Hinoka woke up early on Thursday morning. Her alarm wasn't set to ring for another hour, but no matter how much she tossed and turned, she couldn't bring herself to settle down again to rest. The day had finally come. That afternoon, she was finally going to talk to her sister for the first time. Properly. Face to face.

It had been a long time coming, but the more Hinoka thought about it, the queasier she felt. Her stomach was constantly twisting and tying itself into knots, and she was sure she was going to lose her dinner from the night before even though she had been too nervous back then to eat much of anything either. She tapped her foot anxiously against the floor as she tried to force herself to stand up and face the day. All she wanted to do was bolt to the ice cream shop she and Chiaki were going to after school so they could talk, but she had to make it through classes first, and that was unfortunately going to be much harder than Hinoka wanted to admit.

Her morning routine was simple enough at least. Hinoka didn't expect her mother to stir or come out of her room, and sure enough, she was alone all throughout her regular motions of preparing for school. Hinoka put in her earbuds and blasted some calming piano music to try and drown out her own thoughts, but it was never quite loud enough to ease her nerves. Maybe her first bad decision was trying to make piano music louder so she could think straight. She didn't question herself on it though, instead concentrating on just getting ready for the rest of the day.

Hinoka walked to school easily, though her mind never quite focused where it should have. Instead, she found herself spiraling through everything that could have gone wrong that afternoon. What if Chiaki didn't show up? Worse, what if Chiaki did show and then decided she wanted nothing to do with her sister? Worse still, what if their father found out about it and tried to keep Chiaki away from Hinoka for the sake of blocking out his old life? Hinoka knew he wasn't going to take kindly to hearing that his younger daughter had uncovered the secrets of the past, and she worried for Chiaki if Daishi figured out what they were up to, but she couldn't let her anxiety pull her away now. She had to do this. She wasn't going to be able to force herself to reach out again if she faltered this time.

It was hard enough for Hinoka to get herself to do all of this. She knew all too well how easy it would have been for her to just block everything out and go back to hiding everything. She didn't want to confront the truth of the past even though she knew she had no other choice. Chiaki deserved this much, and so did she. Nobody ever said change was going to be easy to face though, and Hinoka was seeing that in stark, terrifying clarity now.

When Hinoka arrived to school for the day, she made her way to her first class without missing a beat. She slid into her seat long before anyone else entered the classroom, and she started to tap her foot against the floor once again. After what felt like an eternity, Hinoka reached for her phone. It had only been two minutes since she had arrived, but that was as good as forever as far as she was concerned.

Hinoka easily navigated to her conversation with Chiaki. She had read over it at least half a dozen times that morning alone, and throughout the week, she must have looked at it fifty times. She wanted to make sure she was getting all the details right just so nothing went wrong. She was perhaps being a bit dramatic with her paranoia, but Hinoka hadn't ever been known for being calm. When she was young, she was afraid of accidentally upsetting her father and spurring him into a rage. After that, she wound up stumbling straight into Emon's arms where he proceeded to make her life hell for the next few years. From there, Hinoka had wound up as a Legendary Warrior, and while she was doing better than ever before, it was still exhausting having to fight against the end of the world on such a regular basis. Her nerves were constantly rattling around threatening to suffocate her, and Hinoka didn't even want to bother with fighting it at this point. She knew it was going to end in failure anyways.

As the rest of her classmates trickled into the classroom, Hinoka took to speaking with Oceania, Aquaria, and Cerulea. As it turned out, all of them were just as nervous as she was, but they were doing their best to hide it. They were trying their best to reassure Hinoka that everything was going to be fine. Unfortunately for them, they shared a brain with the person they were trying to soothe, so she could see straight through their transparent attempts to calm her with empty words. She appreciated the effort, at the very least, even if it didn't do much for her.

The morning crawled by agonizingly slowly, and Hinoka checked her phone under her desk more times than she would care to admit. She liked to consider herself a good student most of the time. At the very least, she was enough of a rule follower to not spend her time on her phone in class. Today though, she couldn't have forced herself to focus on her lessons if she tried. There was just too much on her mind, and Hinoka was sure she was going to explode if she tried to take any extra information on top of everything else screaming in her head.

