"Mei-sempai!!" Yuga hugged Mei, who awkwardly hugged back much to Shiramon's amusement as Dan and Hiro double teamed SS Keita's younger self in a tackle hug as well. The rest of our friends, fellow members of the Mystic Detectives and those who we had met along the way, were also slowly trickling in, coming in for the year end party we had set up. Chatter and laughter was in the air, and I could see Dad conversing naturally with his dads' younger selves, same for Gami and Reiji. Looked like they finally worked up the courage to spend more time with them after Project Sleepy Hollow's reveal.

Mei had come back yesterday while we were recovering from the final battle against Pascatmon, and to say we were spooked by her return would be an understatement; she had come back in such a chippy mood I thought she was an impostor. Turned out, nope, she just decided to do something stupid, and we had to sacrifice Uju's Snickers for it.

Bad. Move.

Mei was so angry about the fact we hadn't told her. She literally scared Morinomiya for killing Azami, nearly gave Akira a beating to kingdom come and almost killed Uju with her DigiSoul. We had to explain to her what the heck had happened carefully once Dad knocked her out and she was calmer, and even then she was STILL salty about it.

Not that I didn't expect it. I had helped Mei with the Dark Mist, but for this I hadn't asked for her help?

I had explained to her privately later on that I had texted her, and the message had gone through the same day, which... She couldn't deny. Plus, I told her that this was a personal case; while the Dark Mist had been just a day to day case with no emotional attachments, this had been very personal.

"I... See..." Mei looked... Worried. "Are you okay about this?"

"Okay about what?"

"Akira. And everything you apparently learnt while I was gone. You didn't even have to call on those people from the SRS. I could have found out everything they had found in one day without the use of a fancy library."

"I..." I paused. I didn't really know, but... "I think so. Trusting Akira-san will take a while, and getting you guys who hadn't been around to understand and connect with them would be hard, yet... I think it will be worth it. Plus... You don't have to force yourself to re-connect with us. I know that it takes time for you to trust others, and the wounds from November still haven't fully healed, so... Take your time. I will wait for you to fully trust us again."

"Eo-"

"Haneul, actually. Haneul Srirocco," I corrected. "I'm a pangender now. And I'll probably be going to jail in January."

Her eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

"But don't worry. I... I fully intend on facing the repercussions of my actions. And... You probably think I'm horrible because of what I did-"

"Haneul, that is bull****!" She snapped. "You... You tried so hard to connect to others. It's insane how you keep on trying, even if they hurt you..."

"Mei..."

"I... Did I make you live up to some ****Ed up ideal about how to be a detective?" She suddenly paled. "Is that you were so detached during the Dark Mist arc?"

"What?! No! I just, I was never a good fit for a detective anyway."

Mei stared at me in shock, and I explained, "You, Dad, and Semo-sensei are better fits for this than I ever was, and I fooled myself for three years thinking that it was okay that I kept on asking you for help."

"I don't min-"

"I know you don't mind a lot of things, and... That's part of why I didn't want you to know about what happened this December... I expected you would either be disgusted, or... You would just go Meh and... You would just act as if anything I did was okay in the context, which it will never be. Taking lives... I know mercy killings exist but... I don't want to do that anymore. I don't want it as a first resort. I want it as a last resort. The fact that you would take it all into stride without considering my feelings on it was what I was the most scared of, and Blues highlighted it out to me."

"Haneul..."

"You can hate me for saying this, but... I've been relying on you for too long. I want to make my own stand. If you can do it, why can't we? It's dumb that I can't do it. I'm twenty, for crying out loud."

"Did I... Give the impression that I was smarter?"

"You ARE smarter, Mei. And honestly? I'm glad you could find experience in detective work through me, but... I want to get better on my own. I found what I want, and if I want to grow, this is a part I need to figure out on my own."

Mei looked... Surprised. "I..."

"I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings..."

"I... No, I just got caught off guard. I... Never really realised the friendship was this one-sided. I thought it was... Just me helping people who reached out to me. I know I'm not the most sociable person, but... Did I really give off OP vibes?"

