Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Did you not sleep good?” Shakomon questions as Jotaro all but scrambles on the floor. “Wowie-zowie - you weren’t lying! You are taller when you’re not digivolved!”

“Nope. No. Shut up. Why are you real!?” Jotaro barks, pointing only to notice his hands still have Gatomon’s bandages. “Why are these real!?”

“Did you hit your head when we came back, Just Jotaromon? Or, wait, are you Jotaromon now and the guy with the lines is Just Jotaromon?”

Jotaro presses his face with his palm and brings them down slowly in frustration.

“My name is Jotaro. Jo. Ta. Ro. Not Jotaromon. Not Just Jotaromon. Jo. Ta. Ro!” He punctuated each syllable with a chopping motion.

“Oh, well, I’m Shakomon now!”

“Well fuckin good for you - go home!”

“I can’t - I’m supposed to help you!”

“Well I don’t want help right now!”

“But-”

The two are interrupted by a knock on Jotaro’s door - soft but quick little taps.

“Jotaro? You okay up there?”

Crap. It’s Holly. She must have heard him fall out of bed trying to get away from this blabbermouth bivalve!

“Ooh, who’s that?”

Jotaro slams the clam shut with his hands and stuffs them into an empty pillowcase - he never used them anyway - and ties it shut.

“Nope. You do not go near my mom!”

“Oh you have one of those!? My friend Dodomon has one!”

“Good for them - I don’t care. Shush!” He shoves the clam-sack under his bed with hissed whispers. “Yeah, mom - I’m fine. Just…tripped.”

“No you didn’t.” Shakomon whispers from under the bed, getting another hissed shush from his partner.

“Is there somebody in there with you?” Holly asks, the doorknob twisting menacingly.

“Nope. No. Nobody. Just, uh, oh call. With a classmate. Right Shoko?” He gives the clam a menacing glare.

“Oh, yeah, sure!” Shakomon says, at least getting that cue.

“Well I hope you and Shoko have fun studying. Let me know when you’re hungry, okay?”

“I’m hungry!” Shakomon calls, jumping up and down in the pillow case with loud thumps, making Jotaro lunge under the bed to grab him and stop his bouncing.

“If you’re so hungry, why don’t you go home and eat you-”

“Jojo, what are you doing with that pillow case?”

Shit.

He turns his head to see that Holly opened the door, seeing him strangle an unknown something under his bed like a little psychopath.

“It’s…uh…”

Quick, think of a good lie!

“...Kakyoin got me a furby?”

“Oh I loved those! What color did he get you?”

Shit! He didn’t know she’d like those!

“Green!” He barks, pushing the case farther under.

“Only on the inside!” Shakomon corrects, earning a frustrated growl from Jotaro. Holly, however, isn’t stupid.

“Jotaro.” She says firmly but kindly. “What is it, really? You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

Oh god damn it, she’s making those eyes at him. Those big, wet, sad mom eyes…Eyes he can’t refuse even if it makes him look lame - you don’t just make your mom cry. He leans under the bed to Shakomon.

“If you hurt my mom in any way I’m gonna make you wish you weren’t real.” He growls, holding tight to the knot on the pillow case.

“Okidoki Jotaromon.”

That’s it - he gives up.

He pulls the pillow case out and unties it, Shakomon shimmying back and forth in their shell to get it all the way off before popping the hood and revealing that doofy little face underneath. Her face says it all - that is not a fucking furby what the hell is that?

“Hi Jotaromon’s mom! I’m Shakomon!”

She glances nervously between her son, who looks very much like he wishes he were Not Here Right Now, and the little clam looking up at her…He almost had a puppy dog sorta face…maybe a cat?

“Um…Hi, Shakomon…You can call me Holly or Seiko if you’d like.” She says in a voice that borders on customer service, something that seems to fly right over the clam’s head.

“Well Seikomon, you got any of that food you mentioned?”

