay

Oh man the animation on the new flower Digimon is so excessively smooth

Jellymon, couldn’t you have gone with Ruri soshe wouldn’t have been alone

Oh no the Digi wants to vore Kotaro... time for Digitamamon 2.0

Oleamon, eh, that’s a lovely name

HOKUTO AGAIN... YOU ABSOLUTELY USELESS FUCK

I’m actually happy Oleamon isn’t Digitamamon 2.0, that’s fun and charming. This episode was fine once again

47 - Memory of Eternity

Oh this is the Nanomon episode, okay. Dude’s just... allowing Digimon to linger longer through human bodies?

LMAO

Man couldn’t they just go directly to fucking Mummymon and ask him for help?

OH THEY DID, FANTASTIC

Omg he has a lab coat now, that’s so fucking cute

Mummymon is so fucking cute I’m SO HAPPY he’s a reoccuring character

Oh man Nanomon is TINY

Oh man I was literally just wishing Mummymon would show up guns blazing AND LOOK WHOSE FUCKING HERE HELL YEAH

Oh man... poor Shadramon...

JKGHFJKHDFJKHDFG don’t scream that’s not polite to your doctor

OH UVER?? I mean yeah he’s there for the egg but also Nanomon?? And another letter to Hokuto, okay

48 - The White Bride

Ah this is the new Mushmon variant eh

Ah random Geremon...

Ah, Ryudamon is in this episode too

Is it weird that these Mushroom Digimon eat mushrooms?

I love this Geremon lmao LOOK AT ‘IM (and ah, this is why the Geremon was here, to be a lil helper, how nice)

Wait don’t tell me the Geremon is actually evil and behind this all, oh no

RYUDAMON EVOLVES??? RANDOM BUT COOL??

Chamblemon, eh

Limit Break!

Oh man these Chamblemon are STRONK

Why does this look like a fake sub screenshot lmao??

KIYO WHY ARE YOU EATING YOUR OWN SHROOMS?? Bro that’s really weird

GEREMON??? WHAT???

THAT?? I??? WHAT???

Good episode, uh, unsettling ending???

49 - The Crimson Harvest Festival

Aaand last episode for now, a Halloween episode! And Witchmon is here, how fun!

So Witchmon is pulling Vamdemon’s shit all over again

I wonder how Mummymon would feel seeing Hiro and Gammamon dressed up as mummies for Halloween lmao

So Witchmon wants a world for just witches... bro just go to Witchelny jdfhgdsfg

Oh she wants a castle? I mean valid but excessive

PUMPMON IS BACK! HOW?! HOW DID YOU COME BACK I MEAN I’M NOT COMPLAINING I’M HAPPY, IT’S A HALLOWEEN MIRACLE, BUT HOW

Please tell me we’re gonna see Pumpmon and get to know how he’s here, I’m gonna be really sad if he got blown away and we don’t see him again this episode

Okay we got to see him again, I’m happy

LORE BOMB??

WELL, I GUESS WE KNOW WHY GAMMAMON’S BEING STALKED.... Those are totally his former followers

God

Man, no explanation to how Pumpmon returned, that’s balls

That was a fine episode again, nothing great though, but man... that lore bomb

Next epI OH OH MEICRACKMON?? MEICRACKMON??? OH MY GOD???

[digimonghostgays]

Posted December 15 2022

https://noisespace.xyz/2022/12/15/54-trepanation-anime-recs/

Hiro and espimon end up not having great times in this episode but everyone else is having a blast AND they eventually get better so it’s fine. I think

[arkadiaasks]

What do you think of Digimon Ghost Game?

"Wow this is GeGeGe no Kitaro that killed an Agumon and decided to wear it as a zoot suit"

It's. Fine as a show. The cast is likable. They've generally got the chills and thrills down, and if the scares don't get you one week, they more likely will another week.

I can understand the use of the more weekly stuff happens plots, which is in line with GeGeGe no Kitaro's style of weekly horror and morality lessons, which Ghost Game seems to be emulating A LOT.

Though I wish we'd like occasionally get more long plots, which GeGeGe no Kitaro would do, even like 2 parters. (I think Vamdemon/Myotismon would of been perfect for this.)

I did like the recent episode with Pie(d)mon where the cast could never beat him on a raw power scale, since he's a Level 6, so we had to go for more tension and mind games.

Though, ultimately I think unless the plot threads with Espimon and GulusGammamon lead somewhere particularly interesting it's probably going to end up being somewhat Mid, but a fondly regarded Mid, if you get my feelings.

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 17 - Real? Fake? The thread of lies

[AO3 version]

“... I sensed a digimon nearby that time Akitomo Rika was a target…”

Arsenemon mused all alone, watching Tokyo’s landscape at night. So he was right… Someone was using the digimon and humans to cause havoc. He then counted the cases of rampaging wicked evolutions with his magic:

 “Bakumon’s case, Sloth. Koubara Takuya’s case, Pride. Witchmon Sally’s case, Greed. Akitomo Rika’s case, Gluttony.”

“Those seem to be reacting to the deepest human and digimon’s emotions and deadly sins…” He watched closely his notes in thin air, “Which ones are left…? Lust, Envy and Wrath?”

“YOO! BOSS!!” Miss Espimon popped out, flying next to him, “Huh? What’s wrong?”

“Ah, mademoiselle Espimon” he looked at her, “I don’t think… Those cases are random…”

“Hmmm…” She looked at the magical notes in front of him, “Do you think some of those cases…?”

“They’re targeting the kids and moi, but for what purpose…?”

“Well, you both are after the Digimental of Desire’s pieces… So maybe… Wait, is Shinkai Sara’s Bakumon linked to either of us?”

“Hmm, true, maybe this one was a test for something… But I do remember mademoiselle Lune be friends with both Shinkai Sara and Shinjo Michi… And she is linked to…”

“MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN, I’m tired!” Daisuke sighed. He had finished cleaning his room and sat on the floor, “But I have to keep things organized now, I’m no kid anymore!”

“Hmm… Is it me or are you getting a little more responsible?” Chibimon chuckled.

“Oi, I’m responsible! I always WAS responsible!” he snapped.

“Dai-chan, your friends are here~” He heard his mother knocking on his door.

“A-ah right! I forgot Ken and the others would pass by today!!”

“For what occasion this time?”

“... We’re just worried about Takeru,” Daisuke replied with a frown, “Something smells like a problem in the future. And more things…”

He opened the door and greeted the other four people and four digimon who came in -- For some reason, Takeru and Patamon weren’t present. After an awkward silence between all five, Ken broke it by starting with an important subject:

“I think we should go back to the place I found that Digimental 6 years ago and look for clues.”

“You mean…” Miyako said, and everyone looked at Ken, “When you were the Kaiser?”

“Yes.”

“Ichijouji-san, did you build any more facilities as the Kaiser before?” Iori asked, curious.

“My memories were foggy for a while, but now I do remember about that dark past more clearly.”

“Hey, is it OK to ask you stuff like this though?” Daisuke seemed concerned.

“Don’t worry about it,” and Ken smiled softly, “I don’t intend to go back to that mindset. I think… Having you guys, my family and the digimon helped me to improve myself and recover my heart. So I won’t be the Kaiser again.”

“You kinda dodged the question, dagya” Upamon said.

“He didn’t,” Minomon replied instead, “Ken-chan was assuring Daisuke that it’s fine to ask him that question.”

“Oh…”

“Which means I…” Ken cleared his throat, “I did make small facilities through the Digital World. And one of them was where I found that Digimental.”

“Oh…” The others reacted, but Iori and Tailmon were silent.

“If we’re going to find a way to track down the perpetrator spreading those pieces… We have to check down there.”

“So we’re going to the place it all began?” Poromon asked.

“Hold on,” Tailmon interrupted them, “Someone has to stay here and keep everything under control.”

“Tailmon’s right,” Daisuke nodded sagely, “And I don’t think Takeru and Patamon are in the right mood for a Digital World trip… And there’s Arsenemon too.”

“That’s why I want you to stay here, Daisuke,” Ken replied with a serious tone of voice, “You and Hikari-san should stay here and help Takeru-kun.”

“That’s a bad idea” Chibimon babbled, “We shouldn’t break the Jogress pairs like that! What if one of us faces a tougher enemy??”

“In that case…” Iori looked at Ken, “I will stay. Takeru-san is my Jogress partner after all.”

“But Daisuke has some affinity with Arsenemon,” Miyako mused, “And we know he’s the most determined to go after that thief.”

“I can’t turn my back on y’all…” Daisuke frowned again, “But I’m worried about something happening to either of you. I should go with Ken, but I can’t let Arsenemon catch more pieces… Can I split in two and do both things together!?”

“Split in two??” Everyone just repeated, but then they decided to not question Daisuke’s logic.

“Like, a digimon copy me and--”

“Take this seriously, please?!” Miyako and Ken snapped at him.

“Alright, alright…” he pouted, “Take Hikari-chan and Miyako with you. Iori and I will stay here and keep things in peace.”

“And Daisuke,” Ken looked right into Daisuke’s eyes, “Don’t trust Noel.”

“H-huh!?”

“He’s too suspicious, he might be approaching you for another reason.”

“... I don’t understand what ya mean but I’ll be careful…”

What do ya mean… Noel’s not a bad guy, man… -- Daisuke thought, pouting like a kid hours after their gathering and when everyone went home.

Ken did not explain anything though… So Daisuke’s reaction was that Ken was either jealous of Noel or he spotted something odd already. But his ‘Shade People radar’ never caught anything strange towards Noel…

Meanwhile, Takeru was still upset. He was looking at Patamon playing with those toy blocks… He was… Feeling a mix of anger and fear of having to see Patamon taking the form of the same-or-similar digimon who brought him misfortune as a kid 9 years ago.