When lunch arrived, Hinoka was relieved as could be to have somehow survived half the day. She got ready for her meal robotically, leaving her classroom behind to make for the cafeteria. She sat down at her table corner as per usual, waiting for Koichi to join her. Once she sat down, Hinoka went right back to tapping her foot all over again, and she desperately resisted the urge to shake the table out of a desperate hope that it would release her anxiety from her body.

By the time Koichi arrived, Hinoka had only really succeeded in picking her food around her plate without making any real progress. He did his best to not cringe at the sight of her, but his worry was still written plainly on his face. "Are you alright?" Koichi questioned carefully, clearly trying to not strike a nerve he feared would blow up in his face.

"Ironic of him of all people to ask that, huh?" Aquaria remarked, and Hinoka bit her tongue before the Beast Spirit's words could reach their shared tongue.

"I... I will be," Hinoka promised him. "After the day is over, I'll be okay. I've got an important meeting waiting for me after classes end."

"A meeting?" Koichi echoed, his features quirking up in confusion.

"Yeah," Hinoka replied, though a 'meeting' felt like the understatement of the year. She was about to set off to speak with her sister for the first time after not knowing she existed for her entire life. This time though, there was no interference by the Digital World to cushion the blow as there had been with Koji and Koichi, and Hinoka almost wished for the Digimon to somehow make this simpler even though she knew it was a vain hope. "I'm going to talk with Chiaki after school."

Koichi's continued look of confusion reminded Hinoka that she hadn't explained the full situation to him yet. She hissed and winced before forcing herself to take a sip of her water. "It's... Well..." she started. She forced herself to breathe before continuing, knowing that she wouldn't be able to communicate much of anything if she kept on this way. "Through an unexpected series of events, I found out that I'm not the only child in my family."

Koichi's eyes went wide, no doubt a result of the direct parallels to his own situation, and Hinoka nodded. "My father used to live with me and my mother when I was young, but he left one day after the two got into a massive argument. I didn't know it at the time, but... I think it was because my mother found out that he had cheated on her," Hinoka explained. "He has another family. As soon as he was caught by my mother, he ran off to his other family. As it turns out, his other family consists of another wife and daughter... And said daughter just so happens to be part of the investigation team that's after the truth of the monster attacks. We met by complete accident, and she doesn't even realize that I'm the one she's chasing after."

Hinoka let out a nervous laugh as Koichi's expression distorted into greater fear and worry as the seconds passed by. She cringed as the seconds crawled by in silence, ultimately forcing herself to speak just to fill the quiet. "I haven't been able to calm down since we set up a plan to meet this afternoon," she explained. "I don't know how anybody could possibly relax after something like that. I'm... I'm trying my best to keep my cool, but it's much harder than you would expect."

"I understand. It is hard," Koichi assured her. "It took me ages to speak to Koji after I found out the truth, and that was only thanks to the Digital World in the end. I... I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this though. I know firsthand just how hard a situation like this can be to go through, and I'm sorry about all of it."

Hinoka shook her head, a sudden fear rising in her stomach at the idea of his sympathy. "N-No, you don't need to worry about it," she told him despite knowing how blatant and terrible a lie it was. "We're going to work everything out, I'm sure. It won't be easy, but we'll figure it out... Hopefully without our father figuring it out."

Koichi looked down at his own food, his expression unreadable. "It sounds like your father is a terrible person," he murmured. He only realized what he had said after the words had left his lips, and he looked up to Hinoka with bright red cheeks as the embarrassment set in. "I-I mean... I didn't mean to imply--"

"No, you're right," Hinoka cut in. "He cheated on my mother when I was still just an infant. I was probably only a few weeks old at the absolute oldest when he went behind her back. And then... He ran off the second his secret was discovered. He hasn't done anything for me or my mother since then either. He just... Left. He decided that would be easier than trying to fix what he had done. It completely shattered my mother's world. He was the only thing keeping her held together in her worst moments, and then he was gone."