“Jotaro, you didn’t feed him?” She asks, seeing the hopeful glitter in that little bivalves eyes.

“Well what was I supposed to feed him! He was ones and zeros a few minutes ago!”

“I - wait, what?”

“We can talk about that over foooood come ooooon!!!” Shakomon is bouncing in their shell as mother and son look between each other and the newest squatter in the house.

“Oh alright,” Holly relents before, to Jotaro’s horror, reaching over and just…picking Shakomon up.

“Wh- mom!”

“What? I’ve picked up stray cats and dogs plenty - what’s a clam to that?”

“Hehe! Yay!”

If Shakomon had hands, he’d no doubt be clapping. He would have clapped his shell, but he doesn’t wanna pinch Holly’s fingers. 

The three walk over to the kitchen, where it seems like Holly had been working on sandwiches for lunch, including one started in advance for Jotaro. He hadn’t even noticed that it was well past noon now and he went out with Kakyoin only at seven! How long had they been messing with that hole and just how long had he been stuck with the weirdos in that hole?

“I saw on your to do list you were gonna be playing with Kakyoin today so I figured you’d go on for a while. Didn’t want you going hungry when you were done so…” Holly gestures to his sandwich - ham, egg and cheese with a thickly sliced tomato. Holly places Shakomon on a chair that’d rarely have Jotaro’s father in it, the creature opening up immediately to sniff at Everything.

“Okay then, Shakomon, what kind of food do you like?” She asks as she opens up the fridge. “If you don’t want a sandwich, I can always get you some fruit or-”

“Ooh! Oh! What’s that?” He points at the container of ham on the table with one of the ribbon-like feelers on their head. “It smells yummy!”

“Oh, that? That’s ham. You wanna try some?”

“Yeahyeahyeah!” He bounces up and down like a toddler - no wonder Holly warmed up to him so quick.

“Alright, here we go. You want me to hold it for you?” Holly says as she pulls a sheet of lunch meat from the container.

“Yeah!” He squeaks before she comes over and dangles the ham close enough for him to get a good chomp out of it. He chews for a bit before his already big eyes damn near go supernova. “HAM! YUM! I LOVE IT!”

Holly laughs as she lets the rest of the slice down, the creature gobbling it up.

“THAT’S THE YUMMY-UMMIEST THING I’VE EVER EATEN!” He squeaks, practically crying. “THANK YOU, SEIKOMON! THANK YOU!”

Holly’s not gonna mention that it’s just store bought deli ham - she’s gonna take the wins she can get.

“I was planning to get more tomorrow, so feel free to have as much as you’d like!” Holly giggles as her son’s little guest starts drooling over the idea of more of this wonderful Ham Stuff! “And say - why do you add Mon to mine and Jotaro’s names?”

“Don’t bother correcting him - I’ve given up.” Jotaro chimes in.

“Well, you’re digimon too, aren’t you?” He asks, looking between the two of them. “I mean, what else could you be!”

“We’re humans, sweetie.” Holly says gently.

“Humon? Never met one of those before.Gatomon said she met a Dinohumon before, but not Just a Humon! And you two look so different!”

“Well, yes, cause we aren’t the same.”

“But you said you’re both Humons!”

Holly looks to Jotaro for Anything, but he just shrugs - he has just about as much of a clue as she does and he’s BEEN to where this little pest is from!

“Well, if it helps you then, you can keep calling me Seikomon.”

“Okidoki Seikomon! More ham please?”

Just as Holly is ready to give him another slice, the door is pounded on with force.

“HOLLY LET ME IN! KAKYOIN SAID THAT JOTARO MIGHT BE IN TROUBLE!” they hear muffled through the door and multiple walls.

“Ah! Daddy!?” Holly all but runs to the front door to keep Joseph from just pounding it off the hinges.

“Holly! Look, daddy’s happy to see you too, but Jotaro might be in grave danger. Where is he?”

“He’s just in the kitchen having lunch, why?”

“He’s what!?”