“Takeru…?” Patamon looked back at his partner, “What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing…” Takeru smiled, but it was one of those fake smiles he put on his face to not let anyone else worry about him, “I’m just glad you’re fine now.”

“Huh…?” Patamon blinked and tilted his head, “Okay then…?”

I didn’t know that… That Patamon can turn into that kind of digimon… -- Takeru was thoughtful. That image was still playing in his head:

“TAKERUUUU, HELP!!”“PATAMON!!”

That fusion between Rika, her Kuramon partner and Patamon turning into IceDevimon was causing him so much pain. He tried to forget it! But every time he looked at Patamon… He was afraid of Patamon taking that form again.

Takeru then sighed, and he heard the doorbell ringing. Maybe it was his mother, right? He expected her to come late tonight… But once he opened the door he met a hooded creature of the same size as a V-mon, or a little taller than one.

“Huh, who are you?” Takeru blinked.

“Heheh…” the hooded digimon chuckled, “I’m the answer to your despair, human. You want to catch the one causing you awful nightmares, right? Sooooo… What if we make a deal?”

“I don’t want to make a deal with a stranger digimon…”

“Why not? I have the power you want, I know you want to punish the one who caused that pain on you.”

“I’m sorry, but no. I have more important things to do.”

“Tsk, you’re missing a great opportunity to unleash your rage against that guy!” Then the hooded digimon showed Takeru a very peculiar shard .

“Y-you… Where did you…?!”

Next day, after school… The group gathered at the karaoke booth, and they discussed the next steps of their investigation.

“Make sure to keep the communicator online” Miyako reminded them, “If we take too long to return…”

“We tell your families that y’all are on a sleepover at my house, gotcha” Daisuke nodded.

“But why at Daisuke-san’s house?” Wormmon asked.

“I don’t think we could justify a flip of 180º in my personality to throw a sleepover out of the blue,” Iori replied nonchalantly.

“True, true,” V-mon agreed with a shrug.

“Iori ain’t a party animal like Daisuke, dagya” Armadimon added.

Suddenly, the door of the booth opened, and someone walked in. They all looked at the person standing in front of them.

“Yo, I’m back.”

“Takeru(-kun/san)??” the group exclaimed.

It was indeed Takeru. But… Patamon was not with him.

“How are you today, Takeru-san?” Iori asked, “And where’s Patamon?”

“Patamon’s fine. I can here to tell you I’m doing well now and there’s no need to worry,” he smiled, but… Something was off for Daisuke, Iori and Ken.

Patamon is fine but it’s not here? This doesn’t seem good… -- The boys thought.

“If Patamon’s fine why isn’t he with you…?” Hawkmon asked out of curiosity.

“He’s resting at home, being fused like that had drained his energies” he answered the question without hesitating, “But he’s doing well too.”

“Ok then…” Tailmon looked at everyone else, then they looked at her.

They whispered something to not let Takeru hear them out:

“This is suspicious…” Tailmon said, “Hikari, Daisuke, V-mon and I didn’t see him at school today…”“Patamon wouldn’t want to stay at home too,” V-mon added. “Something is off here… Maybe he’s Arsenemon in disguise” Armadimon whispered. “We don’t know but we shouldn’t turn our guard down,” Hawkmon muttered back. “Alright, leave it to Iori and me,” Daisuke replied, and the others nodded in return.

Daisuke looked at Takeru, “Sooooooo if you’re fine now we should hang out and grab a grub! Right, Iori??” 

“Exactly. Would you guys like to come too?”

“Oh we’re busy!” Miyako replied, “Can’t go with you three.”

“Busy with what?” Takeru asked.

“It doesn’t matter what it is!” Daisuke started pulling Takeru out of the booth, “Let’s go eat some pumpkin pie, for the season.”

“And then we could look for costumes for the Halloween festival!” V-mon added.

“I’d like to try a hat this year,” Armadimon commented; he and Iori pretended to be leaving the booth, only to allow the group to go to the Digital World.

Once Ken, Wormmon, Miyako, Hawkmon, Hikari and Tailmon were in the Digital World… Iori and Armadimon turned the laptop off and took it with him. In the Digital World, the expedition began, with the group arriving at one of the old Digimon Kaiser’s basements near the mountainous area.

“According to the archives stored in my computer six years ago, this is the area I found that Digimental.”

“What are we exactly looking for, Ichijouji-kun?” Hikari asked gently, following the boy through the area.

“Anything suspicious, if possible.”

“Ok…”

“One more question,” Tailmon pointed at Wormmon, who was wearing nerdy-like glasses and a medical mask, “Why is Wormmon with that getup?”

Ken glanced at Wormmon, who shivered in fear. Ken sighed, “He’s trying to not call everyone’s attention I suppose. To not get us in trouble.”

“E-exactly!” Wormmon’s voice was a little muffled by the mask, “Everyone knows I was the Digimon Kaiser’s pet digimon, they could recognize me and then Ken-chan would be discovered.”

“I thought you had publicly apologized to the digimon” Miyako frowned.

“At this point they forgot about the Kaiser,” Hawkmon said, “And you have done a lot of good actions to compensate for the issues you had caused in the past.”

“But do you know how bad it could be if we’re seen entering one of those abandoned buildings!?” Wormmon continued, “It’s better safe than sorry.”

“Ok…” Ken looked at the girls, “I think he got a point here.”

The girls and their partners shook their heads in silence. Then, they started seeking for clues.

It will be 35 minutes since they left the karaoke booth and Daisuke was acting suspiciously. He believed Takeru was actually Arsenemon, and Iori was also watching every movement Takeru made. V-mon and Armadimon were also watching Takeru silently, and this whole weird behavior from the four started to make things awkward.

“... Why are you four acting weirdly all of a sudden?”

“Ok. Why are you acting weirdly today!?” Daisuke snapped, “You ain’t Takeru, or are?”

“I’m not acting weird, I had a traumatic episode again. Sorry for worrying everyone...”

“That sounds more like the usual Takeru-san,” Iori commented, taking a sip of his ice tea next.

“Then, where’s Patamon?” V-mon asked, “Did something happen to him?”

“He’s fine, I already said it.”

“No offense, but you’re not the kind to leave Patamon at home” Daisuke squinted his eyes, “Like, none of us would do that unless something really risky could happen to them.”

“... Ok, I admit there is something wrong with him.”

“What is it, dagya?”

“I’m leaving him out because…” and then he showed a fragment of the forbidden Digimental.

“W-WHERE DID YOU GET THAT (dagya)?!” all four exclaimed.

“I found it lying on my doorstep. I’m trying to keep it away from Patamon… I don’t want him to evolve into that Devimon-like creature again…”

“I see…” Iori replied and he, Daisuke and their digimon sighed in relief.

“Now that you got it, you should send it to Koushiro-san, just in case” Daisuke suggested.

“I will do that, but first I need to check out something with Yamato. I heard he got into trouble with his new band…”

“That’s right! I heard that too” Daisuke exclaimed, then looked at Iori, “Right? Taichi-san and Koushiro-san were chatting about it on the group’s chat.”

“Then, I’ll be going. See you later,” and he left in a hurry.

“... Iori.” Daisuke stared at him, “There’s something off here.”

“It’s surprising how you noticed it too.”

“Huh?” V-mon blinked.

Hours later, Ken, Miyako, Hikari and their digimon kept inspecting the area Ken found the Digimental of Desire 6 years ago. But Ken sensed something was wrong. And when he realized…

A digimon attacked him from the shadows.

Wormmon removed his getup and evolved immediately to Stingmon and hit the beast, whose Tailmon identified as being a Manticoremon . It kept targeting Ken and Stingmon, forcing Hawkmon and Tailmon to evolve into Silphymon and join the battle.

They kept attacking Manticoremon, but not to kill it but rather make it weak and allow them to escape. Ken didn’t need to wonder why he was the enemy’s target though… But Miyako and Hikari wouldn’t allow him to be caught.

“Dual Sonic!!”“Moon Shooter!!”

The shock wave from Silphymon and the spikes fired by Stingmon seemed to have made Manticoremon weaker. It stepped back out of a sudden and restrained itself from attacking again. That action made both Stingmon and Silphymon confused, was it giving them a chance to escape?

Then they decided to take a chance to escape, only to catch up with Ken, Miyako and Hikari and get surprised by an angel-like digimon with a sacred fire staff. At first, they all thought it was their ally until said angel -- Said to be ArkhaiAngemon according to Tailmon once again, tried to burn them with its fire staff. The trio’s digimon protected them by grabbing the kids and dodging the fire.

“Why are you attacking us?!” Miyako growled, “UGH, is it because we invaded your territory??”

ArkhaiAngemon did not say anything, and when he was about to attack the group again…

“X-LASER!!”“GOLD RUSH!!”

It was interrupted by XV-mon and Digmon’s attacks, which it repelled with the Holy Rod. But why were Daisuke and Iori there after all?! Daisuke, XV-mon and Digmon stood in front of the angel-like digimon, while Iori went to check the other three and their partners.

“Why are you here?!” Silphymon (Aquilamon side) asked them. “How about Takeru-kun??” Hikari also added a second question.

“Heh, you thought we would be stupid enough to not notice what you had done?” Daisuke smirked, but something sounded like him wavering at the same time, “Ain’t we pals, Takeru?”

“W-what?!” Ken, Miyako and Hikari plus their partners exclaimed in surprise.

“How about you get rid of that thing before you get real hurt?!” Daisuke shouted, “You’re WAY STRONGER THAN THAT!!”

“Kh…!!”

“How…??” Ken blinked, “How did this happen?”

Iori took a breath and then explained, hesitantly, “Takeru-san said he found a fragment, and that we would give it to Koushiro-san, but first he had to cheer Yamato-san up because of issues with the new band.”