"Information gathering, DigiSoul, Shiramon being strong as heck and the first to unlock alternate evos... Yeah I think you can say that." I looked at the Miracle Box we had recovered. "I know you're trying, though, so take your time."

"Haneul..."

"I... I had to learn to stand on my own, and December taught me that. I got too complacent, forgot my past mistakes and repeated them. I... Don't want to do that anymore, so... I'll repay the debt I owe y-"

Huh? Was Mei... Was Mei hugging me?

"Debt? There is no debt in friendship. I would gladly do it again if I have to, Haneul."

"There's a boundary in friendships, Mei. I really have to go through all of this pain if I want to grow. I know that pain seems scary, but... It helps you grow. Depends on whether you use it to develop or regress."

"I..." She sounded so shocked.

"I love you as a sister, Mei, so... Thank you for everything. Really. But... From here on out... It's my own journey. I would be honoured if you would want to continue being my friend despite everything."

"Of... Of course... Of course I would, Haneul. It would be MY honour as well..."

I smiled and hugged her back. "That's all I could ask for."

It didn't mean she was okay fully, but it was a step in that direction.

"Uncle Philip! Uncle Shotaro! Uncle Ryu! Aunt Akiko! Aunt Tokime and... UNCLE DAN! UNCLE HIRO! DADDA! MOMMA!" Wuliang's voice had us swiveling over to see him hug the Narumi Detective Agency and four more people. I vaguely recognised them, their facial features similar to our own Dan, Hiro, Magnus and Brakken, after all, but it was still astounding how different they looked. Alec immediately dove to hide behind Yuga and Anastasia, much to their amusement.

"Shishou, it has been a while," Jettra spoke to their Drago, who laughed and said, "Same here, Jettra."

"Swee, Jack, and Yuci!" Another Gammamon with a red scarf flew down to hug the three. "Nice to see you again!"

"It's been a while, Sensei," Glasssweeper said.

"Hi hi!" Jackjack giggled.

Yuci only hissed in reply.

"Haneul, I see that you're a lot better now," Philip-san said as he walked over.

"You knew I would change my name to Haneul Srirocco, didn't you?" I asked with a smile.

"I knew, but it's not quite my business to intrude. You had to realize it on your own terms, not with shortcuts, but the good old fashioned realization," he chuckled.

"So you know what the surname Srirocco means to me, too, huh?"

"Your file was also in the book."

I gave a sad smile. "Mary Srirocco... my first human victim's relative whose case I had gotten, long before I started killing. The sheer irony, but..."

"A way to move forward while remembering the lessons you have learnt. Ingenious," he said. "You seem much more confident and prepared now, too."

"Your advice helped me out a lot. Thank you for that, Philip-san." I smiled.

"I'm always happy to help an ally of the SRS in keeping the multiverse safe," he answered.

"Hey, now, don't take my partner away from me," Shotaro-san said while slinging an arm around the other. "You have your own platonic soulmate don't ya?"

I couldn't help but sputter at that, and Philip-san seemed to catch on as he smiled. "Are you hoping to do a Secret Santa with her?"

"I mean... we already settled on who's getting who before everyone went home for the holidays," I said. "But I felt bad that the Perfectio members were missing out so Hiro-kun, Ruri-chan, Kiyo-kun, Mika-chan, Aoi-chan, Koutarou-kun, Dad, Ryubo-san and I decided to do a random lottery thing."

"So who did you get?"

"I can't spoil. That would give away the surprise," I teased.

Shotaro-san burst out laughing. "Hey, Haneul, you know that you could always just intern in our agency, right? We could use someone like Philip to balance out Tokime."

"I'm not a detective anymore," I reminded him. "And I'm probably going to jail."

"You act as if despite your acceptance, the others have accepted it," Philip-san chuckled. "I can tell that they're planning on testifying for your sake, especially Perfectio."

"Pascatmon did say that she was the one who egged you on about it," Bokomon agreed while climbing onto my back. "So technically speaking, the one who should be paying for it is gone now."

"Speaking of that, what did happen to the Codes?" Shotaro-san asked. "I heard from Partner that you guys kicked it out of the Digimon when you turned them back to eggs."