Koichi glared daggers into the table once again, and Hinoka already knew who he was thinking about. Koichi's animosity toward Kousei Minamoto was hardly a secret, especially after his escapades as Duskmon. The Warrior of Void had been fueled primarily by Koichi's hatred toward his father for abandoning him and his mother. Cherubimon had just turned that anger and grief into something that could be used tangibly in battle. Hearing about the atrocities of Daishi Sakatami--assuming he even thought of that surname at all anymore--was bound to strike a nerve in him.

"I'm scared of what could happen if he figures out that Chiaki knows," Hinoka admitted softly. "He's always had a temper, and I remember being afraid of it when I was younger. I... I loved him because he was my father, not because he was someone I thought I was set to love forever. It was an obligation more than anything else. I'm sure Chiaki is dealing with that same temper now, and that means this has to be our secret."

Koichi and Hinoka continued to sit in silence for a long time, just staring at their food and waiting for something to happen to pull the attention away from the darkness of their all too similar circumstances. Hinoka took another sip of her water when she found herself unable to stomach a bite of her food, and she sighed softly. "Have you ever considered trying to tell your family about it?" she asked him, the words as fragile as glass. "The secret of you and Koji knowing about each other, that is. Your father and stepmother... Have you ever thought about telling them?"

Koichi remained quiet as he contemplated how to answer, but he eventually shook his head. "Koji said it would cause too many issues," he replied simply. "I despise our father, so I'm fine with keeping the secret. Koji is getting closer with his stepmother now, but our father... He's the reason he can't talk to her about it. I don't know how our father would respond to Koji knowing, but I don't want to ask about it either. The two of them have never had a good relationship, and I get the feeling it would all blow up in both of their faces the instant the truth came out."

Hinoka nodded. "I understand," she murmured. She wished she had a piece of advice that would make all of that easier, but she knew better than to think any nugget of perfect wisdom like that existed in the first place. Koichi and Koji had kept the secret for this long for a reason, after all.

Koichi took a bite of his food slowly and carefully before speaking once again. "What about you?" he questioned. "I know you said that telling your father is out of the picture because of his anger problems, but what about your mother? Do you think she would want to hear about all of this?"

Hinoka shook her head. "I know it would upset her," she answered. "My father leaving was the one thing that broke her in this world. He was her everything, and after he vanished... She didn't know how to take it. She's been hiding up in her room for ages, and I don't even think I've seen her in the last three days. If she heard that Chiaki and I met... I don't know how she would react, but it wouldn't be anything good. I feel bad for having to keep her in the dark since she's technically a part of all this too, but... I can't do it."

"That's probably for the best," Koichi agreed. "You're worried about putting Chiaki in danger too, and that means keeping the secret as close to your chest as possible. I don't want anything bad to happen to her either because of your father. You both deserve better than that."

Hinoka nodded, her thanks left unspoken. She forced herself to start eating, though each bite felt like agony. All she wanted was to leave school and go to the ice cream place already, but she knew that wasn't going to help her in the slightest. Besides, if she ate nothing but ice cream on an empty stomach, the sugar rush was sure to give her a headache. She had to hold on for just a few more hours. She just had to be patient.

Most of the rest of lunch passed in silence, and Hinoka forced herself to eat just enough to make sure she didn't end up sick later. She took another drink of her water before speaking, desperate to break through the quiet that had fallen over her and Koichi. "How are you doing?" she questioned.

Koichi looked up at her like a cornered animal, fear rising in his eyes before he managed to shove it deep into his stomach. "What do you mean?" he asked, almost like he was afraid of the answer he was going to receive.

"I know you've been having a tough time lately," Hinoka told him. "I'm not a fool. I can see it in the way you've been carrying yourself. And... I'm worried about you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"When we hang out with the rest of the group this weekend, there's something I need to tell you," Koichi suddenly declared, and Hinoka's eyes went wide in surprise at the outburst. Koichi only realized what he had said after he had spoken, and he looked like a deer in the headlights again. When he recognized that it was too late to take the words back, he looked down to his food. "Yeah... I guess it's high time I told you and the rest of the group."

Hinoka was halfway tempted to push the truth out of him then and there, but she didn't want to rub him the wrong way when this was already a massive step for him. Instead, she just nodded, a small smile on her face. "I'll be sure to pass along the message to everyone else," she said softly. "And... I'm proud of you for deciding to come out about this secret of yours. I know everyone else will be too."