He nearly just breaks through the wall leading to the kitchen, harshly skidding around the corner with his shoes flung haphazardly back when he remembered the courtesy rule. He looked torn between strangling Jotaro, hugging him, or clubbing Shakomon to death with a table leg.

“WHAT THE SCALLOP IS THAT!?”

“Scallops are in Pectinidae - I think he’s more a Tridacninae.”

“WH- NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR CLAM FACTS, JOTARO - WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!”

“Hi Seikomon’s Daddy!”

“Do not call my grandpa daddy.” Jotaro groans. “Just…call him literally anything else.”

“Oh. Is he-”      “No, his name is not Anything Else. ugh…”

“Holly, Kakyoin told me that Jotaro fell into a glitch inside a STAND Space and he hadn’t come back out for almost four hours. Now one of you better start explaining things or I’m-”

“Oh! I can do that! Jotaromon fell into my world through a hole poked into this one!” Shakomon says like a child getting called on by a teacher. “Babamon sent me so that Jotaromon could get out safe!”

“...WHAT DO YOU MEAN POKED A HOLE IN THE WORLD!?” Joseph yells, picking Shakomon up by the top shell and shaking him. They seem less threatened and more queasy at being shaken so much after eating half a container of ham by now.

“Well, when digimon digivolve, they give off a bunch of energy and light and stuff! Babamon said that’s what’s making the holes!”

“And what the hell does that mean!?”

“Joseph, stop shaking him! He’s just trying to help!” Holly scolds, holding up Shakomon’s bottom shell, even as Joseph continues to interrogate the clam in her kitchen.

“Please listen, whateveryournameis! I’m gonna barf!”

“Good fucking grief…” Jotaro mumbles as he finishes his sandwich.

Chapter Text

“And so now I’m stuck with this guy.”

It was the next day, Jotaro, Kakyoin, Polnareff and Shakomon sitting on a bench in a Park Space together.

“Yup-yup! I’m real happy to meet you all!”

Kakyoin and Polnareff keep looking at Jotaro like he’s a ghost, but Shakomon gets looks of confusion and mild horror.

“So these glitches…” “Are holes in…reality.”

“Yup. Apparently the thing that opens them is a part of these digimon things’ natural life cycle so they can’t even stop making them.” Jotaro adds. “Digivolving. Dumb name. This guy used to be a real little dinosaur. Now he’s a clam.”

His science nerd heart wants to kick whatever programmer who made these things square in the nuts for naming something that doesn’t even keep creatures limited to being the same biological class Evolution. At least Pokemon keeps them sort of similar!

“Oh! Maybe they can help with Babamon’s mission! They seem smart!” Shakomon chimes in.

“For once, I agree with you.” His partner replies, getting a big glittery smile from the clam. “Yeah, when I was in there, I met one of those digimon things that was kind of in charge of a bunch of them. She had somebody there, someone that’s from our world with no memories. She wants me and Shakomon to find out who they were and get their memories back…somehow.”

Polnareff nods along, but Kakyoin puts his hands up.

“Nope. You got isekaied yesterday and now you’re doing Columbo shit for some digital gnomes - I’m out.” He says as he gets up, getting a disappointed frown from Shakomon.

“Kakyoin, come on.”

“Nope. Refusing the call to adventure. Bye. I’ve got physical therapy today.”
And with that firm denial of assistance, Kakyoin logs out.

“Well, Jotaro, as a spokesperson for this client-”

Oh no.

Jotaro looks over to see that Polnareff has, in fact, produced a pipe from his inventory for the bit.

“Any other leads on this case of ours?” He says with a goofy grin and twinkle in his eyes.

“Jotaromon! The band she gave you! Show him!” Shakomon is eating the bit up, even if he doesn’t know what a funny looking stick has to do with detective work, nudging Jotaro with the side of their shell as he goes into his own inventory to collect the arm-band in question.