“Except we all know Yamato-san’s band is on an undetermined hiatus” Daisuke added, displeased, “Which made us follow you and see you opening the gate and then using the friggin fragment on you.”

“But… Why?” Hikari was speechless.

“Yeah, Takeru, why did you do that?” Daisuke stared at him, “Snap out of it, dude!!”

“It’s… it’s thanks to Ichijouji-kun that Patamon evolved into that monster…!!”

“When will my issues with Takeru-kun end?” Ken muttered.

“If he hadn’t destroyed the Digimental of Desire, none of us would’ve been in pain now!”

“DUDE!” Daisuke growled, “It’s the Digimental fragment messing up with your brain! Ken might have been an idiot in the past, throwing a tantrum and messing things up… But he’s NOT the one offering pieces of some wicked Digimental to innocent people!!”

“...!!”

Daisuke approached ArkhaiAngemon and…

“OPEN YOUR DARN EYES, TAKAISHI TAKERU!!”

SLAP!!

Daisuke slapped him in the face.

Manticoremon came after him, only to have the other digimon stop it from reaching Daisuke.

“Meeeeeeh, this is boring! I wanted to watch a real betrayal happening, hmph!”

“?! Who’s there?!” Ken shouted, and everyone looked around… Until they found a V-mon sized hooded digimon.

“My my, hey kiddo!” the hooded digimon talked to Takeru, “End their lives already! They’re messing things up with you and your beloved Pata-- I mean, Manticoremon! I promised you this power would be peeeeeeeeeeerfect for your vengeance!!”

“How dare you mess with our friend's mind!” Miyako yelled angrily.

“Takeru-kun, please” Hikari said desperately, “Stop…!!”

“I… I DON’T… WANT… IT…!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!” And he threw the staff on the floor, with the holy flame extinguishing as the Holy Rod hit the ground. The evolution broke and Takeru fell on Daisuke’s arms, exhausted.

“TAKERU(-KUN/SAN)” the group exclaimed.

At the same time, Maricoremon devolved back to Patamon and fainted on the floor.

“Meh, I should’ve chosen someone stronger for that show!” the hooded digimon pouted.

“Who are you?!” Silphymon (Tailmon side) shouted, clenching their hand.

“I’m nobody and you don’t need to--”

“Gold Rush.” Digmon got tired of the pepsqueak-mon and threw a drill at its hood, uncovering the digimon’s face.

“G-GAH! NOT MY FACE!!” It was an Impmon with an eyepatch “RUDE! I’M TRYING TO BE A GOOD HOST!”

“A host?” Iori repeated.

“Come on!! You should entertain us… Isn’t it fun that way, Digimon Kaiser?”

“Huh?” they seemed to be confused.

“Oh, look…! I have to go now, see ya~” and then, Impmon vanished.

“H-hey come back here--” Daisuke shouted.

Someone else was watching them in silence -- Noel. He gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist. You would usually see Noel being a shy and awkward kid… But this time he was a total opposite of it. His bangs uncovered his right eye, and he was staring at the place that Impmon was.

Comme c'est impardonnable!! -- Noel thought -- Using friends like these…!! Maybe I should… Tell them the truth.

And then, Noel left without leaving any trace.

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 22 - The fearsome, chaotic evolution.

[AO3 version]

Daisuke, Takeru and Hikari were going to school together when they suddenly found Noel on the way. The awkward feeling between the four while they walked on the street caused some tension in Daisuke and Noel.

“So… Noel-kun,” Takeru tried to break the ice.

“Hm?” the boy looked to the side.

“You’re a distant relative of Maurice Leblanc, right?”

“Mhm” he nodded shyly.

“Takeru, you shouldn’t ask that…!!” Daisuke whispered to Takeru, Hikari gave a deep sigh.

“I mean, it’s better than asking about something else…” Takeru replied in a low voice, trying to not let Noel hear them, “Besides, this could help us to know him better.”

“... He’s a late relative from my father’s side of the family…” Noel explained, “But… Why do you ask…?”

“No-nothing nothing--” Daisuke interrupted whatever Takeru and Hikari would say.

“... It’s okay, people ask me the same question though…”

“How’s your digimon doing…?” Hikari asked this time.

“Ah… Espimon is fine… She’s just wandering around… I don’t want her to stay stuck inside home…”

“Suspicious…” Tailmon mused in a low voice, the others nodded, except for Daisuke and Chibimon.

“... Why are you acting so strange lately…?”

“Nothing… We just…” Takeru started.

“... Is it because of Motomiya-san? Are you going to… threaten me like Ichijouji-san did…?”

“Wait what??” Daisuke blinked, “Ken… Ken wouldn’t do something like that, right?”

“He did… W-well, I’m sorry that I’m not very good at expressing myself, but I’m… I’m not here to take you away from your friends…”

Takeru and Hikari looked at each other, then to Noel -- Wait, we didn’t mean…

“I know that,” Daisuke replied, then glanced at the other two, judging them.

“Maybe it would be better if… If we don’t talk anymore…” Noel said and then ran away.

“W-wait, Noel!!” Daisuke tried to stop him but he ran faster than Daisuke.

“...” Hikari and Takeru were frowning now. Daisuke glanced at them once again.

“I told ya he’s NOT the enemy!” he snapped, “What’s wrong with y’all!?”

“I’m sorry…” Takeru apologized.

“Man… Sometimes y’all need to know when to stop…” Daisuke then left, looking for Noel.

“... They’re after me…” Noel was walking all alone, still bugged by those questions, “I think I can’t be friends with them, I’m too different from them.”

“Yoooooooooooo!!” Espimon appeared in front of him, but she dropped her smile, “Uhh, something wrong, Noel?”

“... The Chosen Children are after me now,” he pouted, “Well, I think this is what I get for trying to be a gentleman,” and shrugged.

“What, wasn’t it part of your plan?” she squinted her eyes, annoyed.

“... No?” he replied, deadpanned, “But it makes things a little more fun, don’t you think?”

“And here you go, with that line again. Sigh…”

“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt this time, so I have to do it this way” he gave another shrug.

“How about Daisuke, though? Oh, I sense he’s coming…”

“Oh…”

“NOEL, THERE YOU ARE!!”

The fact Daisuke managed to find him quickly implied he couldn’t get rid of that boy that easily…

“Look, I’m sorry” Daisuke babbled, “Takeru and Hikari-chan… They didn’t mean any harm. And I will talk with Ken about this later. But please, forgive them” and he bowed his head.

“... They are… They are right to think I’m suspicious though…”

“Huh??” Daisuke looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

“Ichijouji-san came to interrogate me… He claimed to have seen me with one of those shards…”

“He told me… But you don’t have one, right?”

“...”

“Right?”

“A-about that I…”

“What, did you have it and… didn’t tell me?” he frowned.

“... I found it and then that Impmon stole it from me…!!” he babbled quickly, “R-right when I was about to send it to you so you could secure it and prevent it from hurting someone…”

“That Impmon…!!” he saw Daisuke’s fists clenching, “This was all a misunderstanding… I’m glad it was all a misunderstanding” and then he saw Daisuke laughing.

“??” But Noel was unable to comprehend why Daisuke laughed lightly and sighed in relief.

“I’ll tell them what you told me,” and then Daisuke smiled, “I knew you weren’t a bad person, Noel.”

“T-thanks… I guess…”

And then Daisuke grabbed him by the wrist, gently, “Oh we gotta go! School time, and I won’t let you skip your class!!” Then, he was dragged by the goggle boy back to the path to the school.

“Sora was attacked…” Taichi sighed, he was kinda mentally exhausted at this point. As a kid, he had enjoyed the idea of being a hero saving the world and make his own legend… But now? He wished the evil guys to stop appearing. 

He can handle sending lost digimon back to the Digital World, that’s an easy job and less exciting… But somehow it felt better than facing a new crisis. However… Deep down…

He wanted to be free to fight alongside Agumon again. It could’ve been easier if he was still a child, right??

“Taichi,” Agumon called him, watching the human partner tapping his fingers on the desk. Agumon was on his phone’s screen, possibly connected from Koushiro’s server or directly from the Digital World, “Should we help Hikari and the others?”

“... I think gathering everyone to search for those pieces would give us way more trouble. Hikari and the others can handle this. Besides, Koushiro is already giving them assistance.”

He was lying. Agumon could feel that was a lie.

“Hmm, how’s class going?”

“Boring. It would make facing a Numemon even more exciting.”

“Hmmm…” Agumon mused.

“Ah, Yagami-kun.”

Taichi looked up and saw a boy around his age, pretty short white hair and green eyes. He was smiling serenely.

“Oh, it’s you … What’s up this time…” Taichi wasn’t in the mood to deal with that classmate though.

“Nothing, I saw you were chatting with your digimon and I thought… There are a few incidents happening around.”

“…?”

“Taichi, who’s there?” Agumon asked, although he couldn’t see who it was because of the angle.

“A classmate,” Taichi then moved the phone to show the other, “Unryuuji Naito.”

“Hello, I’m Agumon” and the digimon waved his paw cheerfully.

“Oh, so that’s your partner!” Naito exclaimed, “Hmm… Won’t you go and investigate those cases, Yagami-kun?” Then he looked back at Taichi with a grin, “It must be nice to have a digimon… You should treasure it, right?”

“... Yeah, I do.”

“Well, I’ll be going. Lunch break might end soon. Cya~” and then, Naito turned his back and left, but… He was smirking as he walked away?!

“...”

“He’s strange,” Agumon commented with Taichi, after a long long break (and when Naito was not close enough to hear him out.

“Very.”

Suddenly… Taichi found a shiny object on the floor.

“Huh…??”

“... Lune-san probably gave up on messing up with Motomiya-san and the others… Maybe I should--”

He was walking around the corridor to find Lune and Soleil staring at Hikari, Takeru and Daisuke.