As Hinoka turned her attention to cleaning up her food so she could get to class, Koichi continued to watch the lunch table, hating himself for what he had just said. He hadn't wanted to promise he would share the secret out of the blue like that, but there was no going back now. He wouldn't be able to keep the secret forever, and he knew that well. Sharing it with Koji had been a massive step for him, and the only place for Koichi to go next was to share the truth with the rest of the Legendary Warriors.

There was no way for him to take it back now. He had said he was going to tell them the truth, and Hinoka was going to make sure the rest of the group knew it too. Koichi had to confess to having the voices of the Warriors of Void in his head whether he wanted to or not, and if this was the end of everything as he had feared, then he would just have to face it. Koji had been willing to work with him even after all of that, even though Koichi thought his brother should hate him for it, so maybe there was still some hope for it yet.

No matter what happened when Koichi told them though, he was going to relish in this peace as long as he had it. He wanted to enjoy the normalcy while it lasted. It may have been selfish for him to want to keep the secret to himself for the sake of just being able to keep the other Legendary Warriors in his life, but he didn't care. His countdown to doom had already started, and he would just have to find a way to deal with it.

Koichi had gotten awfully used to making peace with his tragic fate, and he really, really hated it.

~~~~~

Hinoka would have liked to say that the rest of the day passed with little consequence, but that didn't end up being the case. It was Hinoka's last time out in the halls before the school day ended, and she was trying her hardest to keep herself calm as the minutes ticked by. She was getting closer to meeting with her sister, and her desperation and impatience were like ropes around her neck. She needed to find a way to remain composed, but that was much easier said than done with so much at stake in the next few hours.

Hinoka was halfway ready to declare herself in the homestretch as she navigated through the bustling halls back to her classroom, but all her thoughts screeched through a halt when a familiar silhouette appeared in front of her. Emon was leaning against the wall in the perfect way that it stopped her from entering her nearby classroom. He knew it too, wearing a proud and twisted smirk as he regarded her with apathetic eyes. He just wanted to bother her. After all, there was nothing he loved more than seeing her suffer.

"Hinoka," Emon greeted casually. He waited for her to say something in return, but as had become routine at this point, Hinoka was taking a backseat while Aquaria rose to prominence. Her helpless and longing gaze toward her classroom door hardened into a glare in his direction. Her eyes were steely even though she knew she wouldn't be able to do much to fight back without transforming into a Digimon. Still, she did her best to make her enmity known.

Emon certainly felt her hatred, and he hissed between his teeth as he swept his eyes over Hinoka from head to toe. "You're awfully bold today," he muttered. "You've got a lot of undeserved confidence. I thought I had made it clear just how little anyone wanted to see that from you."

"Go away," Aquaria told him simply, her eyes not softening from their pure rage. "We know where we stand, and I think it's time you stop chasing my shadow just because you need something to do."

Emon's features twisted at her snarky remark, and he took a step toward her. Aquaria would not be cowed and remained where she was, continuing to just glare at him with everything she had. Emon let out a dark chuckle that almost sounded entertained, but Hinoka knew better than to fall for it. She was glad Aquaria was in control, because if she had been, her heart would have been screaming in her ears.

"You can play the part of bravery all you want, but that won't change the fact that you're a coward through and through," Emon snarled. "You've never been worth anything, and you know that just as well as I do. I was doing you a favor to pick you up from nothing, and you ruined all of that for yourself."

When Hinoka looked up at Emon, she remembered something she had thought many times in the days after they had split up. Emon was exactly like her father. They both knew how to play the part of someone kind and loving, but the instant their targets stepped out from beneath their thumbs, they asserted the full scope of their power for the sake of their own egos. Hinoka had managed to escape one monster only to end up in the arms of another. It was familiar. In a way, that was all she had ever known growing up.

But Hinoka wasn't in the same place she once had been. She wasn't alone the way she had been growing up, and she was going to make a difference for the sake of herself and everyone else she had ever loved. Chiaki deserved better than to struggle under the thumb of their father for the same reason that Hinoka deserved better than to have to deal with Emon. He could try and intimidate her all he wanted, but she was going to make sure things were different this time. She refused to let history repeat itself.

Or, at the very least, that was what she would have done if she could wrestle her courage together. In the end, Aquaria was the only one who had the strength to speak, and she let out a long, drawn-out sigh of disappointment. "You know, Emon," Aquaria began, "I think you talk a lot of smack for someone who's never going to have power over anyone again after school ends. You step on others because you know that your power is going to die out the second you leave this building behind once and for all. You have nothing, and so, you exert as much power as you can over other people. It's a shame power and control are no replacement for passion and confidence. You can't get far without either."

Emon was too stunned to even speak as Aquaria started to walk away. Inside her own mind, Hinoka had clapped her hands over her mouth, unable to believe what Aquaria had just said. Cerulea smirked to herself, clearly having thought that was a long time coming, and Oceania bit down on her lip like she was afraid retribution was going to come for her the instant she let her guard fall. Emon didn't follow them though, instead just remaining stuck on the spot as Aquaria piloted their body away.

Hinoka didn't come out of her haze until after Aquaria had gotten them out of the school building. "I'm tired of the way he's treated us," Aquaria said simply when nobody else had the confidence to speak. "He's done so much in the name of hurting people for his own satisfaction, and I've had enough of it. Me telling him off might not be enough to make him stop, but at least it makes us feel a little bit better."

"I don't think I've ever felt worse," Hinoka confessed. She let her arms wrap at her midsection, and she was glad the world of water in her mind didn't allow her to get sick. If it did, she would have lost her lunch on the spot, and given that she had barely eaten anything, that was certainly impressive.

"I've proven here today that we can do it," Aquaria explained. "No matter what, he's going to know that we can do something to push back against him. We're not as helpless as we were when he isolated us from the world. We have a support system now, and he's going to see it soon enough."

Hinoka nodded numbly, and Aquaria simply smiled. "Now, if you're all ready, we have to finish up the day's classes and then go to catch a train. Chiaki won't wait all day."

That was right. They still had to go and meet with Chiaki even after all of that. Hinoka's sinking feeling returned all over again, but she did her best to push through it. She would have to be fine by the time they arrived at the ice cream store after school was over. Hinoka was determined to be the one to talk to Chiaki. After all, this had started as her fight, and she was determined to push through it to the end.

No matter how hard it got, she would endure. Aquaria had proven it, and Hinoka would have to make it real.