“I’m getting it, I’m getting it - keep your shell on. Here. I don’t know what the BAOH stands for, but the fact that he had an SPW band on him at all is something.”

He passes it to Polnareff, who holds it up with his prosthetic arm and gives it a thorough inspection.

“I’ll do what I can. You mind if I hold onto this?”

“Knock yourself out, detective .” He replies, almost mockingly as he stands up, goes over to Shakomon, and holds him under his arm like a basketball.

“Jotaromon…”

“What now?”

“I need to use the bathroom.”
…

“Like, now????”

“Yeah.”

“Wh- why didn’t you say anything before we left!”

“I didn’t have to go then!”

Jotaro hurries off with Shakomon under arm, leaving Polnareff with the armband, the fact that these things also poop, and a mission - uncover the meaning of B.A.O.H. He just so happens to have an informant inside SPW Engineering itself…

SILV3R-SOURIS: Hey baaaaabe~!
SILV3R-SOURIS: I need your help with a case I just gooooot~!
Admin Magician: Polnareff
Admin Magician: You have any idea how mad I am at you right now?
SILV3R-SOURIS: Uh…does it hurt if I ask for what? As a hint?
Admin Magician: You left a glitch THAT BIG unreported long enough to get Mr. Joestar’s grandson stuck in there for Four Hours.
Admin Magician: And guess what? Because of Kakyoin panic dialing Mr. Joestar while you were calling me, now the whole administration team is on double time looking out for these holes.
Admin Magician: How long did you and Hol know about that one!? Huh?
SILV3R-SOURIS: …bout a week…
Admin Magician: A WEEK!?
SILV3R-SOURIS: Look, I’m sorry, but I need just a little bit of help here! It also has to do with that hole anyway, so maybe it’ll get management off your back if this goes right!
Admin Magician: 😔
Admin Magician: I will make no promises.
Admin Magician: What is it?
SILV3R-SOURIS: Jotaro found another user in there, but his data was too corrupted to get a clear name off of. What he did get was an armband with the SPW logo on it and an acronym. B.A.O.H. I just wanna get whatever info we can on that.
Admin Magician: …
Admin Magician: THERE IS SOMEBODY ELSE IN THERE RIGHT NOW!?
SILV3R-SOURIS: YES AND JOTARO WAS ASKED TO HELP GET THEM OUT AND BACK TO WHERE THEY BELONG, WHICH IS WHY I NEED YOUR HELP!
Admin Magician: Who asked him!? Was it a family member!? Why don’t you go to them!?
SILV3R-SOURIS: About that…The case is from…somebody inside the glitch hole…that is…sorta… from the glitch hole.

Avdol nearly breaks his keyboard slamming his head into it, getting a jolt out of everybody else in his department. Avdol was a calm man, usually, but whatever Polnareff got up to managed to make the man reconsider the stress ball he’d been recommended online.
He’d found out Polnareff was a hacker AFTER they started long-distance dating and found out about his mercenary work shortly after that.
Yes, he goes after the actual criminals, but his methods still run him and Avdol the risk of firing and jail if anybody less willing to ignore laws for justice got wind of their little system.
If they keep going like this, no doubt he’ll go gray by 35.

Admin Magician: Next time I go to France, I’m punching you.
SILV3R-SOURIS: So is that a yes? 🥰
Admin Magician: Yes, but you will be getting punched - mark my words.
SILV3R-SOURIS: Marked, highlighted and underlined in glitter pen, honey.
Admin Magician: I’ll see what files are PUBLIC first.
Admin Magician: You know. Like a normal person.
Admin Magician: Then I’ll get back to you.
SILV3R-SOURIS: Thanks babe~! You’re the beest~!

Avdol lets out another sigh before opening up more tabs and folders. Scrolling and clicking fill his hours between being pinged to monitor possible ToS infractions. Once he finally found the public file, he found it was vague at best and deliberately obscured at worst. While it got him the source of the term B.A.O.H, the fact that it was present in the breach made the hair on his neck stand up - a horrid feeling rising behind corporate speak.