“O-oh…? Oh no…”

“Enough, I can’t accept you messing up with Daisuke-kun’s head like this!”

“I hadn’t done anything, I just said he should stop messing around! You noticed this school is doomed to be plagued by mean spirited digimon and people, right?”

“You shouldn’t call Akashiya-kun like this, or even Takeru-kun!”

“But they definitely were taunted by the wicked Digimental fragments” Soleil argued back.

“Yeah?? But they didn’t mean to do that! They were forced to use the shards!” Daisuke snapped, “So if one of you had been forced to use those, would you hate each other!?”

“...” They stared at Daisuke.

“... Noel had one, it got stolen. He almost became a victim,” and he continued, “Would y’all hate him if he had been forced to use it on Espimon or on himself!?”

Noel gasped, and he approached them, “Please… don’t FIGHT… between yourselves…!!”

“Noel(-kun)/Étoile?” they all said, looked at the boy.

“... It’s true that… Akashiya-san and Takaishi-san were targets, but… They didn’t mean it… Shinkai Sara-san’s Bakumon didn’t mean it either…”

“...”

“I had a fragment too…!! B-But it was stolen before I could give it to Motomiya-san and have it secured…”

Their discussion was interrupted when Hikari’s phone rang. She took it from her pocket and answered the call, “Hello…?”

“Hikari-san, it’s Koushiro. I’ve run a scan on the shards and I discovered one at Taichi-san’s university.”

“W-what??”

“I also detected a strange amount of data at the localization. I tried contacting Taichi-san but… He does not return my calls.”

“T-Taichi!?” she gasped.

“What’s wrong??” Daisuke asked, he felt butterflies in his stomach just by looking at Hikari’s shocking expression. 

“Taichi… Is in danger,” she said desperately, “Koushiro-san found a reading of a fragment at Taichi’s university, also a strange amount of data and… Taichi… Taichi does not return his calls.”

“Something must have happened to him!” Takeru said seriously.

“Let’s go,” Daisuke told them, “Class doesn’t matter now, Taichi-san’s life is more important than grades!!” Then, he took his phone and messaged Ken, Miyako and Iori.

Takeru, Hikari and their digimon nod and then they leave the school. Noel turns to Soleil and Lune, his eyes being visible. His expression as serious and with a determined gaze:

“We should go help them.”

“Eh… Why?” Soleil looked away, dramatically, “This is business for Yagami’s group. We shouldn’t take any part in it.”

“...”

The university was taken by a strange digital dungeon. The six members of the 02 group gathered in front of the building but…

“Eh?! Is it glitching like wild?? Is it possible?!”

Yes, there were some strange digital effects outside: Windows emitting light, parts of it moving like a corrupted video file… Static and white noise effects…

“Something Happened to Taichi” Hikari shook her head, “No, he might be fine. He might be fin--”

“Hikari.”

“!!”

“Did you hear that?” Iori asked, “it sounded like…”

“T-TAICHI(-SAN)!?” and then they went inside the glitchy building.

They avoided the obstacles presented by that weird dungeon formed by the mysterious data only to find Taichi at the end of the cafeteria section of the facility. Oddly, he had a pair of goggles, exactly like the ones he had entrusted to Daisuke 6 years ago.

“Taichi?” Hikari tried to approach him, but Takeru grabbed her arm quickly.

“Wait, Hikari-chan.”

She looked at him, but now Tailmon and the digimon stood in front of the group, staring at Taichi like if they could sense something was wrong with him.

“... Why are you staring at me like that?” Taichi asked in a cold tone, they could notice by his words and body language that yes, something was off.

“Taichi-san, you used the shard, didn’t you?” Daisuke asked, seriously. You would expect him to not notice or argue with the others, but… Daisuke clearly felt something different in his beloved senior.

“So what if I did? I can solve this… I can save everyone,” Taichi replied with a smile, “You want to put an end on this too, right Daisuke?”

“Using the fragment on you might cause serious issues!!” Takeru shouted, “Don’t be reckless, Taichi-san!”

“You kids don’t understand. We can end this right now, you want to catch the bad guys spreading those pieces around. So we should… Use them for our own benefit.”

“That makes no sense!!” Iori snapped, “Listen to us, Taichi-san please.”

“It doesn’t matter what we say” Ken clenched his fists, “The fragment corrupted him already.”

“I don’t want to fight my brother, but…” Hikari said, her voice wavering.

“Neither I,” Daisuke added, “But w--”

“... If this is the only option…” then she clutched her D-3, “ I will do it.” and stared at him.

“Hikari, you should understand it better, I’m doing it for y--”

“NO, YOU’RE NOT. YOU’RE DOING IT FOR YOURSELF!” then Hikari and Tailmon said together.

“They’re mad…” Wormmon hid behind V-mon and Armadimon.

“Ok, Hikari-chan” Miyako glanced at her and held her hand, “We will save Taichi-san. Right now.”

Hawkmon evolved into Aquilamon and then Jogress evolved with Tailmon into Silphymon. The boys and their digimon were just unsure if they should butt in or not.

“... Foolish. Then you want to fight, eh?” he snapped his fingers and A crimson-armored Greymon appeared.

“He… evolved Agumon with that shard?” Patamon babbled, “Isn’t this digimon…”

“... A subspecies from WarGreymon,” Ken explained, “ BlitzGreymon .”

“BlitzGreymon?” Daisuke repeated.

“So in other words,” Takeru said “we need Imperialdram--”

“Stay out of this,” Hikari stared at them with a serious deadly gaze, “This is between me and my brother now.”

Daisuke blinked, and then commented with the other three boys and their digimon: “Y’know when she said she didn’t want to fight Taichi-san I thought she was afraid, but now I just realized Hikari-chan is kinda scary when it comes to sibling fights… 💦”

“Bet this means we shouldn’t mess with her, dagya…” Armadimon added. The boys, V-mon and Wormmon nodded in agreement.

Silphymon went straight into attack, using his helmet visor to identify where the fragment was and snatch it from either BlitzGreymon or Taichi’s hands. BlitzGreymon had none, so this means…!! 

But Silphymon might be fast but not strong enough to hit BlitzGreymon, which was firing plasma projectiles against them. Maybe they needed the boys’ help…!! But no, she can do this, she can…!!

Miyako also wanted them to save Taichi, especially because she didn’t want to see the Yagami siblings fighting. Miyako coming from a big family with three older siblings and having his house very noisy made her a little sad about that quarrel.

“... We should--” Daisuke gathered the boys and whispered something.

“Give up Taichi,” Hikari said with a serious tone, “We won’t let you keep hurting yourself here.”

“You can’t do anything, Hikari. I’m stronger than you, and I will protect you and everyone. So listen to your big brother.”

Suddenly, a black card flew in Ken’s hands:

Hello!! I apologize for appearing before nighttime, but…! I’m here to steal the Wicked fragment from Yagami Taichi.

“He’s really breaking all the code of the phantom thieves!!” Daisuke hissed in a low voice to not let Hikari notice it.

Arsenemon was hidden somewhere…

BlitzGreymon kept trying to hit Silphymon, or at least making either of them get exhausted by attacking or dodging. Taichi was growing impatient -- He wanted to teach Hikari a lesson, a lesson about how he’s the only one able to save everyone…!! But someone managed to go behind Taichi and try to snatch the fragment. Didn’t work, but it was just…

“Ah, Daisuke.”

“Stop this right now…!!” Daisuke implied, and tried to hold Taichi with his bare hands, “Taichi-senpai, please! You’re being controlled by that thing! Get rid of it…!!”

“SHUT UP!” and he slapped Daisuke away from him. Daisuke hit the wall and fell on the floor, “I thought YOU would be able to understand my point here! But you’re just wanting to have all the glory for yourself right?!”

“...”

BlitzGreymon ignored Silphymon for a second and went after Daisuke. Everyone gasped until…

“... Gotcha.”

“?????? Wha--”

“ESGRIMA!!” “Nigimitama.”

Paildramon used his cables to immobilize BlitzGreymon, meanwhile Shakkoumon used the explosive clay disks to attack.

“This was a battle between Me and Agumon!!” Silphymon (Tailmon side) snapped.

“This isn’t time to have a sibling fight…!!” Paildramon (XV-mon side) argued, “We have to work together…!!”

“... Alright.”

“Where’s the fragment, dagya?”

“It’s…” Silphymon (Aquilamon side) started scanning Taichi now.

Daisuke got up from the ground, he removed the dust from the ground and looked at Taichi with a smirk, “Oh, you didn’t get it yet… monsieur Taichi Yagami ?”

“What… What is happening here…??”

He looked in front of him and noticed… … that Daisuke was on the other side of the room too!?

“H-how!?”

“NOW EVERYONE!!” Ken shouted. And with this, the Jogress digimon trio combined their attacks against BlitzGreymon, forcing it to devolve back into Agumon.

“A-AGUMON…!!” He looked back at the Daisuke behind him, “YOU!! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY--”

“Oeil de Chat” he snapped his fingers and a small black cat with green eyes magically popped in front of Taichi. Said green eyes glowed and synchronized with Taichi’s… who fell asleep on the floor.

“...” Arsenemon snapped his fingers and took his original form again, he grabbed the shard from Taichi’s head, which had been the goggles Taichi was wearing this whole time. The mysterious dungeon disappeared and everything went back to normal. The jogress trio broke the evolution and devolved back into their child (and in Tailmon’s case, adult) level forms.

“Hmph, I knew it was the goggles,” Tailmon pouted.

“But why did he take Daisuke’s form?” Miyako blinked, then looked back at Daisuke and the boys.

“... He asked me this,” and then Daisuke showed a second Calling Card:

Pardon, I’ll have to take your form for a little trick~ Use it to your advantage. Merci~

“... Thank you,” Hikari went to check on Taichi. She was still a little tense and upset. But the burglar just smiled at her.

