A forum Digidestined in Hachiko (with bonetrousled)

"I dunno if this is a great idea, Elliot," Isaac said as Elliot hastily made his way to the Square. Of course, "hastily" for Elliot was still more than measured paced enough for Isaac to easily tail. The boy just wasn't very fast, unless something incredibly exciting or pressing caused him to speed off like a rocket. "Do you really think you can trust people off of the internet?" That could've been anyone on the other side of that screen! Especially when they were asking about something as specific as Digimon. They could've been a hostile Digimon who wanted to attack them and drain their data. Or possibly a government special operative, looking for leaks about the Digimon secret and trying to patch them through intimidation. The last thing Isaac wanted was for his brother to be traumatized in some kind of sting operation.

"Aw, come on. I think they're friendly enough!" Elliot responded cheerily. "Do you really gotta worry about everybody all the time?"

"I mean, I hate to break the news to you, but you can be kind of naive sometimes," Isaac pointed out. "You trust people a lot, and that's great, but when we've got this big secret like Digimon on our hands we can't afford to let it slip so easily. We're pretty special now, and that just means people are going to want to hurt us over it all the more."

"You sound like mom."

He really did, didn't he? Except their mom hadn't really been herself since this vacation had started. If anything, with her being so perpetually distracted and tired, he kind of had to step up and be mom for the both of them. It was hard enough stepping up and being dad for both of them! Still, he tried not to let him tire him out too much. This vacation would be over soon, and maybe then everyone would be back to normal. Until then, it would just be his prime responsibility to step up to the plate.

"So, how do you even know who you're looking for?" Isaac asked. That's when Elliot smirked and took off his jacket, revealing a short with a big old picture of Goku on it. Isaac was not impressed. "Seriously? You told them to look for the Goku shirt? I will never get why you still have that old thing lying around."

"It was the only thing that stood out to me when I checked my closet. What was I supposed to say? 'Look for the white T-Shirt?' " Elliot responded. As they arrived at the square the two looked around, Goku on full display to serve as a beacon for their new friend's attention.

At first Elliot wasn't sure exactly what was going on. Then he realized that his new friend had picked a hilarious counter-signal, and he just lost it in response. Tje boy grinned ear to ear as he fell into a fit of uncontrollable giggling, trying his hardest to regain his composure and talk about serious matters. Of all of the friends Elliot could bump into on the internet, it seemed that he had really picked a winner! Eventually the giggles subsided, thankfully just in time for the girl to introduce herself. "My name is Elliot, although you probably know me better as ThePunIsher. It is very nice to meet you! You know, you sound kind of familiar. I think we might have raided together at some point," he said. With how easy finding groups had become, people tended to cross past each other in MMOs without even realizing. It always surprised Elliot when he happened to bump into someone both in game and in other corners of the intent.

A cough from Isaac reminded him of other reasons for being here. "And this is my brother, Isaac. He insisted he come too to make sure I'd be okay. Don't worry, though! He's one of us too. We found the World at the same time," Elliot explained.

"Nice to meet you," Isaac responded. The girl didn't seem like a threat. She was certainly too dorky and bubbly to be one. Besides, her Digimon was still so small. If this was an ambush, she was setting up an incredibly overelaborate one. While Isaac was never one to let his guard down for good, he still made a mental note that Aurie was most likely harmless.

"Is this your Digimon? She's adorable! How long have you had her for at this point?"

Oh wow! Elliot had known the name was a pretty old memory, but that old? Burning Crusade was forever ago! He was like, 6! Back then it wasn't even really him playing. He generally ran with his dad's group, where "Elliot's playing today" meant the raid got to listen to an adorable tot start oohing and aahing over explosions and chaos while watching his dad did all the actual legwork. To make sure he didn't feel left out, he got to run around Stormwind and attack pigs when the raids were done so he felt like he was doing something. It was one of Elliot's happiest moments, and he found himself really starting to miss his dad as he thought more about it. On the other hand, Isaac's expression was unreadable. Sometimes, his requests to join in were met with calm, fatherly refusals. At other times, particularly during stressful moments, it was more of an angry snap. Either way, it was always yet another thing Elliot could do and Isaac was denied.

