Work Text:
Koushiro didn’t consider himself to be a brave person. He was, however, practical, so when the algorithm he created alerted him to a massive digital infrequency at 11am, he politely slipped out of his company’s office with Tentomon for “an early lunch,” (he didn’t want to alarm his staff) and when the only positive response he received from the rest of the Chosen was Taichi’s I can be there in 20 text, Koushiro didn’t think twice about heading into the fray alone to prevent as much damage as possible while luring the rouge Digimon back through the gate. The distortion originated not too far from his building, and flying there on Kabuterimon took only a few minutes. Overhead, Koushiro saw the point of entry, a break in between worlds was stitching itself back together in the middle of a park, meaning the Digimon wasn’t too far away.
Koushiro checked his phone again. Two new texts from Sora and Takeru indicated that they could also help, but might be running late. Even though the Chosen were all in Tokyo for the first time in months, it seemed more difficult than ever for any of them to make time for anything, and Koushiro was just as guilty of missing gatherings and Digimon battles as the rest of them. Luckily this disturbance hadn’t shown up in the middle of one of his business meetings. But that was it. Being a Chosen adult was a unique challenge that no one had prepared them for, and with the exception of Mimi, everyone was either working or finishing up classes at university. It was easiest for him, Sora, Taichi, and Takeru to duck out because they were their own bosses, and unless they were traveling or held up in meetings, no one would really miss them for a few minutes. Koushiro’s phone dinged, and this time it was a message from Mimi outside of the group chat.
Be careful.
Don’t worry, he typed back. It’ll be a great story for me to tell you tonight.
“There.” Kabuterimon pointed to a lump between two trees, slithering across the grass.
Late morning walkers and joggers crept up towards the Digimon, but when they noticed Kabuterimon descending, they snapped a few quick photos and selfies on their phones of both before running in the opposite direction. Koushiro sighed, preparing for another evening of rifling through social media posts and online articles to find out the latest opinions about the Digimon and Chosen. And he had forgotten to smile again. Mimi was constantly reminding him to smile during the impromptu candids, but Koushiro found it easier to focus on the actual problem opposed to the ones that the media fabricated.
Kabuterimon landed, and Koushiro hopped off, opening the Digimon analyzer app on his phone. The creature wasn’t so much a lump as a tangle of thick, green vines scattered with bright red flowers and metallic thorns. The vines propelled it forward, and as they elongated and contracted with each movement, Koushiro was aware that they were surrounding the Digimon’s real body, a black mass and two shining eyes that had yet to acknowledge the newcomers in the park.
“Tendrilmon,” he read out loud to Kabuterimon. “It’s actually a small bird Digimon that grows the vines for protection. It attacks by thrashing around or channeling an electric current in the flowers that runs through the vines. Wait a second...it’s an ultimate level?”
Koushiro’s voice cracked. Up to this point, most of the Digimon that seeped through the disturbances were Champion level. There was the occasional ultimate, but in those circumstances, more than one of them had answered the alert. Koushiro checked the clock. At the earliest, Taichi would be there in 15 minutes, and he wasn’t sure about Sora or Takeru.
“That’s not ideal,” Kabuterimon said.
“We don’t need to destroy it, just get it back through the gate. But you might want to evolve to the next level and even the odds.
His phone beeped and a bright purple light enveloped Kabuterimon, and when it dissipated, MegaKabuterimon stepped out. He was enormous compared to Tendrilmon, but when he reached out to grab a hold of it, its flowers cackled, sending a shock that sent MegaKabuterimon backwards.
“I told you about the electricity,” Koushiro shouted.
“Sorry, I thought I could sneak up on it.”
So much for that. Tendrilmon was facing them now, vines barred like sharp teeth. It swung one after the other like clubs, beating MegaKabuterimon down to the ground and impaling him with its thorns. Koushiro winced at each impact, but took the opportunity to run around the two Digimon, behind a line of trees, to position himself behind Tendrilmon. He called up the Digital Gate on his phone, and it shook and shone a dome of white light. Before he aimed it at the Digimon, two vines wrapped around a tree branch above and Tendrilmon flung himself up in the air. Two more coiled around MegaKabuterimon, and despite the size difference between the two, Tendrilmon launched the other Digimon as if he weighed nothing more than a feather, but not before another wave of electricity rippled through the vines.