"Blues found them and contained them safely in his lab," I answered. "Ironically, the Leviathan aura they had gotten from Jokermon was the thing that helped contain it."

"It didn't poof once Leviathan faded away?"

"A real mystery," I agreed. "Blues is speculating that we were off about where the Aura came from."

"Or maybe it was left behind due to something else related to Leviathan living on," Philip-san offered.

"Minerva?" I asked.

"I can't say for sure, but... I can reassure you that for the most part, this arc in your life is done."

"For the most part?"

He chuckled. "You'll see. Anyway, don't worry about us getting presents. You guys have fun, okay?"

"I... thank you so much, Philip-san."

"Always."

"Alright, alright, everyone, have you gotten your presents ready?!" Bunbuku yelled as he and the other judges for the Tournament walked in.

"Of course! We just have to wait for-" Shin Ayumi was cut off by the door slamming open. "*****ES I HAVE THE GIFT!"

"OH MY GOD, ARAGAMI ROUGA DO YOU NOT HAVE MANNERS!?" Shin Bernard looked like he could bury himself in a ditch to die.

"Eh," he shrugged while sitting down on the couch. "What difference does that make?"

I could only sweatdrop slightly before Jinhyuk-san spoke, "I know that we have some impromptu guests, but we do have presents for them."

"Oh, no, please don't. We just came for the year end!" SRS Dan laughed while patting Wuliang on the head. "Plus, Byakuya-nii gave us stuff already, so no biggie."

"Well, we have to insist. Your team has assisted enough with the transitions and all," Bagra-san said.

"It's nothing big," SRS Hiro insisted. "We've imposed enough on this multiverse so..."

"Especially Lazhuguang at times," SRS Magnus agreed. "Don't sweat it, really."

"Leader really does at times, doesn't he?" SRS Brakken sweatdropped.

"Alright, then," Bunbuku pouted. "Mannnn, you guys are humble."

They all gave sheepish smiles before the gift exchanging began. I could see Hiro giving Ranma a gift while Mei had gone over to Dan to give him something. Ruri was excitedly giving Eri her gift, Kiyo had walked up to Alicein Misono, and Blues was holding a gift out to Gao. Violet had gotten Luz Noceda, Mika had gotten Lizzy, Aoi had gotten Ryubo-san, Ryubo-san had gotten Daimon Masaru, Mei's grandpa, and I...

Had gotten Suki, queen of Nexomon.

Upon noticing my approach, she waved as she signed, 'Saw the broadcast. You good?'

"A lot has happened since then," I said while signing back. "Here's your present, Suki."

Her eyes lit up, and she gently took it into her hands, smiling. 'Thank you.'

"No problem." I had gotten her a plushie of a Digimon she really liked, so that was hopefully enough. I had picked up dollmaking from Gami's channel two years ago, and it was pretty fun, so...

... Man, now I see why the others call me a parent hen.

Still, this just left... The Perfectio member I had pulled. I admit I had panicked a bit yesterday when I got the name, but...

I had asked Akira for help on this one, so hopefully he wasn't screwing me over.

+ SPIRITUAL DIGILEMMA +

"Shouldn't you be with the others, Haneul?"

"Oh, I already gave my present, and..." I shrugged while lugging the present I had gotten from Shin Rouga of all people. "Yeah, this thing is huge. What the heck did he get me?"

"Most probably he's pulling from his younger self's knowledge," Uju offered as she leaned onto the pillar, watching everyone open their presents. "Although it might be off by a lot."

"We've never interacted so that's to be expected," I answered, joining her and seeing Tianheng SCREAM as he shook, holding a limited edition Sun Novelist book. "Some people got lucky, like Tianheng got Ruri, and Angoramon happened to recognise he was an avid reader."

"You guys really went through all the trouble to get us gifts? Even though we had..."

"Well, no one blames your motive but the way you went about it is questionable."

She chortled, adjusting her pale green dress while saying, "That's for sure. But judging by how you're here..."

"We both got each other?" I had a feeling that the Perfectio members had done the same as we had.

