Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Dad, what in the world just started?"

Having said that, Hiro felt the adrenaline leave his body, and his eyelids drooped as exhaustion from the day's event finally caught up. It was way past curfew, and the trip back to campus would take longer still. Wordlessly picking Gammamon up, they began the walk back home. All the while, Gammamon's gleaming eyes curiously scanned the neighborhood with distant oohs & aahs. Despite the entire ordeal with Clockmon, Hiro couldn't help but admire the sight of the Digimon that wrapped around him right now and the blooming fondness the little guy had with his endless enthusiasm & curiosity.

All Hiro wanted to do as soon as he returned to his dorm room was to collapse immediately into his bed. Upon his return, though, the events of the night that had occurred rushed back into his mind as he saw the state of said dorm room as if the glass shard all over his room weren't bad enough in the middle of all the chaos of today Hiro had momentarily forgotten that Clockmon had broken in through the window. Now, there was a massive hole in the middle of his room. He was thankful it was the middle of the fall season, or otherwise, the enormous amount of pests like flies & mosquitos would've made this room even worse.

Setting Gammamon down on the latter half of the bed, far away from the shattered pieces of broken glass, Hiro retrieved the broom & dustpan he had in the closet and began the tireless effort to make sure the room was not a hazard to step on. At this point, Hiro hated his common sense. Every part of his body screamed to lie down and close his eyes to doze off about normal dreams like making breakfast, chatting with Nomura, and not having to deal with a digital clockman swearing revenge and cleaning up the aftermath of said rampage.

But still, regardless of his gripes, the massive hole where the window was still needed to be fixed, and even thinking of waking up the staff at this hour and trying to think up some excuse wasn't going to happen given his mental state. 'I..... need something to cover this hole up. At least just for the night, so nothing else comes crawling in. If birds suddenly came in here and started making a nest in this room, or some burglar came here to steal everything. That's not even me thinking of other Digimon like Clockmon out there.' Suddenly remembering the tarp he used for camping trips, he made his way over and grabbed the duck tape he kept at his desk and put in the effort of a one-man army draping over the whole thing without it falling over miraculously and applying a heafty amount of tape all over every corner by the time it was finished It was already 1 in the morning. He was all but ready to collapse when he saw Gammamon sleeping form on his bed.

In his laser-focused quest to rid his room of the hazards done by the rampaging Digimon encounter, he'd forgotten all about Gammamon, and as Hiro saw him sleeping soundly, he couldn’t help but feel a rush of warmth within him. He remembered Gammamon's protectiveness for him, how he readily jumped into harm's way for Hiro, being thrown at the ground, being hit by Clockmon’s special attack, and still getting up all to protect him. So, despite his sore and tired body aching him to get onto the bed, Hiro didn’t. Instead, he grabbed the spare futon he had kept for his camping trips and slept on the floor that night. All because his new little brother deserved it for saving his life. And he will be the best for him because he knows Dad trusts him for a reason. With that in mind, Hiro finally drifted to sleep, ending the first day of a world forever changed.

Chapter Text

Hiro couldn't stop thinking about the girl he saw after the whole Mummymon incident.

....

No, not like that.

There was a Digimon following around her. And given what had just happened last night and the day before, leaving her alone with an unknown Digimon would be irresponsible. But that's when the problem occurred: who was she, and how could he contact her? Hiro couldn't have just followed her back to her house. He didn't want to be labeled as a stalker if she caught him, nor was it something he was comfortable doing. But that led back to square one, so he sat in the school's dining area, letting his breakfast get cold. Which Gammamon happily also ate alongside his own share, much to the bewilderment and amusement of the other kids looking at this strange new development in one of their classmate's lives.

So preoccupied with his thoughts, he didn't even notice that nor did he notice Kotaro taking his usual place in the chair across from him and began talking his usual things. Though it was getting increasingly louder now......

"Amanokawa, hey Amanokawa, are you even listening to me?" Kotaro's voice finally became loud enough to break through Hiro's thoughts. And he responded with a mumbled "sorry" before chewing on what little breakfast was on his plate that Gammamon hadn't devoured yet. "Jeez, what's on your mind, man?" came from Kotaro with a roll of his eyes and exasperation clear in his features. Hiro started explaining with a "Yeah, look, I've been thinking about this girl-" before stopping short, realizing who he was talking to. Sadly, Kotaro had caught on enough of what Hiro had said, and an absolute shit-eating grin split his face from ear to ear, and he began chucking lowly, "Oh, Amanokawa, don't tell me you've fallen in love with a girl. I gotta say it finally happened. You always act all cool and coy, but I knew you'd finally crack one day, and somebody would catch your fancy. So, who is she? What's she like? Where did you meet?" As Hiro tried to explain, it wasn't like that much to his chagrin. Kotaro didn't believe that and still insisted on wanting to know who it was before throwing this out to say, "Well, no matter who this gal of yours is, I doubt she's as cute & charming as Lirurun is." 