Still, Elliot smiled fondly at the memory, even if it was hazed by his youth. "Yeah. Those were some great times. You are not prepared!" he said, giggling over how bad his Illidan impression was.

Isaac, meanwhile, was caught off guard by that comment. He didn't know when he started becoming the world's biggest tease magnet, but it seemed ever since he went to Japan people loved messing with him. "Heh, I guess," Isaac said, thinking fondly of Maia. Somehow he'd managed to win her over, which was still a bit of a shocker to Isaac. "I mean, I am to one, apparently."

Elliot tried not to laugh. The Moonmon was so adorable, even when being threatening! "Don't worry, I don't mind," he said. "Besides, she probably could. I'm not really strong." Elliot was, like, less than 100 pounds even when soaking wet and had all the muscle mass of a skeleton. Even a very small Digimon could likely beat him up with ease. Besides, saying that would hopefully help calm the excitable Digimon down. He didn't want to leave a bad impression, after all!

Isaac smiled a little, thankful that Aurora didn't take any offense to him coming along. Getting Elliot, who speaking of was blushing shyly from being called cute, kidnapped would be awful! "You can. Just trust us when we say you'll want to take the train there. The other entrance isn't pretty," Isaac warned. No need to introduce the Digital World as "that place you enter by jumping into the trash." At Aurora's request, the two looked around for a place to sit.

"Ooh, a picture? That'll be so fun! Sure thing," Elliot decided, prepared to follow Aurora to her location of choice so they could get started.

Elliot shot Isaac a teasing grin as they were showered in compliments and offered a chance to eat at a fancy cafe. Ha! And he said that Elliot wouldn't find anything but trouble out of internet friendships. Instead of meeting creepy kidnappers, they were being treated like gold by a cool new friend. Looked like the score so far was Elliot 1, Isaac 0. Then the Moonmon asked to take Elliot as a servant. This time it was Isaac's turn to shoot his brother that grin. He couldn't help it! The look of shock on Elliot's face was priceless! It was like a deer caught in the headlights, if said deer was then going to be taken on as someone's butler. "Sorry to disappoint, but my little bro isn't for sale," Isaac joked. Younger Digimon tended to skew in two directions: adorable little ball of fluff, or little megalomaniac in training. Moonmon looked to be type 2.

"Don't worry. You guys are fine," Elliot added, voice gentle and reassuring. He knew more than anything it was important to be patient with younger Digimon. After all, they were just kids! It never helped to be hard on them during such a critical development period. Besides, they were too darn cute to stay mad at.

The two watched in shock as she so effortlessly chatted up the manager of this fancy establishment. Having connections was awesome! Elliot eagerly picked up the menu with a cheerful "Thank you!" while Isaac found himself looking out of the window. He was so used to living in small places and attending smaller businesses. There was something inexplicably powerful of being on the third floor, and seeing the huge expanse of people beneath. Would he be able to pick out any of the friends he made out of the crowds if he looked down and saw them? He could certainly recognize many of the paths he had taken and areas he had explored.

It was a good chance to realize that yes, Shibuya was his home now.

Elliot was more concerned about present matters, like what to order on a menu that had so many great options. Normally he just got his coffee straight black, but with all of these choices he figured it'd be time to let his inner sweet tooth run wild. "All of these look great, Aurie! Do you have any recommendations?"

"Huh?" Isaac found himself snapped out of his dreamlike trance by Aurora's question. "Oh. Yeah. I don't think I've ever had a view like this before," he admitted, smiling a little at the thought. Wait, what the heck was the second part she asked? Isaac found himself blushing a little at the mention, while also a bit surprised by how bold their new friend was. "I wouldn't want to be rude to you and Elliot, so I won't spring that on you guys. But I'll be sure to keep this place in mind next time we've got a free weekend together." Things had been kind of tumultuous and stressful since he found out he was staying in Japan forever. Going to a place as nice as this with Maia? That would be huge for taking off some of the edge. He decided, even if this really wasn't the best time, that he'd definitely take Aurora up on her suggestion at some point.