“Seems like they’re after your friends now, mademoiselle. You should be careful. All of you.”

“We’re aware of that,” Iori replied with a nod.

“... Ugh, what--” Taichi woke up, and then was hugged by Hikari, tightly, “Oof-- Hikari??”

“You idiot, why did you use that!? You know it’s dangerous! Koushiro-san warned everyone!!”

“... Y-yeah, I… I have no idea why…”

“Have you met an eyepatched Impmon by any chance, Taichi-san?” Ken asked. The others approached calmly.

“... No? But I’m sure it appeared after I talked to a classmate…”

“A classmate?” Takeru raised an eyebrow.

Daisuke then mused: “So, someone else was the target and suddenly they… managed to get rid of it? Or dropped it?”

“Yeah. Unryuuji Naito, his name.”

Arsenemon flinched at that name. Could this Naito human be the same one partnered with an Impmon…?? -- He thought. 

Then he looked at the kids, with the shard in hands, “You have to get rid of those… How about you give the remaining pieces to me? You have to trust me, I’m only planning to--”

“Not a chance!” Ken shouted, “We will catch those shards and hide them somewhere…!!”

Daisuke and the others looked at Ken, and realized there was a bit of shame mixed with despair in his words -- Yes, Ichijouji Ken was the one who started all of this, as the Kaiser 6 years ago. So of course Ken himself wanted to get rid of those pieces and seal them away from EVERYONE!!

But… this was also Arsenemon’s goal too. Except he cannot friggin explain it to those kids. And he does so little to zero effort to explain this was a misunderstanding. He decided to simply leave with it… Only to have Wormmon use his sticky silk on his hand.

“?? Oh, it seems you’re into this game now, monsieur Ichijouji.”

“Give. it. Back.” Ken ordered, his eyes and face showing some resmicing of the Digimon Kaiser right now. Everyone was kinda surprised by Ken’s reaction, voice of tone and facial expression as well.

“... Fine, have it.” and he tossed the porcelain piece to Daisuke, who caught it, “I just hope you kids don’t get… consumed by it too.”

“Huh?” V-mon blinked.

He snapped his fingers and vanished in front of them.

“Siiiiiiiiiiigh…” Daisuke seemed a little depressive right now, “We almost caught him…”

“Why did you let him go?” V-mon asked Ken and Wormmon.

“I’m sorry, maybe next time…” they replied.

“You kids are taking this too lightly though,” Taichi criticized them, "Maybe you need to be a little more offensive, don’t hold back.”

“Taichi-san…” Takeru chuckled nervously, “I don’t think being more offensive would help us out here…”

“I agree with Takeru-san,” Iori added, “What we need is more brain power. A good tactic to catch him, one Arsenemon cannot predict in any kind of scenario.”

“I… I know that, I was just joking--”

“He wasn’t joking,” Hikari said, not looking at him.

“H-Hikari!!”

They all laughed. But then Daisuke noticed Noel was right a few meters away from them. The others also saw him, but it made Ken just think… Why is Noel Leblanc here?

The mystery continues…

[vermilionvector]

Digimon Ghost Game EP. 56

This. Fucking. Episode.

From the get go, you feel that something is different. Like, it's very obvious from the animation, even of something so trivial like Hiro, Gammamon and Espimon drowsily walking to brush their teeth. It has so much life that this show has never offered before (and felt that this was an entirely different show altogether ffs). And if I didn't know about what's going to happen beforehand, I'd still be damn sure expecting something BIG coming.

Some students were behaving abnormally (again), repeatedly washing their face (and some other students' faces unwillingly too for that matter), while chanting "Filthy" like a mantra. This behavior spread throughout the city like a plague. Eventually everyone got caught in it with Hiro and the Digimons being the final survivors.

The mastermind behind this was Kuzuhamon. She's so obsessed with purity that she found the human world the most detestable and had to "cleanse" them by removing what is essentially their very own existence, since no human has never committed any form of sins, no matter how trivial, in their life. Canoweissmon could not hope to match the level of a Mega and was subdued quickly (after a beautifully animated sequence where he brought out all moves in his arsenal, nevertheless).

While Hiro's impurities were being extracted, the evolution timer went off and was about to revert Canoweissmon back to Gammamon. However, they argued with Kuzuhamon about how humans were not impure, and with much determination, Canoweissmon evolved into Siriusmon with a new insert song in the background.

The new insert song, MAKUAKE, was definitely more serious than First Riders. It didn't have that crescendo that First Riders excels at, but it's still hype nonetheless. The evolution sequence was also explosive, now having a dedicated background instead of your usual blue digitalscape. A bit of nitpick was that the ending of the sequence could be more dynamic.

After Siriusmon appeared, the sky turned green. Not just normal green, Vital Bracelet BE's green. I know the show was going to make a reference, but it was so glaring that my eyes felt uncomfortable. The sky would've worked just fine with the usual blue, but whatever.

Siriusmon then defeated Kuzuhamon. She acknowledged the power of bond and mentioned if "the one" who sent her here knew this all along. Before she left, she erased the memory of the event from all affected humans (did this include Ruli and Kiyo?) Thus, the day is saved once again, with Gammamon resting happily within Hiro's arms.

TBH I was spoiled about Siriusmon since I forgot not to check Twitter. But even with that knowledge in mind the evolution still gave me chills. That just proved how solid the voice acting, the animation and the sound effects were. In fact, the entire episode was pretty solid. The buildup to the Kuzuhamon was filled with suspense and the horror that steadily creeped in as the situation escalated was on point. The fluid animation added life to it even further. Like, they are the same characters, but the essence was somehow different. It's not something that I can pinpoint, but after watching this show for 55 episodes, this is the first episode that I felt they actually has some kind of liveliness in it.

Now that we moved into the Mega territory, I really, really hope we could move on with the main plot.

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 24 - A panicking digimon’s plea

[AO3 version]

“HE GOT TEN?! TEN FRAGMENTS SO FAR?!” Daisuke babbled, shouting and making iconic angry Daisuke noises, “THAT THIEEEEEEEEF…!!”

“We should focus on who will be the next target!” Miyako snapped, “We can track Arsenemon’s stolen pieces later, ok?!”

“But--”

“Miyako-san is right,” Ken sighed, “There’s something bugging me about this though…”

“Hm?” The digimon, Hikari, Takeru and Iori looked at Ken. Miyako was still on the laptop and Daisuke… was just babbling something inaudible right now (probably gibberish noises).

“Espimon was there too, but we didn’t see Noel Leblanc around.”

“Oh, that’s true,” Patamon replied.

“But Noel-kun said he doesn’t like to leave Espimon locked inside a room,” Hikari explained.

“This could mean Ken’s theory that Noel created Arsenemon is true, right?” Armadimon asked.

“Makes no sense!” Daisuke snapped, “Noel wouldn’t create a smug thief digimon and be playing with us! He’s not like… Uh, forget it.”

Ken stared at him for a moment -- yes I know what you wanted to say. But Ken also knew Daisuke didn’t mean any harm. And besides, Ken himself admitted creating Chimeramon was a bad bad idea.

“... Y-you know, sometimes I forgot you were… that guy” Daisuke blushed in shame. He was about to blame the Kaiser again, in front of the one and only former Digimon Kaiser.

“No, I get it. I just hope he’s not like who I was in the past.”

“... Awkward,” V-mon whispered to the other digimon.

“Hmm…” Iori was thoughtful.

“What is it, dagya?” Armadimon asked him.

“Instead of waiting for the next victim to appear, we should set a list of potential targets so we could prevent them from getting caught.”

“Ooh, that’s a good idea,” Hawkmon exclaimed.

“Iori-kun is really a genius,” Hikari giggled lightly.

“Of course he is!” Armadimon said, proudly of his human partner right now.

“Well done, Iori-sama” Daisuke gave Iori a pat in the head.

Iori blushed all of those compliments though. Then, the group started listing the potential victims. Patamon then asked, “Should we include ourselves in this list too?”

“Everyone has a potential to be a target here,” Ken explained. The others could feel he was afraid of something… But still not sure if about him turning into a potential menace again, or about the enemies using the other five against him like they had tried previously with Takeru.

“Right, I think they wouldn’t come after Takeru again,” Daisuke said seriously, “That Impmon noticed Takeru had some resistance to the wicked Digimental fragment, or the brainwash.”

“The lightning doesn’t strike twice, so I don’t think they will target me again.”

“Right, this means…” Miyako looked at the others, “... The rest of us are in danger.”

They nodded. Hikari frowned, “Okay, so who else is left from our seniors?”

“Mimi-san, Yamato-san and Koushiro-san,” Wormmon replied.

“Well, Mimi-san can’t be!” Miyako smiled, “She lives in New York, and we haven't got any request from any American Chosen Child yet.”

“Ok, then Yamato and Koushiro are possibly the next ones” Tailmon mused, “How is Yamato’s mood, Takeru?”

“Huh? He’s… fine, I guess.”

“Fine?” the others repeated, the worried faces made Takeru uncomfortable.

“Y-yeah, everything is fine with him. He told me at least. He’s just busy with university stuff, but nothing to worry… Yet.”

“When you say ‘yet’ like this, it means something is off,” Daisuke sighed. V-mon imitated him as well.

“They would totally target Koushiro, dagya” Armadimon said with a serious gaze at the group, “He got the shards we collected so far. Soon or later they will come after those too! To use it on others.”

“And then there’s Arsenemon too, who will come after those shards once he gets the remaining three…” Ken began musing again.

“... I think we should ask Arsenemon why he wants those,” Daisuke commented, out of the blue, making the others look at him in surprise, “He said we wouldn’t believe him if he told us what he wants with the shards… But… I think we would’ve at least tried to.”