She smiled, though there seemed to be something in her eyes. "You catch on quickly. I'm not surprised, Haneul."

"You wanted space and also a discussion regarding the usage of the name you suggested for me as my new general one," I guessed.

"I... Yeah, you got me there. I guess... I just wanted it to be a name between the two of us," She admitted with a sigh. "Of course it was your decision to make, but..."

"Uju... I know I should have asked. I'm sorry about that," I said while turning to her. "Truth is, it just came to me. Gangsan called me that, and so did Leviathan, so it was pretty much a no-brainer. Plus, part of the reason it appealed so much... Well, aside from the feeling that it was the right name... It was because YOU gave me the name."

"H-Huh?" She looked at me.

Scarlet and orange met as I spoke, "If anyone else had given me the suggestion, I probably wouldn't have thought much about it aside from it being a good name, but... The way you said that my eyes remind you of the sky... It kinda sold me there. And hey, if anything..."

I gently took her hands into mine. "Your eyes remind me of a fire. Bright and passionate. So... What if I call you Honoo?"

"Fire in Japanese, huh...? Then I'll call you Bol, which is the same in Korean," She said while leaning into my chest. "It's really perfect, Bol. I love it."

"Same here, Honoo. Same here." I put my head on hers for a while as we just... Stood there, watching everyone.

"A-Anyway, here's your gift," Uju coughed as she handed me a box.

I couldn't help but flush. "My gift is a little bit... Over the top. Akira-san said that you loved fruitcakes, so..."

Her eyes widened. "No. Way."

I set down my backpack and opened it up to show a small cake box, handing it to her. "It's not much. I knew a baker from a case of mine that I solved, and all I had to do was help with the baking and decorating. Took me all night, but..."

Uju gently set it down on a nearby table. Hands shaking, she unwrapped the ribbon, and when it opened up...

A simple carrot and tomato fruitcake designed to look like a snowman sat there. I had covered the three sphere layers with sugar to emulate snow, and used chocolate for the branches and the rest of the accessories. The hat was made of fondant as it sat on its head, and the face had such a derpy smile I couldn't help but giggle at it.

But the real treasure was a photo frame of the two of us Lia had apparently taken during the baking contest at DigiHarmony. It was double framed, and the other side was of a young Uju and her grandparents; Yuga had dug it up after some hours of toiling. Engraved onto the clay frame were the words, 'To a long lasting connection, for the sky and the universe.'

"Bol, I... I..." Uju's tears were falling down her cheeks. "This is amazing. You managed to do this all in one day?"

"No sleep, but it was worth it," I smiled, opening up her present for m-

I froze. This was... A picture of my grandmother, someone I vaguely guessed to be my grandfather, and... My parents.

It was but one of many pictures; a photo album that I looked through slowly, seeing my grandmother with her fellow DigiDestined, then pictures of my dad with his own group...

Finally, it shifted to pictures of... Me and my friends, with all those I had encountered and connected with. Small, chaotic moments, but priceless all the same.

Closing it, I couldn't help but tear up. "Oh, Honoo, this is..."

"I had a lot of issues with that one, but Blues helped me out a lot," She said with a teary smile. "Bol... Merry Christmas. And Happy New Year. To a long-lasting relationship, regardless of distance?"

"A-Always," I answered, wrapping her up in a hug.

We stayed like that for a LONG while, but we did separate so Uju could eat the fruitcake while I checked out Shin Rouga's gift.

For the size and weight, the actual gift was... Pretty light.

"Wha...?" I could NOT believe this.

Robinhoodmon showed up out of nowhere to poke into it before yelping, drawing attention to us as he pulled it, no, THEM, out.

"Is that..." Shin Gao squinted.

Shin Rouga was grinning from ear to ear. "Did ya like it?! I remembered that you like taking care of animals!"

"Oh my GOD! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

The hedgehog chittered while the dog barked, hopping off Robinhoodmon as the beige Pomeranian tackled me to lick my face. I could only laugh before the rabbit hopped over and nuzzled me with the owl. "Where the heck did you even-"

"When you visited our place before December," He said with a smile. "You were enamoured by the petting zoo Magatsu Jin had, so I asked them if it was possible!"