…

“BAOH, or Beginner Attachment Object Host, has been deemed a failure after a major medical incident regarding its early testing process. Moving forward, we will begin development of a controllable virtual shell over the previously designed direct immersion model.”

…

It was a snippet - almost a footnote - on the beginning of avatar development…

Admin Magician: I’ve scratched a scab here, Polnareff.
SILV3R-SOURIS: Don’t stop till you’ve hit bone.

With that go ahead, he pecks further at the files - scouring to the start of the avatar system.

…

“A volunteer has been found for the BAOH test - Tenma Hashizawa, chief programer, has assured that his son, Ikuro Hashizawa, with his ear for music and his eye for detail, would make an excellent first beta tester. The boy himself too has agreed and has already printed and signed all the legal waivers. He’s enthusiastic to say the least. We look forward to his feedback if he’s as critical as his father.”
…

Alright - names. BAOH - Beginner Attachment Object Host: a direct immersion system. Ikuro Hashizawa, first beta tester - son of a programmer.
Avdol puts his pen back down and keeps scrolling, clicking, reading and dreading…he’s getting a bad feeling…

…

“Baoh Tester has reported issues with touch feedback - items still feel like smooth plastic despite the texture maps placed on them. Also suggested changes to the boot music, as he described it as, quote, clown music.”

…

Nothing really relevant. Keep going.

…

“Ikuro has applauded our quick resolution to the touch feedback issues. Surprisingly, he has also brought in a demo tape of possible other boot themes. Just like his father, he seems to be discontent with letting other people do what he thinks he can do properly himself. These tapes will be considered.”
“Update - the tapes will no longer be considered: we are not using banjos for the boot theme of our program, Ikuro.”

…

Keep going.

…

“We are testing the travel system today - hopefully this does not cause too many problems, as the Boah Tester has reported a selective form of motion sickness unique to planes and helicopters.”

…

It’s close…he feels it…

…
“Power Outage has left BAOH tester unresponsive. Even upon returning power and restoring the simulation, vitals are stable, but not hopeful.”

…

“The BAOH model has been terminated - Ikuro’s state has made it clear that a direct insertion of the consciousness into the STAND system, while allowing for more mental control of the interfaces, leaves the user in acute danger. Avatar development will commence at the earliest opportunity.”

…

“Funeral of Ikuro Hashizawa has been postponed due to the suicide of Lisa Hashizawa”

…

“Funeral of Ikuro and Lisa Hashizawa has been postponed due to the suicide of Tenma Hashizawa.”

…

Avdol’s face is pale and his hands shake as he hovers over the mouse. The pen he had readied to write more notes for Polnareff drops from his grip and clatters to the floor.
Most of these entries are months apart, save only the final two…If Ikuro had been the only tester. No other suspects for their mystery BAOH armband wearing victim.
The BAOH system was a direct movement of consciousness from the body to the system. A power outage, if not fixed immediately, could cause at best a psychological break when reconnected and at worst a coma if a connection fails completely…and it seems the latter happened.
Their mental data, with nowhere else to go, must have moved into that glitched space, wherever it was.
That poor boy.

Avdol has to take deep breaths, covering his face in his hands and leaning forward on his desk before he collects his pen from the floor.
He does not envy Polnareff and Jotaro, having to share what he has learned…

Admin Magician: Polnareff.
Admin Magician: You client is already dead

Chapter Text

He’s tired of physical therapy.
Not the act of doing it, but the slowness of it.
The lack of concrete progress.
12 months of being on a treadmill, 9 months of exercising, 12 months of more exercising and 10 weeks just to stop feeling it.

That’s going to be his life.
All because his school had the steepest staircase known to man.
He’s going to be stuck for over three years over fucking stairs.