~~~~~

By the time Hinoka arrived at her destination for the afternoon, her stomach had finally calmed down, and ice cream was starting to sound like a perfect treat for surviving the emotional turmoil to come. Chiaki was sitting at a table near the window inside, looking out onto the street with troubled eyes that clearly hadn't seen enough sleep over the last week. Chiaki had been struggling just as much with the revelation as Hinoka had been, and they were both desperate to solve the problem at hand no matter what it meant.

Chiaki perked up when Hinoka slowly slid into the seat across from her. "You're here," Chiaki breathed, her eyes wide and panicked. "I was a bit worried you weren't going to show up."

"No, I'm here," Hinoka assured Chiaki as she set her bag down at her feet. She looked down at the table between them, trying to come up with the best thing to say. She had to try and break through the silence somehow, but Hinoka had no idea where to start. Where was anybody supposed to start when it came to talking to the sister they didn't know they had? Silently, Hinoka kicked herself for not asking Koichi for more tips about how to fix a relationship like this, not that there had been much of a relationship in the first place because of Daishi.

"So..." Chiaki eventually forced herself to say. "What's your story with him? My father, I mean... Though I suppose he would actually be our father, wouldn't he?"

"Yeah... Daishi Sakatami," Hinoka sighed.

"Though I always knew him as Daishi Miura," Chiaki interjected. "When he came back to my family, he took my mother's surname. It's unusual, but... I didn't mind it at the time. I was just happy to have a father in my life after all those years without one."

"He was trying to cover his tracks," Hinoka concluded. "My mother clung to his last name even after they divorced. She was desperate to remember him in any way she could. I guess he wanted to stay away from her in any way he could, and that meant changing his name."