"Is it okay to even move them across multiverses like that? I thought Wuliang mentioned that there was some sort of lag you could suffer from if you want to live permanently in a different world," Subaru asked.

"A thing we supplied the worlds with is a vaccination for any living creature. Once they get it, it takes a month or so for the creature to adjust to the multiversal jumps so you don't... You know, hurl up food," SRS Hiro explained.

"Wait so THAT'S why you ran off as soon as you got your assignment?! I thought you had been called by Kyoya!" Shin Tasuku groaned.

"Well, Kyoya did help me get my hands on it," He said. "But yeah, I made sure they were fully adjusted to Cho-Taiyo and the other worlds just in case!"

"I... I'm so amazed, Shin Rouga-san... Thank you so much!!"

He grinned. "No sweat, kid! You should give them names, though!"

"Huh..." I looked at them, before I made up my mind.

I first looked at the dog. "You're gonna be named Hiro TM."

The dog yipped happily while Hiro yelped, "WAIT WHY IS THERE TM?!"

Mei was now roaring with laughter as she hugged a new tablet from Knight close to her chest. "PERFECT!"

I laughed before looking at the excited rabbit. "Ruri Taiyou."

The rabbit hopped at that. Ruri cheered.

Then I paused as I stared at the owl and the hedgehog, before deciding, "The owl shall be Luno Mei and the hedgehog will be Eoshiro."

The hedgehog seemed to grin while the owl hooted.

"Wait, there's more!" Uju suddenly called out, making me blink as I got up and joined her to see...

My mouth went agape.

A pair of axolotls were in a tank below the first box. I had NOT realised that I had been lugging two boxes! Had I been that out of it?! One was a golden albino axolotl, and another was a lavender axolotl.

What the...

"I don't... Have I ever mentioned to anyone that I loved axolotls?" I muttered to myself. "Did Mei tell-"

"Nope. You just stared at those things for 5 minutes straight with Wuliang when he was watching some aquarium-building channel. Neither of you blinked. Just had goofy smiles on your face. I can SEE, you know."

I couldn't help but flush at that, yet as I stared at the two...

"The... Golden one can be Ko Beom and the lavender one can be Young Sayo," I decided.

"That's... Oh, Bol, that's..." Uju smiled.

"I won't be able to care for them, though, so... Could I bother you guys to care for them after the cases are solved in court?" I asked, albeit a bit hesitantly.

"You act as if we're giving up that easily," Shin Tamamo said while crossing his arms. "Pascatmon set you up. And our Noboru knows people. We can do this."

"But still..." I protested.

"No ifs, ands and buts. We choose to do this. Whether we win or lose is another matter entirely, but until then... We will fight," Blues snapped. "It was Pascatmon who did this to you. I refuse to let you beat yourself up more!"

"I'm not, though. I've really come to peace with i-" Dad just strode over and hugged me. "Dad?"

"You didn't start it on your own free will. You were manipulated to do it for some person's insane hubris. I'm sure we can work something out!" He insisted.

"Dad..."

"He's right. Plus, you're one of us, and we need every member of the team. That's not just for Team Lirurun, but also for the Mystic Detectives!" Ruri said.

"So don't give up, please, Haneul... Don't... Let the Daikis win. They don't deserve an ounce of victory for their ****ty parenting," Akira-san finished.

"You guys..."

They all gave me grins, and tears could only fall as Shin Bernard said, "God knows more than anyone that you never asked for the circumstances, and the desire to repent is all He needs to deliver you help so you can break free from Pascatmon's schemes for yourself."

Aliana nodded. "Don't give up."

"I..." I wiped the tears off my face. "Thanks guys. You guys are awesome."

Solisamon giggled and snuggled up to me while Gammamon joined in, and soon everyone joined up in a small hug.

I saw Philip-san give me a smile while Shotaro-san gave me a thumbs up, and I smiled as I gave one back.

Maybe... It wasn't a bad thing to keep fighting for myself.

venusaura owns Suki.