Kakyoin had gone immediately to his room upon leaving therapy. Immediately to his STAND. Immediately to feeling anything other than This. Jotaro and Polnareff can have their little detective adventure without him - he’s got enough crap to worry about and he’s not gonna add Isekai Holes and Amnesiac Monsters to that list. He rolls through the doors of the Art Space he always uses, getting some waves and passing greetings from some of his fellow regulars. When he reaches his usual room, however, he gets stopped by a kid - PDBas3r - the most annoying unwarranted critic in just about every art space in STAND.

“I wouldn’t go in there,” He says with a finger wag. “Saw one of the easels clip into the floor and now-”
His smug little warning is interrupted by the sounds of tables being pushed with audible difficulty. Kakyoin looks over the boy’s head and sees a silhouette moving around in the small window, but can’t quite make out what it is…so it’s probably another of those Digi-Weirdos like that clam Jotaro was lugging around.

God damn it.

“I’ll manage.” Kakyoin scoots the kid out of the way with his palm flat on his head, mussing up his toothpaste-like quaff, and slides the door open.

Inside was, in fact, one of those weirdos. While Kakyoin enjoys being right, this time it’s mostly an annoyance. Why couldn’t it’ve been a digital racoon or something?

He looks back to see PDBas3r hoofing it down the hallway, just short of leaving a child-shaped smoke cloud where he’d last been. Great.
Kakyoin looks through his inventory for a possible weapon. He has to partly disassemble one of his discounted gundams, but he’s sure Barbatos can go without that lance for, like, five minutes. Even if it’s just upscaled virtual plastic, they don’t know that. He jumps at it with the lance in ha-
“TINY SPARK!” It squeaks at him jumping at them, leaving the teenager twitching on the ground as it crackles with electricity. “I-I’m sorry! I don’t mean to trespass!”

Kakyoin coughs out a puff of smoke. It HURT. He can feel his muscles in real life twitching, even his legs. He grits his teeth as he leans on his would-be weapon.
“I-I’m sorry! I’m looking for someone! Two people, actually! Sorta! I didn’t mean to cause any trouble!”

Kakyoin glares at the little lizard as the sparks die down…wait, shit, didn’t Jotaro mention a lizard thing finding him? What’d he say it’s name was? B-something…
“My name is Betamon,”

That’s the one!

“A-and my friend Gummymon digivolved and got sucked into one of those breaches. I was trying to pull them back down but I got sucked up too…”

“So you’re lookin for them or Jotaro, that right?” Kakyoin finally replies, Betamon’s eyes glittering at the mention of his name. 

“Ah! So you know him! That’s good!” They squeak. “Do you know where he is?”
“Nope.”
“Dang it. Oooh I gotta find Gummymon before he gets himself into trouble,” They squeak as they start squirming under more tables, their sail catching on some of the legs and causing that scooting he’d seen from the window.

Kakyoin sighs. It just electrocuted him, yes, but he did come at it swinging when it’s just looking for it’s friend…Is he gonna be a heartless jerk today and make his afternoon even worse?
No.

“Alright. What’s he look like. Gummymon or whatever.”
Betamon stops their scooting and spins to look at them with the eyes like a dog that just heard ‘walkies’.

“You’re gonna help me!? Even though I-”
“Yes, I’m helping. I swung first. Now, come on - info?”

“Oh, yes, right. Uh. Well. With Digivolving, Gummymon probably looks much different…But I think when he was getting sucked in, I saw his general shape. Do you mind if I use some of the art supplies you have here?”
“Go ahead.” Kakyoin waves a hand towards some of the supplies they knocked over with their scooting.They take a paint brush in their mouth very carefully and bring it over to a tube of red paint, stepping on it to squirt a bit out onto a fallen sketchpad for a pallet, before taking it all to a little canvas. In a few delicate brush strokes, they’ve got a shape…

“Like this! He looked like this now!”
“Hm. Not bad for getting one look in…” Kakyoin comments as they pick up the canvas, jamming the un-needed lance of Barbatos back into his inventory. “Let’s start asking people I guess.”