“What?? He’s a thief!” Miyako squinted her eyes at Daisuke, “Isn’t you who keeps saying he’s a thief and that it’s our job to catch him!?”

“Yeah, but he helped us countless times! Even if we had the shard stolen later!”

“Daisuke-kun, why are you suggesting we do that all of a sudden?” Hikari frowned, “And besides, Inspector Fujieda didn’t… Contact us anymore…”

“Did she kick us out of the case??” Patamon asked them.

“Hmm, no. It’s that Arsenemon’s targets are not related to stealing usual objects anymore” Ken replied, “Seems like she and the police decided to quit the case.”

“AH~ Japan’s Autumn is so good~” Mimi’s plane has just landed and she was stretching her arms and she started to hum a song, excitedly.

“Mimi-san?” someone else came with her. Someone… who wanted to see a couple of old friends after a long time without seeing them… “I had never been to Japan before, so please don’t leave me behind…” he chuckled nervously.

“It’s okay~ I bet Daisuke-kun will be happy to see you again, Wallace~ ”

“... W-will they hate me?” a tiny Lopmon was holding Wallace’s leg. Yes, it was…

“I don’t think so, Chocomon. Don’t worry about it” Wallace responded with a smile, “I think they will be happy to see you again, now that you’re back.”

“Yeah, it was Daisuke himself who gave Wallace hope while you were inside that DigiEgg” Terriermon replied, “I bet he will like to meet the real you.”

“The real me…?”

“Now, let’s go!! I want to visit everything while we’re here!!” and then Terriermon took Lopmon’s hand and dragged him through the airport.

“D-don’t go without us!!” Wallace, Mimi and Palmon gasped and went after the twin-mons.

Later, at night…

“...”

Despite everything, Arsenemon kept watching the kids’ activity from the shadows. Especially now that they are the next targets from the eyepatched Impmon and Dracumon. Also… Who would be this Naito person? Would he be the same person mentioned by Taichi?

“Sigh, I’m running into a wall here” the elusive thief sighed, “We could track Impmon down and retrieve the remaining pieces, but this would end my fun…”

The truth is, he’s enjoying the caper shenanigans.

“... But if I don’t stop them, something bad will happen to those poor innocent humans and their digimon…”

He used his own magical tricks to write on the air, making notes on the current thread of events.

“Let’s see… Takenouchi Sora, Yagami Taichi and Kido Joe… Trying to use the Chosen Children with crests huh…”

“What’s up boss?” Espimon popped in, and she realized he was busy thinking about complicated stuff again “Oh…”

“I guess they’re just doing it purposely this time.”

“Huh, but why?”

“Maybe revenge? But it wouldn’t make sense… If the human named Naito is after the Chosen, he would’ve targeted Yagami Taichi’s peers first and then him later. But Taichi was the second victim this time…”

“Hmm… I think they might indirectly attack one of the younger humans…?”

“Oh, that’s for sure mademoiselle. But… Who?”

“I dunno,” she shrugged, “So, who’s next?”

“I’ve come to the conclusion it would be the less expected, less obvious human in this group of douze personnes , and it’s…”

He wrote the name in a calling card, then copied the calling card with his magic. He gave her the original one, “Send this immediately. Maybe if we get their awareness… Maybe we can prevent those Chosen Children from facing something terrible.”

“Aye, sir!!” and with this, Espimon flew away.

But that new target was…

In the morning…

“WHAT!?”

Mimi and Daisuke found the calling cards in their rooms, respectively. Daisuke’s one made him confused -- ISN’T MIMI-SAN IN NEW YORK OR SOMETHING!? -- but Mimi’s confusion was why would she become a target if he had nothing like a shard in possession?

“Might be a mistake,” Wallace looked at the paper “Are you sure it reads ‘Tachikawa’ and not another way? It doesn’t have furigana…”

“Maybe we should talk with Miyako-chan and the others…” She took her phone from the desk and started typing a message on it.

…

“Mimi-san is here!!?” Daisuke blinked, looking at the message he got on his phone minutes later, “Wait… How did he know?! Is she the next victim?! But it makes no sense!!”

“Huh… He’s really good at spying on us” Chibimon had his arms crossed, and he nodded his head sagely.

“It doesn’t matter! We have to protect Mimi-san from Arsenemon!!”

“But weren’t you saying recently that… We should ask him what he wants with the pieces?” Chibimon’s eyes narrowed.

“... Yeah, I did. But I’m not sayin’ we should become best friends ever with him!”

“Oh…”

“Anyway, Mimi-san needs our help. This is a case for our special digimon crimes unit!!”

“He’s back into that ‘detective’ mood…” Chibimon gave a long sigh.

Mimi and the 02 group gathered at the usual karaoke booth. And with her… Wallace and the twin digimon. This was the very first time Ichijouji Ken and Wallace were seeing each other.

“Why is Wallace here!?” Daisuke exclaimed.

“Oh he asked to come to see you five!” Mimi grinned and replied with joy, “See? He asked if they could come too and I said yes why not…? Daisuke-kun and the others would love to see you again!!”

“Huh, is that digimon…” Ken noticed Lopmon. The others looked at Ken and Wormmon.

“Oh, yeah it’s Chocomon!” Wallace took the digimon and put it on his lap, “He hatched!”

“What, didn’t I tell you before?” Daisuke blinked, “Wallace got twin digimon partners.”

“Oh…”

“Anyway,” Miyako cleaned her throat, “Why is Arsenemon after Mimi-san if she does not have a shard?”

“Maybe he knows something we don’t?” V-mon mused.

“That thief is really good at getting one step ahead from us, dagya” Armadimon complained with a pout.

“Um… Can you please explain to us more about those shards and this digimon called Arsenemon?” Terriermon asked them.

“Well, we can…” Hawkmon answered, “But we still didn’t get enough details figured out yet. Is that okay?”

Mimi, Palmon, Wallace and the twin digimon nodded in return. Then the 02 Team started explaining to them what happened.

“Oh I see…” Mimi stroked her chin “Ichijouji-kun destroyed a forbidden Digimental, hid the broken pieces somewhere only to be found by some mean digimon and then started to be spread through Tokyo…”

“Yeah,” Miyako nodded.

“Then this digimon called Arsenemon appeared,” Wallace was also stroking his chin, “claiming he would gather all of those pieces for a reason he claimed none of us would believe him…”

“Yup,” Patamon confirmed with a nod.

“But then an eyepatched Impmon and a Dracumon appeared and started corrupting people with those fragments…” Terriermon said, arms crossed.

“... And now you all have to not only get the shards before Arsenemon, but before they’re activated by someone’s desire?” Palmon completed the line.

“Yes,” Tailmon replied, “There’s also this new student at Hikari’s school named Noel Leblanc. He’s suspicious, but so far he has not been involved with anything bad yet.”

“Oh, is it because…” Wallace asked.

“... He’s a distant relative from Maurice Leblanc” Takeru answered, “Arséne Lupin’s creator.”

“In other words, we suspect he had created Arsenemon” Ken added. Daisuke looked at him.

“Well, we will have to be your bodyguards,” Miyako explained with a serious voice, “At least to prevent either of them from attacking you!”

“I’d like to have you as my bodyguard, Miyako-san,” Wallace said with a smooth voice and a smile. Ken suddenly took the microphone from the table and…

“THAT’S ALL, THANK YOU FOR COMING.” … screamed on it.

And he then gently pushed Wallace and Mimi out of the booth. He closed the door. Everyone stared at him, confused. Except for Daisuke, who definitely got the gist.

“Why did you do that!?” Miyako snapped, “That was so rude coming from you, Ken-kun!!”

“We need to talk. About that plan. Right now.”

“????”

“What was that…?” Wallace whined in his seat, at a local fast food chain around the karaoke’s location, “Daisuke told me that Ichijouji Ken was nice and tidy.”

“Oh don’t mind him,” Mimi giggled nervously, “Ichijouji-kun can be a little assertive when it comes to some of his friends.”

“Does he like Miyako-san too?” Wallace wondered, “He got good taste then.”

“I think we shouldn’t jump to conclusions yet,” Palmon commented.

“Oh so do I still have a chance…?” he smiled.

“Wallace,” Mimi laughed, “You’re so funny~”

“Hmm…?” Terriermon blinked, then called for the others’ attention, “Wallace, Mimi, look.”

“??” they looked to the direction Terriermon’s ears were pointing.

It was an Impmon. It had an eyepatch. So it’s one of the enemies, right? Mimi and Wallace, alongside their partners, got up from their table and slowly left the building, trying to contact Miyako and the others as soon as possible.

On their way, Wallace accidentally bumped into a young man with short white hair: Unryuuji Naito.

“Ah, I’m sorry!!” Wallace apologized with a bow.

“Oh it’s okay, kid” Naito smiled, “Oh you have dropped something.”

“Huh, did I-- Oh yeah, my phone! Thank you, mister!!” Wallace got his phone from the streetwalk and then bowed again to Naito. Finally, he ran after Mimi and the digimon.

Naito smirked, but a certain cyborg digimon witnessed the entire scene.

“What, you saw that Impmon we told you and Wallace?” Takeru and the others had met Mimi again. Oddly, Wallace was not around yet… the twin-mons neither.

“Yeah, we saw it!” Palmon confirmed, Terriermon saw them-- Huh? Where’s Terriermon, Lopmon and Wallace?”

“That’s no good…” Patamon frowned, “Maybe they went after that digimon?”

But, suddenly they see Wallace walking calmly with the twins. He smiled at them and went to meet with the group, “I finally caught you up. Sorry, I bumped into a dude…”

“Are you okay?” Hikari asked, and then Wallace nodded.

“Yeah. Don’t worry, no one got hurt. Well, shall we look for that digimon then?”

“Hmm…” Ken mused.

“What is it?”