Aurora had Elliot at Dessert Medley. "Okay, I'm sold," he said, grinning cheekily. Oftentimes, Isaac joked that the boy was a living vacuum cleaner for his near-unnatural ability at putting away food quickly. At least nominally this was a joke, but sometimes Elliot really did seem to be an uncannily quick eater. When dessert was on the table, the chances of food surviving the night drastically went down. However, where Elliot was seeing great dessert on the table, Isaac noticed a sadness in the girl's eyes. This really didn't seem like the best time or place to bring it up, but he made a mental note to make sure she was doing okay later on today.

"I think I'll try it with the Jade Dragon. That sounds really good. What about you, Isaac?" Elliot asked, making sure his brother wouldn't forget to order anything.

"I think I'll just try the Rose Tea for now. Not too hungry yet," Isaac responded.

Then the question that always vexed them when it came to the Digital World arose; where their Digimon were. Goodness, how did they answer that one? Transforming in public would make too much of a scene, and while they were comfortable enough with their forms to fight they really didn't like transforming without purpose. Unless a situation was life-or-death, the spirits generally stayed confined to the Digivices. However, they knew they couldn't keep hiding the truth forever. Maybe they'd try talking around the matter for now, and if Aurora was persistent they'd just give up the ghost and tell her.

"We're, uh, well-"

"We're special cases."

The boys smiled kindly at the waitress, thanking her for her time and help. Once she was out of earshot, however it was time to start getting to Digimon business.

"Oh, that's your Digivice! It helps you Digivolve." Elliot said that statement as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Isaac simply sighed as his brother beamed like he had just perfectly closed the case.

"I don't think she's gonna know that that means, Elliot," Isaac warned. It was amazing how already they had been in the Digital World long enough for sentences like that to feel completely natural. It probably helped that most of these were just taking a word and putting Digi- at the front like some kind of computerized Smurf village.

Elliot tried to think on how to explain himself better. "Right, sorry. Okay, that is basically the most important thing to have in the world where Moonmon comes from. Firstly, you need one to even enter. Secondly, it allows you to help turn Moonmon into even cooler forms. As you guys live together, learn together, and grow together, she can tap into some of your strength and become bigger and stronger. It's kind of like growing up in some ways, especially around her current size, but she can also do it at her own will to help fight bad guys. I think that covers most of it."

"The world Moonmon is from is an interesting place. A lot of beautiful sights, but also a lot of danger. Digivolution is basically her best way of protecting you," Isaac continued. He had firsthand seen just how dangerous the Digital World could be in countless different circumstances. If it wasn't for the fact that he could easily defend himself there, he would likely have stopped visiting weeks ago!

Wait, was the Digital World in big trouble? Elliot honestly wasn't sure to think of that statement. On one hand, Aurie was right. They had to have gotten these Digivices, and their spirit-using abilities, for a reason. There was no way this could all just be happenstance, right? On the other hand, Elliot hadn't seen any big, major problems brewing. It was mostly just the day to day little things that the boy ended up seeing. Sometimes there was an adventure to be embarked on. Sometimes there were people in need of help. Sometimes, it was just the littlest of things. "I dunno if it's something that dramatic," Elliot admitted. "I mean, I think you're right that we have these for a reason. But I haven't really noticed any big, dark scheming going on. I think we've just got these to try and help people. That's what Isaac and I have been doing with ours, at least."

Unfortunately, now the Dessert Medley had pulled into the station. Elliot's eyes lit up as he observed the behemoth of sweetness currently set out in front of him, and it was clear that the boy had been building up one heck of an appetite. He ate in that neat-yet-rapid way that always left Isaac heavily confused, pastries and snacks slowly disappearing from the table. With Elliot currently lost in outer space, it fell upon Isaac to answer the rest of the questions. "Yeah. The main way to get to the Digital World is to go to the Shibuya train station," Isaac explained. "You'll notice a terminal there that looks like it hasn't been used in a while, and doesn't seem to respond to tickets. Your Digivice'll open the way for you, which'll be the sign you took the right path. Oh, by the way, the train talks. That startled the heck out of us the first time we saw it, too.

Okay, that wasn't their first time. But telling anyone about the Shibuya River Portal was just too cruel to be on the brothers' minds. It wasn't a shortcut, it was an embarrassment. Besides, while the terminal always seemed to bring humans the the Trailmon Station, the Shibuya River Portal seemed much more capricious in its desires. Getting a new friend lost in the Digital World was not on their agenda!