“Hey!”
The kid looks up from their sketch program to be met with Betamon’s doodle of their wayward friend.
“This guy’s looking for his friend - did-”
“I’m a girl, actually.”
Kakyoin looks down at Betamon.

“Wait what? You are?”
“Yeah - couldn’t you tell?”
“No? Why would I- nevermind: unimportant. Look, she’s looking for her friend. He looks like this. Did you see anything leave the art room before I showed up?”

Bas3r squints at the piece then glances up at Kakyoin again. He opens his mouth, but Kakyoin cuts him off.

“Yes she drew it - you try and paint with no hands, kelphead.”
“Alright, alright! Sheesh!” Bas3r puts his hands up while he talks with an eyeroll. “I saw something go by but I wasn’t really paying attention - I thought it was a sculpture somebody decided to give animations or something: I didn’t know it was a glitch.”

“Okay! Great! Did you see where he went?” Betamon asks, anxiously bouncing on her claws.

“Went to the exit - obviously. Like you should be doing.”
“Thank y-” 

Kakyoin stops her. “Don’t thank him - you’re encouraging him. Come on.”

Bas3r keeps up his smug expression as they make their way out of the art studio.

God he hates that kid.

Betamon is kind of overwhelmed by all the sights of this Other World she’d fallen into with Gummymon. It was all so open and vast - a web of roads between what looked like their own little planets! She struggled to keep up with Kakyoin; between his longer legs and those wheels on his feet, she’s eating his dust most of the time! She does try her best to not slow him down for Gummymon’s sake, but he does eventually.

“Are you good back there?”
“I’m, huff, fine, huff…” She gasps between hops. “Just, huff, doin my best…”

He shakes his head a bit before hanging the portrait off her headsail and scooping her up in his arms.
“This better? Not messing up your ribs? Do you have ribs?”
She wiggles her legs on instinct at being picked up, but does settle…So this is what being tall is…

“I’m fine, but can we move the painting to my mouth? I can’t see…”
“Alright.”
He lifts the painting up from her head and holds it out for her to grip with her teeth.
“Wrst gr!” She grumbles over the frame and cloth. Kakyoin chuckles a little as they keep going, asking just about anybody who they pass who didn’t just fast travel to their next space. Not a one had a clue who they were talking about and some even had the gall to call Betamon a toy! A toy! She would have given them a very FIRM correction if she wasn’t holding onto their lead on Gummymon’s evolution. Only when Betamon’s stomach growls do they stop.

“Oh, right - you need food and stuff, huh? Hm…”

“No, we can keep looking! I can eat when we get back to the village!” Betamon protests as Kakyoin takes the painting from her mouth and puts her down.

“This might take a while and looking on an empty stomach isn’t gonna do anybody any good. Now let’s see…do you think the food here would work? I mean, for us it doesn’t do anything except look nice here, but I dunno how it works for…ya know…digital guts.”
Betamon looks to see lines of cafes and food stalls. His comment perplexes her more than her hunger annoys her.

“Wait, if you don’t eat, then why make the food?” She asks as she looks at all the vendors going through their motions.

“Well, cooking is an art too,” Kakyoin shrugs. “That and ingredients are easier to get when you can just pull up a menu and spawn in, like, 500 pumpkins or whatever.” Kakyoin comments as he scans the booths again before he stops.
That kebab stand…

Kakyoin’s eyes lock with the vendor - Dan0Steel - who then has his eyes dart to Betamon, then to the painting, then to something in his stall…

“Uh, Betamon - I think we’ve got your lunch and your guy all at once.”
“Hm?”

Kakyoin picks her up again, holding her under the body while his other hand holds the painting.

“‘Scuse me, Dan? You seen this guy around anywhere?” He asks holding up the painting.

“Depends…you paying?”

Oh. Oh it’s gonna be like this, huh.

“How much?”   “How much you got?”     “How much you want?”
Betamon looks between the two humans confused…how much what?