MegaKabuterimon landed on the ground with a massive thud, sending debris flying in every direction. Koushiro braced himself, holding his arms in front of his face. He was jolted backwards a few feet, but stood up quickly on wobbly knees. Besides a few scrapes and a coating of dirt on his clothes, he felt intact. Tomorrow would be a different story. Yes, he’d been thrown around worse in the past, but nearly 30 year olds didn’t bounce back like he used to. Thankfully the Digimon didn’t age like them.
“Yikes, it’s not looking so good, fam,” a voice said.
Koushiro whipped around and saw a teenaged boy with a hairstyle that could rival Yamato’s hiding behind a large tree and waving his phone around the sky because MegaKabuterimon had managed to pull himself up and into the air.
“Looks like the big bug still has some fight left,” he continued, “even though it went down with a bang. That crazy plant packs a punch. Not sure where the reinforcements are. Oh yikes, almost had it. Can you guys see the speed on the plant? Bug dude can’t keep up.”
“Are you recording this?” Koushiro asked, clenching his fists. “And narrating?” Each word came out louder than the last.
The kid noticed Koushiro and pointed his phone directly at him.
“Well duh, I’m on Facebook Live. A bunch of local media outlets have already picked it up. Who are you? You’re with the bug Digimon, right? I’ve seen you on the news before.”
Koushiro swiped the phone right out of the kid’s hand and closed out every app he had open, which was a considerable amount. No wonder his battery was almost dead. There was a long crack through the center of the screen, and knicks around the charging port. Taichi’s phone during his college days had looked similar; a result of trying, and failing, to plug the charger in after a couple of beers on the weekends, which was why Koushiro had splurged on a wireless charger. Why didn’t anyone care about their devices?
“Seriously, get out of here,” he said, shoving the phone back at him. “It’s not safe.”
The kid huffed at him but was cut off in mid eye roll when MegaKabuterimon’s attack was deflected by Tendrilmon back towards them. The kid sprinted in one direction, his wailings drowned out by the sound of branches snapping and entire trees being uprooted, while Koushiro ran the other way, towards the chaos, calling out to MegaKabuterimon. His partner flew to him in an instant, shielding him from the brunt of the blast, and Koushiro hung on to one of his arms as if his life depended on it.
As the earth settled, a glow overcame MegaKabuterimon and he reduced in size until Koushiro was holding Tentomon.
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m a little rusty.”
“You did your best considering the situation,” Koushiro assured him, trying to repress his own fear. “We should have waited.”
Tendrilmon swooped down from the trees and landed in front of them. Its mess of vines shook and hissed like the snakes on Medusa’s head.
“Get ready to run,” Tentomon said.
Just like when we were kids, Koushiro thought with a groan. Four vines shot forward like bullets, and Koushiro turned on his heels, but before he had taken two steps, a hand grabbed his shirt collar and lifted him into the air. He looked up to see Lillymon flitting around each vine while maintaining her hold on him. He opened his mouth but nothing more than a shocked squeak came out.
“Please don’t be mad,” she said. “But Mimi and I were really worried. Photos and clips of video were being shared all over Facebook and Twitter, and we knew you couldn’t wait for anyone else. It was only a hop, skip, and a jump to get here from home.”
“But Mimi,” Koushiro whined.
“Didn’t take more than a couple steps to get here. I promise. I evolved outside the balcony and carried her here. Besides, you’re basically my partner too now, Koushiro. I have to take care of you. Here, see? She hasn’t moved.”
Koushiro pinched his eyes shut and reopened them. Yes, that was Mimi, his wife, glowing and pregnant, sitting down in the grass on the outskirts of the park, waving to them with a guilty smile on her face. Lillymon dropped them off and spun back around to find Tendrilmon.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing here?”
“Saving your butt. And you’re welcome.”
“You’re on bed rest.”
“I’m resting here.”
“Can you even get up?”
Mimi rolled herself up to her knees with a shaky laugh. “No, probably not. I’ve lost every ounce of balance because of this balloon baby belly. But the grass feels so nice. It was worth breaking a sweat getting from the bedroom to the balcony for this.” She lay back down and spread her arms and legs out as if she were trying to make a snow angel, and the summer breeze gently picked up loose strands of her hair that had fallen out of her signature ponytail.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Come on down and join me. Then we’ll see who’s calling who ridiculous.”