"Who?" was all Hiro could say in response to that.

"Lirurun, remember she's that up-and-coming influencer always looking for tips on supernatural cases. Remember when we went to investigate the 'Sewn-Lip Man'? How could you forget?" Kotaro said incredulously. 

"Doesn't she hide her face? And also, you've never actually met her, right? How do you even know what she really likes?" questioned Hiro, but at this point, he started to tune Kotaro out as he tried to explain how great "Lirurun" was as he shoved his phone to Hiro's face to look at some of her posts. Hiro finally took a quick glance at what was being shoved right in front of him, and his mind went blank. 

Right in front of him was a girl around his age. Her features were obscured, but he recognized her build, her hair color, and what she wore. It was all spot on. If the girl he saw was this "Lirurun" who goes around exploring supposed paranormal activity, it would explain why someone his age was so clearly outside of curfew and so close to the museum where all of the incidents that happened because of Mummymon went down.

"Kotaro, give me her contact info!" Hiro exclaimed. He said it so loudly and so unexpectedly that he stunned Kotaro into silence for a few moments. When he recovered, he once again went back to teasing Hiro, "Amanokawa, I didn't. You've become such a casanova. What would your madame say if they heard what you just said?" and all Hiro could do is sighed and started defending himself "Look like I said it's not like that" but before he could continue Kotaro had interrupted him once again "No, no, no you don't have to explain a word c'mon I'm proud of you man. And because we were such good friends, and I owe you for all those times you bailed me out on homework, I got you, man. Here is her contact. I'll send it to you."

With a "ping," his phone received the contact information, and Hiro quickly grabbed Gammon and beat it back to his dorm room where he could contact the girl in peace and hopefully help her with the unknown Digimon following her.

"I'm sorry for the sudden direct message.

I'm Hiro Amanokawa, a first-year at Hazakura Academy.

Is there anything strange happening around you lately?

It could be the doings of Digimon.

I may be able to help somehow.

Tomorrow at 12 p.m...

Chapter Text

"Well, you can make yourself at home, Angoramon. Though from what I understand, you are already quite familiar & cozy here." Teased Ruli as she opened the door to her apartment. 

Angoramon had the decency to look a little bashful. And began stammering out, "Ah, well yes, I suppose I am, but I swear-" only for his explanation to be cut off by Ruli's soft laughter. 

Ruli slumped down to the couch, exhausted from the events of the day and the distress it had caused her, but she had a mischievous grin on her face as she looked at her new companion, no, her silent guardian made tangible. " I'm just teasing, Angoramon. It's funny even though I only known you for one day I know that you wouldn't do anything perverse." She looked up, and the glint in her eye shone with her sincerity. "Truly, after what you did for me today, I won't ever forget that, so please make yourself comfortable here, it's my house, or should I say our house now? 

Angoramon looked at her and smiled warmly. "It's been my honor, Ruli." Before turning away, suddenly looking a little bashful, but with patience and a little prodding, Ruli got Angoramon to speak his mind. 

"Ah, well, if it's ok, I would love to hear you play." Indicating to the piano. Ruli's eyes sparkled with joy at hearing a request. And she picked up her phone, relishing the feelings of her fingers, tangible and solid. " Sure, I'd be honored to play for you. I'm also going to order out, take out, after today. I just don't feel like cooking or eating leftovers. Let's celebrate."

As Ruli was tucked in for the night, Angoramon stayed awake, futon on him. Ruli insisted that her hero take the bed, but being the gentleman that he was, he refused to let his lady sleep on the floor, so this was the compromise. He stared at her back rising and falling with deep breaths, and he thought this was the most serene and graceful human he'd met in his short time in this world. Being so close to her right now as her partner made his very core thump in a way you never felt before

'I swear to always be there at your side, Ruli.'

With those last thoughts, Angoramon drifted off to sleep, the first of many by her side.