“Nothing… Takeru-kun and Iori-kun should go with you. Miyako-san and Hikari-san with Mimi-san.”

“Hey, who made you the leader here?” Wallace stared at him, “You just think I’m after your girlfriend right!?”

“Girlfriend?” The group exclaimed.

“She’s not my girlfriend…” Ken spurted quickly. The group glanced at him again.

“Wait who’s Wallace talking abou--” Miyako raised an eyebrow.

“He’s jumping to conclusions,” Ken babbled again, “Anyway, let’s go. Daisuke agrees with those groups, right Daisuke?!”

“Huh?? Y-yeah I do…” Daisuke blinked, “Ken’s a good strategist so I trust him.”

“Hm… Going by those choices,” Iori stroked his chin, “Ichijouji-san put Mimi-san in priority, Silphymon is smaller and faster, alongside Lilymon they might counter the enemy until we arrive. However, Shakkoumon and Gargomon might be useful to protect you and the twins from turning into a target too.”

“Yes, exactly.” Ken nodded, “Paildramon and Imperialdramon should be used only in an emergency, in case either of you or Mimi-san get corrupted by the fragment.”

“I dunno…” Wallace squinted his eyes, “But if Daisuke says so, I’ll trust him more than you.”

“... Ken,” Daisuke and V-mon had narrowed eyes on the boy.

“Yes?” he gulped.

“Now that we’re alone… Be honest with me. You did it on purpose right?”

“What are you talking about, Daisuke??” He was sweating cold now.

“Y’know, you saw Wallace flirting with Miyako and… Decided to keep the girls away from him.”

“Oh?? Oh no no no no, I thought it would be good if they had Silphymon with--”

“He definitely did it because of Miyako” V-mon nodded sagely. Daisuke kept staring Ken.

“Don’t you believe in Ken-chan?!” Wormmon hissed, “Of course he didn’t do that for Miyako-san--”

“Ok, I admit… Yeah, but. Don’t. Tell.  Them. About. It.” Ken gave Daisuke and V-mon the stare most known as the ‘Digimon Kaiser murderous glare’

“R-right, sir…”

“Sigh, was it too obvious…?” he blushed.

“Y’know, it’s still funny” Daisuke chuckled, “You’re not the kind to be this aggressive when it comes to someone.”

“...”

“You should be like me and be more… Discreet? Is that the word?”

“You? Discreet?” Ken held his laugh. Wormmon and V-mon looked at Daisuke, impressed (but not surprised) that he had the audacity to say that.

“... Say, is it true Miyako-san doesn’t have a boyfriend?” Wallace tried to start a convo with the other two, but they were too focused on catching Impmon before things went south. They didn’t answer Wallace at all.

“Wallace-san,” Iori spoke, looking at the older boy now, “Where did you and Gummymon see that Impmon?”

“Uhh… It was in a fast food restaurant…” he answered, “Gummymon, show them the way.”

“But I… I have never been to Japan before…!!” Terriermon frowned, “How can we get there…?”

“Hmm, is there anything you could remember from that place?” Takeru asked, trying another approach, “Like, what’s on the other side of the street?”

“... I wasn’t paying attention… All I remember is we left and I bumped into this white haired dude, Then I used the digivice to find Mimi-san.”

“That’s a big problem, dagya…”

“But we don’t need to look for the place,” Terriermon said, pointing with his ears at someone in the horizon, “That Impmon is right there.”

“!!”

“Let’s catch him!” Patamon said, and then the boys nodded. But Lopmon was a little slower. Something made him a little wary about this.

“Um.. Umm…” the bunny digimon tried to run faster, to catch them up, but he stepped on his big ears and slipped, rolling like a ball through the street. He then heard some screams and a loud noise. He got up and looked into the direction of the sound.

He saw Wallace and Terriermon. But…

“A-aahh…!!”Lopmon flew away from there. What did he see??

“Strange…” Miyako pouted, “Why is Ken-kun acting so weirdly today? Geez, I don’t understand him sometimes.”

“Maybe Iori-kun was right and it was to take advantage of a Lilymon-Silphymon combo” Mimi tried to cheer her up, “Or do you think he did it because he was jealous?”

“Jealous?” Hikari, tilted her head, “Um… It’s true that sometimes…”

“Hey, there’s no way he would be jealous!” Miyako snapped, “He’s not Daisuke. Daisuke used to throw tantrums every time someone flirted with Hikari-chan.”

“He didn’t do that anymore though” Tailmon shrugged, “Maybe he grew out of it.”

“Mhm, mhm” Mimi and Palmon nodded.

“Hmph! Ken-kun is too intellectual to lose his patience with someone like Wallace! He’s well mannered, and calm. There’s no way he was putting us in a team to keep Wallace away from us!”

“I think I heard something…” Hawkmon commented, “Oh, someone’s nearby.”

“Hm? Oh it’s…”

… Noel? He seemed to be looking for something or someone. He then saw the girls and panicked. Well, maybe he’s just awkward… He passed by them, in a rush. But something fell from his pocket.

Mimi took it from the ground and it was…

“A card?” they all exclaimed.

It was one of those black calling cards. Miyako then read it, it was actually a calling card specially for him?? 

Your friends are in danger. Hurry up and find the shard, before it’s too late.

“Why would Arsenemon send a calling card to Noel-kun?” Hikari frowned, “And… Is Arsenemon planning to attack Daisuke and V-mon?”

“Oh no, we got to warn them…!!” Mimi babbled. The girls then went back, trying to phone Daisuke and Ken immediately.

“You were laughing!” Daisuke growled, “ Don’t lie, Ken! You were laughing when I said you need to be more like me!”

“I don’t know what you mean, but it was funny the way you said it.”

“Hah! You admitted it! But now you’re feeling less upset, right?”

“So Daisuke was trying to make Ken laugh?” V-mon blinked, Wormmon shrugged in silence.

“Well, if you want to know, I don’t think the word ‘discreet’ suits you. You’re more… ‘carefree’ if you ask me.”

“Carefree huh… Well, that’s how I am, I don’t like to take time worrying about useless stuff.”

“Suits you. See?”

They laughed lightly… Until they saw Lopmon coming in their direction, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!” The bunny just hit Daisuke in the face and hugged it like the times Koromon did it with Taichi.

“G-GAH!!” Daisuke fell on the floor, then he took the bun off his face. He held Lopmon gently, “W-what happened, what’s wrong, where’s the others!?”

“TOO MANY QUESTIONS AAAAA!!” Lopmon cried, like a baby. Yeah, Gummymon was right -- Chocomon is a crybaby.

“Hey, take it easy,” Ken then took him from Daisuke’s hands, to let the other get up, “What happened…?”

“Wallace… He--”

Suddenly, a calling card flew in front of Daisuke. He took it from the ground:

Pardon my mistake. You six might be in real danger now.

“What? What does he mean??” V-mon asked the boys.

“Please… save… Wallace… and Gummymon…” Lopmon said, with his voice wavering. He grabbed Ken’s shirt tightly, as if he was saying don’t leave me.

Ken and Daisuke looked at each other. Something happened. Daisuke looked at the calling card again, “Alright so this means the bad guys caught Mimi-san and Palmon.”

“Are you sure…?”

“Arsenemon knew she was the target. There’s no other option here. Let’s go--”

“Alright/Yeah…” Ken, Wormmon and V-mon nodded and then the four went after the girls.

“Ugh…” Takeru woke up, and then he realized he and Iori were stuck inside a basement, “Iori-kun…!”

“Ghn… My head…” Armadimon growled, “Are y’all okay?”

“I’m fine…” Iori finally spoke, “Where are we?”

“We’re underground,” Patamon explained, on the top of Takeru’s head, “Seems like we got trapped here.”

“... Can we open the trapdoor?” Iori asked, but Takeru and Patamon shook their heads.

“Gah, I don’t think we can call for help now, dagya…!!” Armadimon sighed.

“Stay calm, please…” Iori asked him, softly. Then he took his phone, “Maybe I can ask for help.”

“But… How did we end up here, dagya…? Huh? Where’s Wallace and Gummymon, dagya?”

“...”

“Mimi-san!!” Daisuke screamed, and then approached the girl, “Huh, you’re… Normal??”

“W-what do you mean!?” Mimi pouted, “I’m fine…!”

“But… Arsenemon…”

Miyako and Hikari come, along with Silphymon and Lilymon. They all were confused. Daisuke then asked their digimon: “Why did y’all evolve?”

“Miyako-san found this,” Silphymon (Aquilamon side) answered, and then Miyako showed him the calling card.

“Huh, another one??” V-mon exclaimed.

“Did you get one of those?” Miyako raised an eyebrow. Ken was also curious about it, “This one dropped from Noel’s pocket.”

“Noel huh…” Ken mused.

“Maybe he went to warn us?” Wormmon said.

“But why would Arsenemon send him that?” Daisuke frowned, “A-anyway… If Mimi-san and Lilymon are fine, then this means…

Then Daisuke and the others look at Wallace coming into their direction. He was smiling, walking calmly and normally. But they all definitely noticed that Takeru and Iori weren’t with him so it made them all a little terrified.

“Sorry, we couldn’t find that Impmon” Wallace frowned, “Anyone got some luck?”

“Wallace,” Daisuke said with a serious voice, and he was glaring at the other boy, “where are Takeru and Iori?”

“Oh? They decided to keep looking for the digimon a little more, but I got lost from them.”

“You could’ve phoned us,” Mimi said, “I thought you had mine and Daisuke-kun’s number…”

“Hey, what if we split up again? I’ll go with Daisuke this time. We can find them quickly this way.”

“Uh…” Daisuke looked at Ken and the others, and at Lopmon who had asked for them to help Wallace… “It’s pointless to split up now. We need a better plan--”

“No, go with him” Ken interrupted him, and whispered something in Daisuke’s ear.