Koushiro sighed but a trace of a smile crept up his lips. He discovered it was possible for him to be simultaneously angry and amused with Mimi, a combination that had taken some getting used to, even after being married for a few years. Mimi certainly kept him on his toes, and he admired how she continued to surprise him, though perhaps a little flustered too. It was like he was 10 years younger with her. Her youngness of heart was infectious.
“I appreciate being rescued,” he said, “but let’s move you and our balloon away from the park. We’ll make grass angels another time, like when there isn’t a Digimon attacking.”
Before Koushiro and Tentomon came around to help Mimi up on her feet, he noticed something slithering in the grass towards her. Everything stopped. Mimi continued to talk about the smell of flowers and the feeling of sunshine on her arms, but her voice was soft compared to the pounding in his ears. For the first time in his life, Koushiro didn’t think, didn’t analyze the situation for a best possible outcome. Not even his electronic devices crossed his mind. Nothing mattered. The vine reared itself like a viper above Mimi’s head, and Koushiro acted before Mimi had the chance to sense the danger. He lunged at the plant without any idea, any semblance of a plan, knowing only that he needed to do anything to keep it away from Mimi, away from...Koushiro swallowed. His family.
He wrestled the vine, but it didn’t take long for it to coil around his stomach. Koushiro winced as the tiny thorns ripped through his shirt and into his skin and braced himself for what was coming next, but no one could really prepare to be electrocuted. The shocks revererabted in his skin, in his blood, in his bones; it was like he was on fire, but only for a moment. Lillymon soared from above and aimed an attack, and the vine flung Koushiro. He skidded across the ground, finally landing on his back. Everything hurt and he couldn’t think straight.
He saw the blurry outline of an angel whoosh by. That wasn’t reassuring. Was he dying? Shit, if he died then Mimi was definitely going to kill him. Wait, that wasn’t right. His head was full of static and his body crumpled like a torn piece of paper, but he didn’t feel dead. He willed himself to focus. A giant bird and dinosaur soared behind the angel. He sighed. Finally.
“I’ll get it!” Sora’s voice. From a distance.
“Not your best day, huh, buddy?” Taichi. Closer.
“Hm,” was the only sound Koushiro could make.
“I need something more than that.” Taichi was kneeling beside him.
“Been better,” Koushiro coughed out.
“That’s it, just hang on. I’m sorry it took us so long.”
Koushiro tried to dismiss his apology with a wave but his arm was too much of a noodle to move. Taichi wrapped something around his waist, a jacket? He patted his stomach and saw red on his hands. Right, he was bleeding.
“Oh, Kou!” Mimi. Koushiro’s stomach turned at the despair in her voice.
“Breathe, Mimi.” Takeru.
The three of them hovered over Koushiro. Mimi was blubbering apology after apology; Koushiro felt her tiny tears drip onto his face as if they were raindrops.
“‘M’okay,” Koushiro muttered, his eyes fluttering.
“You have to relax,” Takeru said to Mimi. “Take deep breaths.”
Mimi was not taking deep breaths. Instead, she was sucking air in sharp and haphazard bouts, in between sobs and chokes. Tentomon was also consoling her, calling Koushiro tough as nails. Koushiro laughed internally at that. Mimi was tough as nails, but him? He was more like glass. Footsteps approached them.
“It’s back in the Digital World,” Sora said. “How is he? Koushiro, can you move your arms and legs?”
Koushiro assessed each limb. He knew he could move them, but doing the actual moving took more effort than he was used to giving, like there was a lag in the connection between his brain saying “move” and his body reacting. Slowly, he raised each foot and hand, and Mimi squeezed a hold of one, bringing it to her lips. Her own hands were shaking.
“MagnaAngemon!” Takeru called.
The angel landed among them, along with the other Digimon, but he was the only one still in his evolved form. He raised his hands and his wings began to glow a rainbow of colors, which encased Koushiro like a cloak. He exhaled contentedly, waves of comfort and peace ebbing and flowing through him. He couldn’t feel anything anymore, a good sign, but it was more difficult for him to remain awake.
“I will bring him to the hospital,” MagnaAngemon said, lifting Koushiro.
“Erm, I think we have a new problem,” Takeru said.
“Huh, what?” Taichi asked.
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
“Oh.”
“Oh,” Mimi said.
What else was wrong? Koushiro tried opening his eyes, but they were as heavy as anvils. Their voices started breaking up, and he couldn’t follow what was happening. Takeru and Sora were saying, “Breathe, breathe,” and Taichi was talking to someone on the phone. Come on, he told himself. Stay awake. But his mind was darkening, and the last thing he heard was Sora’s soothing voice: “It’s okay, just breathe.”