Chiaki hummed at that. "What exactly was he running from when he left your family?" she questioned. "It's not like we've had all that much time to talk in person or over text. I wanted to ask you about it before today just to get it off my chest, but it's not exactly beyond my father to check my phone when I'm asleep. He's always been a bit... Intrusive, I suppose you could say."

"Abusive," Aquaria cut in. "Emon used to do that to our phone too."

Hinoka didn't respond to Aquaria for the sake of maintaining some appearance of normalcy in front of her half-sister. "Yeah... I get it," Hinoka assured her. "My... Our father married my mother after they graduated from high school. She fell hard for him. She didn't really have much of a support system since both of her parents were never really around. They split when she was young, and they both fell on hard enough times that she had to raise herself. Our father was the main person there to comfort her through all of that since he was her boyfriend at the time. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, and they wound up marrying. Soon afterward, things began to fall apart, but my mother thought having a kid would fix it. You can see where that got us."

"They were arguing around the time you were born?" Chiaki asked, her eyes going wide. She didn't seem all that shocked, but she was at least sympathizing with her sister's plight, and Hinoka could certainly appreciate that.

"Yeah. My mother tried to shove it aside for the sake of staying with him, but it didn't work," Hinoka went on. "I guess he went behind her back and had an affair with your mother around this time. My mother was desperate to ignore it in favor of her fairy tale romance, but... It came back to bite."

"My mother said she met my father by complete coincidence, and the two spent a night together. That's where I came from," Chiaki confirmed. "Afterward, he went missing for ages, only coming back years after the fact when I was about six or seven. He's been around ever since then, and... I think my mother is regretting letting him back into her life because of the way he's been treating us."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Hinoka murmured. "I know how he is... My mother loved him though. I can't say I understand what she saw in him, but it doesn't matter much now. The two of them had a massive falling out when I was about seven, and that was it. He left, and my mother started to fall apart. I haven't seen him since... Or, at the very least, I hadn't seen him until he picked you up from Izumi's house."

"He probably never thought we would find each other," Chiaki laughed dryly. "But I don't know how he thought he could get away with this. We look so similar. You're taller than I am, and your face is a bit more angular, but... We still look too similar for it to be a coincidence."

Hinoka pressed her fingers against one another for a long beat of silence, and she clenched her hands together. Her knuckles turned white as she spoke. "I'm sorry," she told Chiaki hurriedly, and the other girl's face went dark with confusion and understanding. "I'm sorry for all the time you had to spend with him. I know how he is, and... I wouldn't wish him on anyone."

Chiaki brushed a few threads of hair away from her face awkwardly, refusing to meet Hinoka's gaze. "He... He's never laid a hand on me, if that's what you're afraid of," she whispered. "He's temperamental and spends a lot of his time upset, but he hasn't hurt me or my mother, at least not physically. I just... It's something you learn to live with as time goes by."

"It's not something you should have to live with," Hinoka countered. "You deserve better than to have to fear his reaction to everything you do. You're, what, sixteen? He's still looking through your phone when you're sixteen. That's not something you should have to put up with."

Chiaki faltered at that, her one line of defense falling away in the blink of an eye. She went back to playing with a few threads of her hair in a desperate bid to distract herself. "I know," she confessed, barely managing to choke the words out. "For the record though... I'm sorry for all the time you've had to live without him. He's not a good person, and I know that. At the same time though... It sounds like him leaving really hurt your mom."

"It did," Hinoka confirmed. "But there's nothing I can do to fix it now. He made his choice, and... I just wish she could move on from it after all this time. I... I'm sorry he treated you and your mother like backups though. He's a terrible person, and I know that, but you shouldn't just be somebody's second choice out of convenience."

"I still hate him for that," Chiaki admitted. "We weren't enough for him. He decided we were his second picks, and even though I don't love him beyond the obligation of family... I wish I could get more out of him sometimes."

Hinoka nodded her understanding, and she reached out to slowly take Chiaki's hands in her own. "We both deserved better than him, I think," she said. "And if it's alright with you, I think we should try to make something out of this for ourselves. We might not be able to undo or fix everything he did to us, but if you're up for it... I want to get to know you as Chiaki. I want to get to know you the way sisters should know each other."