“Info’s for paying customers only.” “How much is a kebab then?”    
“150 c’s.”    “150!?”  
“Why not? You want it, don’t ya?”     “FOR ONE!?”
“Fine. I’ll cut you a deal! 50!”    “THAT’S STILL ABSURD!”

Betamon wriggles out from Kakyoin’s grip as the two argue, sneaking around the booth to have a peek. In the stall is a spinning hunk of beef being tended by a cat-like digimon with a hat similar to that of a burger bun.

“BETAMON!”    “GUMMYMON! YOU’RE BURGAMON NOW!”

The two human’s argument is halted by the joyful reunion of the two digimon, Dan grumbling about the little guy losing him a sucker.

“Betamon! You’ve gotta try this! It’s so yummy! Oh, Dan, you’ll let her have some, right? She’s a good friend of mine!” Burgamon squeaks, jumping up and down and tugging at Dan’s apron and giving him puppy eyes. The man can only sigh.
“Fine - a sample for both of em.”     “YIPPIE!”
Burgamon gets some tortillas from a bag in the stall along with a knife - carefully shaving pieces of meat off the skewer and dealing them out evenly.

“Any toppings tonight?” He asks with a twinkle in his eyes.

“You got any green pep-”    “Hey, this is just a sample!”

“Aw, Dan…Please?”

“Ugh…Fine, but that’s the one topping they get!”

Burgamon opens a little plastic bin and scoops out some chunks of green peppers each before lovingly folding each of the wraps.
“Dadadada! Two doner kebabs!” Burgamon holds them up triumphantly as Dan plays a little glitter effect around the meals, even if the wraps looked pretty bare bones with just the beef and green peppers in it.

“I don’t need one, but thank yo-” Kakyoin attempted to refuse, but Dan cut him off.

“Ohno, you’re going to want to. You see, Burgamon’s food isn’t like all the other vendors on this street. Hehe..”

Kakyoin squints at him before he takes it from Burgamon, who looks pleased as punch to get the praise of the shady food stall dealer.

“Well, cheers?” Kakyoin points his Kebab over to Betamon before he takes a bite…and almost chokes.

“Hits different, don’t it?” Dan snickers as Kakyoin coughs. “You see, unlike all the bits and bytes by the other dealers, Burgamon’s food is REAL - even if you’re not a digimon. A real wonderful trick that’s gonna make us the best food stand in all of STAND’s spaces!”

Kakyoin finally gets the bite down - sure it was delicious but the fact that it had a taste at all and wasn’t just a few frames of “Bite” animations for aesthetics threw him off his guard. Betamon happilly munches on her wrap too, without the needless shock of finding out food is real.

“So, Burgamon, are you gonna go back to the village?” She asks the little chef between bites. “You and Mr. Steel here seem to have a thing going.”

“I can’t go back! Not now! Dan, he really gets my art! My craft! He says, with our skills and his business savvy, we can really make a difference here! Sure, I could make food back at the village, but the village has plenty of gatherers and cooks! Here, there’s only one Authentic Burgamon!”
The way his eyes glitter as he talks about him, Betamon can tell that Burgamon is set in staying with Dan, even if she doubts the ‘Business Savvy’ of the man.

“What about you? You gonna go back?”

She almost chokes too, not expecting the question to be turned back to her.

“I mean…well….” She looks from her kebab, to Kakyoin, to the sights of just this plaza alone… “I like the village, yes, but…I wanna see this place too…”

“Hm? Thinking about joining our business venture?” Dan asks with a bit of a sleazy smile before Kakyoin pushes him out of the way mid bite. She laughs, at least.

“No, I don’t think I’m much of a business-mon…” She laughs. “But I’m sure I could find somewhere to settle in…”

Kakyoin looks at the two of them talking and can’t help himself from sighing. Hearing him, Betamon looks over, little bits of pepper around her wide smile…

Welp.
Time to ask his mom to order a doggy bed.