Breathe. Breathe.
***
Koushiro breathed in and his eyes flew open. He was hooked up to all sorts of medical tubes and a machine beside him hummed. The smell of bleach and plastic filled his nostrils. Ugh, hospitals. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes, aware of the considerable aches pulsing through his body but concentrating more on the first question that popped into his head. Where was Mimi?
“Glad you’ve decided to rejoin us, Sleeping Beauty,” Taichi said, sitting in the chair next to his bed.
Koushiro jumped, then groaned again. Taichi rested a hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, but I’ve been waiting for you to wake up for hours. I’ll tell Jou and the others.” He got up towards the door.
“Hours?”
“Yeah, you’ve been out for quite a while. MagnaAngemon healed you for the most part, but Jou insisted that you stay in a room to monitor your vitals.” He popped his head out. “Hey, he’s awake, get Jou!”
Behind Taichi, Yamato, Takeru, Daisuke, Ken, Iori, and Jou barreled inside. Takeru held Tentomon and Yamato held Palmon, but the women and other Digimon weren’t around, and considering that there was barely enough space for the bodies already inside the room, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Koushiro appreciated his friends, but he really only wanted to see one person.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked. “Where are -?”
“Did you tell him?” Tentomon and Palmon asked.
Everyone was smiling and vibrating with excitement.
“Not yet,” Jou said, pulling out a tablet. “Let me check you over first.”
“Wait a second, is Mimi okay?”
“While she might not think so at the moment, she’s better off than you are,” Jou answered. “Though MagnaAngemon took care of most of your injuries, you still have a couple cracked ribs. And the bandages around your stomach will need to be changed every eight or so hours. I’m going to assign you to stay here for another night, just to make sure you don’t exert yourself too much and re-open the injuries.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Tell him,” Tentomon whined.
Taichi smirked. “It works out since Mimi’s here too.”
“Here? As in the hospital?” Koushiro sat up and immediately regretted it. “Why? Taichi, I swear, if you don’t stop laughing, I’m going to punch you. I’ll do it. I can’t feel anything.”
“I believe you,” Taichi said. “You’ve proven that you have some real guts, Koushiro. But calm down, it was a little unnerving when it happened, but everything worked out. What did you call it, Jou?”
Jou clicked his tongue, clicking buttons on the tablet. “Oh, Mimi? Stress induced labor.”
Koushiro looked at his friend, and doctor, as if he had four heads. Labor? But that meant...Koushiro made a squeaking noise.
“He’s broken,” Takeru laughed.
“Don’t worry,” Jou said. “Lots of babies are born premature, and I know first-hand that there hasn’t been any complications since she came to the hospital. Mimi just had a flood of hormones when you saved her. Coupled with the stress of the Digimon attack, it wasn’t the ideal environment for her to have been exposed to.”
“I have to go...can I go?”
Jou smiled. “You’ll have to stay hooked up to the IV drip and in the hospital gown, but she’s only on the next floor up. Has anyone heard from them?”
“Mikayo texted me a bit ago saying that she was hopefully close,” Ken said.
“She hasn’t had the baby yet?” Koushiro asked.
“Nope, she’s been in labor about as long as you’ve been out. So about 16 hours.”
Koushiro’s eyes widened. Poor Mimi. But he wasn’t too late. She never would have let him live down missing the birth of their child, whether he had sacrificed himself for them or not. Taichi and Yamato helped him up to his feet. All things considering, he felt pretty stable on his legs, but he barely registered the way to the maternity ward.
This was it. They were going to be parents. He was going to be a dad. A lump formed in his throat. He was ready, right? He had spent hours browsing parenting articles and resources on the Internet after Mimi had already gone to bed. He could recite the words to Good Night, Moon by heart, having read it to their balloon countless times; even doing the voices correctly according to Mimi. After Mimi fell asleep on the couch listening to classical music, he had begun telling stories of the Digital World and the adventures “Papa and Mama” embarked on with their group of friends. Sure, he thought he had another month to mentally prepare, but like stepping in to protect Mimi, there wasn’t any more time to think about things. He had to be ready. And that was okay.
His parents and Mimi’s parents were seated outside, and all four of them smothered Koushiro in a large hug, made more awkward by Mimi’s mother crying because of both Koushiro’s injuries and the idea of becoming a grandmother.