Chiaki's jaw dropped at that, and the two locked eyes for a few tense breaths. Hinoka was about to retract the offer, fearing she had overstepped, but she was cut off by the sight of tears starting to well up at the corner of Chiaki's eyes. She rubbed at her face with a shaky exhale, a sad smile spreading across her face. "I was hoping you would say that," Chiaki confessed. "I didn't want to just assume this was what you wanted though. But I... I don't want our father to control everything about my life anymore. He's done so much to try and manipulate me over the years, and it's time that all stops. I want to get to know you as Hinoka. This is unfamiliar territory for us both, but I want to try."

Hinoka couldn't hold back her own tears at that, so she rubbed at her eyes with a laugh of her own. "I'm glad this is how it ended too," she told Chiaki. "I didn't want to assume anything either, but... I guess this is my way of rebelling against our father too. He wanted us to stay separate no matter what, and I've had enough of it. I won't let him control my life anymore either."

"I figured out how to get around our father's sweeps of my phone, you know," Chiaki said as she reached for her phone. "It's not much, but when I started talking to Katsuharu, Teruo, and Teppei about our monster investigation, we decided to use a texting app that hides itself on your phone and requires a password to get into. Teppei made sure it was secure too. This way, I can talk to them without anybody else getting in the way. It keeps our conversations hidden while also making sure my father can't read what we're saying. We can start talking on there if you'd like."

"I'd love to," Hinoka smiled, doing her best to push back her curiosities about the Digimon investigation. She knew Takuya, Koji, Izumi, and Chihiro had that covered and then some, but Hinoka couldn't help her musings on the matter. She let a few beats of silence pass before she put them to words though. "So... Speaking of that monster investigation, how is it going?"

"We're no closer to figuring out who the human monsters are," Chiaki sighed, letting her hand cup at her cheek as she leaned forward against the table. "Katsuharu feels like we're going to figure it out soon enough, but there's still so much we don't understand, and that's making our jobs a lot harder than they need to be. We'll figure it out soon enough though. I refuse to give up on it when things are getting worse. Everybody needs to know the truth. They deserve it."

Hinoka nodded, and inside of her mind, Oceania shifted uncomfortably. Hinoka tried to figure out a way to change course, but Chiaki took control of the conversation before she had the chance. "Okay, it's my turn to ask a question," she declared. "How did you and Izumi meet? You live really far away from her, and I doubt you would have just run into each other by accident."

There it was. Hinoka hadn't realized she was dreading that question until it was asked, but as soon as the words were out there, her stomach sank. She thought quickly to try and come up with an answer that would both satisfy Chiaki and throw her off the trail. Hinoka knew Chiaki had no reason to suspect her as one of the 'human monsters' defending Shibuya, but she refused to take any chances.

"We met over summer vacation," Hinoka eventually settled on saying. "It was... Um..." Before she knew it, her mind went blank, and she couldn't come up with anything that would fill in the gaps. She just needed to say something, anything to get Chiaki to stop asking questions. Why couldn't she come up with anything?

"Hinoka, there's a--"

Cerulea never got the chance to finish her sentence or her explanation as to why Hinoka's thoughts had suddenly abandoned her. The ground shook for a few seconds, and everything suddenly made sense. There was a Digimon in the area, and Hinoka's mind had gone blank because she was subconsciously sensing that she was no longer the only monster near the ice cream shop. They were under attack, and Hinoka already knew it was because of a Void Fragment. What else would it be?

"Is that what I think it is?!" Chiaki cried out, her eyes going wide. A massive shadow darkened the street outside the ice cream shop, and Chiaki threw herself to her feet despite her legs trembling fiercely from the sudden dose of adrenaline. "It's another monster!"

Hinoka reached out to grab Chiaki's wrist, and her sister turned to face her. "We have to hide!" Hinoka proclaimed. She didn't know how she was going to get out of this, but she had to focus on getting Chiaki to safety first. She could come up with an excuse to leave Chiaki to go and fight the Void Fragment after she had gotten her sister out of the line of fire.

"Are you kidding me?! I have to go and see this!" Chiaki declared. She pulled her wrist away from Hinoka's grasp and dashed out to the street to investigate the Digimon. Hinoka watched Chiaki for two seconds of silence before she chased her sister out of the ice cream shop.