“Ok… If you say so…” Daisuke shrugged, but whatever Ken had told him made the goggle boy pout. He walked to Wallace, but Ken held V-mon’s arm for a moment. For some reason, Lopmon refused to go with them.

Wallace and Daisuke left, V-mon looked at Ken: “Huh, don’t you think it’s dangerous to leave Daisuke to go all alone?”

“Trust me, I have a plan” Ken said with a determined gaze at the blue digimon.

“Hm?”

“Hey, Wallace…” Daisuke grabbed his digivice inside his hoodie’s pocket, “Where’s Gummymon? If you get in trouble you might get hurt…”

“He went with Iori and Takeru,” he replied calmly, “Huh?” Wallace looked behind, “V-mon and Chocomon are not coming?”

“V-mon is a little tired. I think it’s okay to look for the other two without him. And when we found Chocomon he was afraid, so leave it in Mimi-san and Hikari-chan’s hands.”

“Fine then.”

Wallace, you’re acting too suspicious here… -- Daisuke thought -- I think something is wrong here, but being used as bait sucks!! Hurry up Ken…

“Uh… Shouldn’t it be easier if we call them with my phone?” Daisuke asked, “I think it would be easier--”

“... Daisuke.”

“?”

Wallace led him to an alley. They stopped, and Daisuke clutched the digivice in his pocket. He gulped.

Suddenly, Daisuke noticed something in Wallace’s hand. It was… A shard?!

“Y-you…!!”

Behind Wallace and in the shadows, two flashing red eyes appeared and then from that direction missiles like the ones from Rapidmon Golden were shot. But Daisuke couldn’t defend himself!! So he closed his eyes waiting for the worst, BUT!!

“Un deux trois!”

A magical barrier made of a giant Ace of Hearts card protected him. The three looked up and saw a silhouette of a humanoid digimon. Arsenemon jumped from the top of that building and landed in the middle of the scene.

“My my, you’re a bit reckless when I told you you were a target, non ?”

“I… I didn’t ask for your help!!” Daisuke babbled angrily, “... B-but thanks. I guess.”

“Your little blonde friend here has not only been consumed by the fragment,” he said hesitantly, “But also one more little detail. May you believe me?”

“If you’re goin’ to steal that thing do it now!”

“I won’t let you ruin it.” Wallace’s voice sounded creepier now, “Rapidmon, get rid of them…!!”

 A black digitron Rapidmon appeared from the shadows and assaulted Arsenemon, who used his cane to block the opponent’s attack and shielded Daisuke. The boy was completely confused about why Arsenemon decided to protect him instead of going after the fragment.

“Forget me!” Daisuke shouted, “Get that thing out of Wallace’s hand!”

“If you want this, then better you stop shielding him and come get it!!” Then Wallace ran away.

“He’s escaping!!”

“Are you ok, though?”

“... Yeah I am, but you might not like to lose a piece right?” he smirked.

“W-what?”

Lilymon used her Flower Necklace technique to wrap Arsenemon with her flower and vine rings. Little do they (Wallace and Arsenemon) know that Lilymon had been following Daisuke.

“Kh!! It was a trap!?”

“Hehe” Daisuke laughed, “We caught you, sneaky thief!!” Then he phoned Ken, “Ken, we got him. Now it’s up to you to catch Wallace.”

“Heh, you smooth detective caught me.”

“Shut up, I hate to be used as bait!”

“...”

Wallace and Rapidmon were successfully running away when Silphymon and Shakkoumon blocked the way! It wouldn’t be a problem to get rid of them, right!?

Except… a pair of cables wrapped Wallace and Rapidmon. They looked back and saw… Paildramon?! But HOW did V-mon evolve without Daisuke…!?

“Kh!! H-How!?”

“Easy,” Ken smirked a la Digimon Kaiser, “Lopmon witnessed you using the shard. And then he used ‘save’ when asking us to help you and your digimon.”

“Then Iori called me on the phone and explained everything” Miyako added, “That they were trapped in a basement by you and Gummymon.”

“... So, you figured things out, huh?” Wallace smirked, “But not enough for THIS!! ” and then Rapidmon fired his revolver on his back, attacking in all directions. The group had to cover and hide.

But… More of those card-shields protected them all. Lilymon took advantage and used her Flower Necklace technique on Wallace and Rapidmon by wrapping them with her flowers and vines, thus removing the wicked mental control from the fragment and Dracumon. Rapidmon devolved back into Terriermon and passed out due to exhaustion. 

Ken took the fragment from Wallace’s hand, “I’ll take this, thank you.”

“Huh… How did this thing end up in my hand…!?” Wallace blinked, “Argh… My head hurts…”

They all looked at each other, then back to Wallace.

“Don’t you know?” Patamon asked, raising an eyebrow.  The three Jogresses had undone and all six digimon devolved back to their usual forms.

Wallace shook his head, “Nope… All I remember was… I was using my phone to call Mimi-san and… Suddenly a flash light came from the screen… I don’t remember when I had that shard in my hands, but I clearly remember doing something bad to Takeru and Iori… ugh…”

“Maybe it fused with Wallace’s phone” Ken mused, “Like when Mokami Ryouma fused the shard with his partner’s DigiEgg…”

“Wow, you’re pretty smart huh?” Wallace gasped in surprise.

Mimi walked in, with Lopmon in her arms, Lopmon then jumped on Wallace’s face and hugged it. The boy grabbed the twin-mon gently and took him off his face.

“Thank you,” Lopmon thanked Ken, looking at him timidly.

“Daisuke’s friends are my friends too” Ken smiled kindly, “I hope Terriermon is not hurt though…”

“He will be fine, he’s a tough digimon” Lopmon smiled back.

“But where did those cards come from, dagya?” Armadimon asked, looking at those objects fading in the air.

“Arsenemon…” V-mon clenched his fists. Then, the group saw Lilymon and Daisuke coming to meet them “Daisuke, did you let him go?!”

“... No?” Daisuke blinked, “A-actually he… He was a dummy. Like, not the real one.”

“A dummy!?” the rest of the group exclaimed.

“Yes, a dummy” Lilymon nodded her head, “I’m sorry…”

“It’s okay, you did your best” Mimi tried to comfort her.

“... Sigh, we got THIS close to get the other ten shards back…” Daisuke commented, dramatically.

“Hmm… 8 shards for them…”

In the distance, Noel watched them. Why was he there though? Maybe he arrived too late to warn Daisuke and the others about what happened with Wallace?

“Good… Very good…”

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with DigiAdvs' Koushiro [...and GG!Espimon?]

Koushiro, dozing: Espimon, waking up from dozing: Koushiro: .... Espimon: ... Hey. (*pokes*) Koushiro: Hmm?... (lazily opening eyes) Espimon: You've been resting a lot lately. Espimon: I'm up now, so if you wanna do something before I go out, get up. Koushiro: (*laughs*) I got it... (*slowlyyy getting up*) But, you know, you *should* ask first... Espimon: ... Hmmph. Espimon: But *you* said you wanted to explore together more. Koushiro: right. You're looking for "the real Hiro". I know. (I'll Help You Find Them) Koushiro: -But... since you're living with me temporarily, we should "get along" too. Espimon: ... It's not that we can't But, like Koushiro: Espimon: Like I know that -- like, you sleep {a *little*} too much. Come on and follow me. Koushiro: (*chuckle*) ("It's concerned about me. Like Tento---") (*stops*) Espimon: (What's wrong.) Koushiro: (It's nothing.) Espimon: (You do THAT A Lot too.) Can we go now? Koushiro: Fine, let's... (*stretches, reaches for Digivice-phone Specially Made By Izumi Corp., grabs jacket*) As usual, please lead the way. Espimon: YEAH, I Will. We're going 'there' first-- (*leads Koushiro out the door*) Koushiro: (It Is Somewhat "Like Me", And Somewhat Not, And That's OK.)

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with Steve and Frigimon [+Espimon] {DigiAdvs 02}

Takeru, glancing down at Espimon: Espimon, fiddling with "odd item" out of place that's caught Espimon's Interest, Ignoring: ... Takeru: ... Takeru, glancing at Steve: It's like Koushiro-san. Steve, nodding...: It's like Koushiro. Takeru: Takeru, glancing back up: It's "always" doing things like this? When did you meet it? Steve, shrugging but genuine: A while ago. It seems to "wander". It's looking for someone "Not a {'Fake'} Hiro Amanokawa". Koushiro can't find them yet, we searched the database and asked around... Takeru, bemused: That's... odd. Steve: Overall, it's a bit of a "different one". Takeru: Like Koushiro-san. Steve: Like Koushiro.(pauses) With a bit of a "tough"...-er side. Takeru, blinking in clear surprise: ?? Steve: Koushiro's clearly "tough" in ways too, but Espimon's even more *proud* of its ability. Not sure if the others have noticed as much yet how similar they seem, though. Frigimon: (Mimi is indulging it, and Jou is flustered by it as typical... Taichi is treating it in a friendly way too, if also a bit bemused by these things.) Patamon: (Isn't all that, the same with K---) Frigimon: (Don't ask me.) Espimon, finally realizing Espimon's being commented on: What? Steve, casually: Oh, nothing really, we just think you're really amazing. Takeru: Espimon: Got that right. (*goes back to Stimming*) Takeru, in mind: ("It's like Koushiro-san.") Steve, glancing at Takeru, lowly: (Koushiro also clearly likes being called "amazing", right? Even if Koushiro hides it more, Koushiro was happy.) Takeru: (When Taichi-san said it.) Steve: (When Taichi says----) Frigimon: (They're all very obvious.) Espimon, looking up: It's fine if you keep calling me "amazing", but I'm trying to focus on this... Steve: No, no, go back to your fun. Takeru: (It keeps missing---) Steve: (It's kind in its own way, though.)