There was a note stuck on the door of Mimi’s room that read “No boys allowed,” in her elegant script, and Koushiro smiled. Typical Mimi. It opened, and Sora came out, looking more disheveled than Koushiro. Hikari and Miyako trickled after her, both just as worn out and run down. Sora took Koushiro by the hands.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” she said.
“Consider yourself lucky that you got to sleep for the last day,” Hikari sighed.
“I was electrocuted and thrown around like a rag doll.”
“And we’ve been in there with your wife for the past 15 hours,” Miyako said.
“I think I’d take the Digimon every time,” Taichi said, and Koushiro whacked him.
“Did...did she have the baby?” he asked. His voice wasn’t more than a whisper.
“Mmhm,” Sora said with a big, toothy grin. “So now one boy is allowed inside.”
Koushiro turned around and took in the encouraging smiles, cheers, and thumbs up from his friends. He thanked Sora, Hikari, and Miyako for staying with Mimi but hadn’t finished before Miyako shoved him towards the door.
“Don’t forget about us,” Taichi called. “I want to meet my godson or daughter.”
A chorus of “Me too” echoed but Koushiro tuned them out and went inside.
Mimi was cooing something unintelligible to a bundle in her arms, but when Koushiro listened more closely, he pieced it together as the opening theme of Star Wars. He knew she had secretly liked them. His heart was pounding.
“You’re Mama now,” he said.
Mimi looked up at him. Her hair was in complete disarray, clumps plastered to her cheeks and neck, and when she noticed Koushiro in the room, she attempted to put them back into place but gave up, laughing. But Koushiro didn’t care about her hair; he fixated on the sparkle in her eyes and sheen across her face. He had seen her dressed and dolled up for prom and their wedding, had woken up next to her absurdly nonexistent bedhead, had spent lazy days watching movies together as she wore a pair of baggy sweatpants and one of his shirt, but he’d never seen her look as flawless as radiant as she did then.
“Kou!” she yelled. Then she cringed. “Sorry,” she said softer to the baby. “Oh, come here, come here, wait until you see her, our Satomi.”
Her? Koushiro dragged his feet and the IV pole across the room.
“Here,” Mimi said, holding up the baby for Koushiro to take, “Papa.”
“Hey there.” Koushiro was in awe. This was his daughter. He was related to this tiny, perfect human. She was so tiny in his arms, but he analyzed every facet of her existence, from her pink nose to honey colored eyes, heavy with sleep, but staring right back at him as if she’d already known who he was. Wisps of red hair on top of her head, just like him. Koushiro lifted her up and she nestled into his chest, radiating warmth like a tiny space heater. Suddenly everything clicked into place. He would do anything for her: learn how to French braid hair, play with dolls, dress up for tea parties.
“I’m so sorry,” Mimi said. “You saved us. You risked everything for us because I was being foolish. It looked like you were in trouble, and I couldn’t not help.”
“You saved me first. Lillymon grabbed us just in time. Besides, I’m your husband. It’s my job. I’m sure it’s written in the job description.” He looked down at Satomi and smiled, his heart too full for words. “And now I’m a Papa. ”
“Like you said, it’ll make a great story to share someday. Squeeze in.” Mimi scooched over on the bed.
“Is that allowed?”
“Do you care?”
Koushiro shrugged and wiggled his way next to her, holding Satomi between them.
“Nice getup,” Mimi said. “We’re matching.”
“You pull off the rose-flowered hospital gown much better than I do. I think it clashes with my hair.”
Mimi giggled. The door opened an inch and Palmon’s flower head popped out.
“May we come in?”
Tentomon hovered above her. “Please, we’ve been waiting forever too.”
Koushiro and Mimi urged them in quickly but to close the door behind them. Palmon crawled into the bed at Mimi’s feet while Tentomon hung over the edge of the bed. They both oo’ed and ahh’ed over Satomi, Palmon blowing kisses and Tentomon making baby noises, talking over one another about how they would help rock her to sleep and play with her when she grew older and protect her from every threat and most certainly spoil her rotten. No sweets would be out of Satomi’s range with Palmon and Tentomon on her side. Soon, the two Digimon nestled in closer to their partners.
“Should we let the others in?” Mimi asked, yawning.
“In a bit,” Koushiro mumbled.
In no less than three minutes, the five of them fell asleep.