People were running and scrambling for safe cover up and down the block, and Hinoka glanced around desperately to try and catch a glimpse of the Digimon responsible for the attack. In the end, she was cut off by another shadow streaking through the skies overhead, and Hinoka threw her arms up instinctively to block herself from the blow. She never felt the hit though as the shadow instead passed over her easily.

Hinoka strained her head backward to see the Digimon in question, and her instincts told her the assailant was Gigadramon. To put it simply, he was massive. Gigadramon was gray and purple with a long tail instead of legs and steel wings sticking out of his back. His torso was clearly meant to resemble some kind of dinosaur while the rest of his body was build like a dragon. He was covered in metal too, all of it armored and gleaming darkly in the autumn sunshine.

"That thing is huge!" Chiaki exclaimed. She reached for her phone and aimed it up to take a video of Gigadramon. Hinoka's hands were starting to shake, and her mind spun as she figured out what to do. She had to get Chiaki out of there before Gigadramon could attack, but beyond that, Hinoka had to Spirit Evolve without attracting any attention so she could fight off the enemy Digimon. The safety of everyone in the area was counting on it.

"Chiaki, we have to hide!" Hinoka insisted again. "It's not safe for us out here! If that thing starts attacking, then it's not going to have any targets, not as long as there are no other monsters around here to defend us!"

Chiaki refused to move even when Hinoka pulled on her arm. "They're going to show up soon, and I have to be there to catch it on video!" Chiaki retorted. "This is everything we've ever wanted! Katsuharu, Teruo, and Teppei are going to flip when they hear about this!"

Hinoka went to retort for a third time, but she was cut off by Gigadramon suddenly turning his gaze toward her and Chiaki. For a long, dangerous moment, Hinoka and Gigadramon locked gazes. She felt her blood run cold, and her spine stiffened until she was completely motionless and breathless.

And then he charged.

Hinoka tackled Chiaki to the ground, and they barely managed to hide under a nearby awning before Gigadramon could hit them. Gigadramon slammed his claw into the ground only a few feet away from Hinoka and Chiaki, sending concrete splintering everywhere. Hinoka and Chiaki threw up their arms on instinct to block themselves from the debris, and a few pieces opened a cut on Chiaki's right arm. She hissed in pain but didn't drop her phone where it was pressed tightly in her fingers.

Gigadramon pulled away when he realized he hadn't struck anyone on the street, and Hinoka and Chiaki both looked to one another with wide, terrified eyes. "Was... Was that thing after us?!" Chiaki cried out.

Hinoka didn't reply at first, instead just letting her chest rise and fall heavily. Chiaki seemingly had been too distracted with recording to see that Gigadramon was after Hinoka specifically, and the Warrior of Water already knew why. The mastermind behind the Void Fragment attacks was starting to target the Warriors when they were on Earth and wouldn't be able to fight back as well as they could in the Digital World. The Legendary Warriors were restrained by the need to keep their identities a secret on Earth, and it was the perfect weakness to exploit. Hinoka just so happened to be the first target.

When Hinoka finally got a grip on herself once again, she grabbed Chiaki by the shoulders and pulled her to her feet. "We have to go," Hinoka insisted. "That monster is definitely after us, and if we stay here, we're going to be sitting ducks. Come on."

Chiaki was too rattled by what had happened to protest. She continued to grip tightly at her phone as Hinoka grabbed her by the wrist and ran under the awnings. Hinoka was hoping with everything she had that she would run into some alleyway where she could leave her sister while she dealt with Gigadramon. It was hardly a perfect plan, but Hinoka had only just managed to establish a relationship with her sister, and she refused to let a Digimon attack ruin that less than ten minutes after they had talked everything through.

Gigadramon continued to pursue them from up in the sky, blocking out the sun and creating a massive streak of shadow on the street. The road was almost entirely empty by now with everyone having run for safe cover wherever they could find it. Everyone who had been in a car had run into the nearby buildings, leaving Hinoka and Chiaki as the only ones around. Hinoka was happy with that. This was as safe as the people of Shibuya were going to get. She just had to worry about keeping Chiaki out of trouble, and as impossible as that seemed, it was better than it could have been.

Gigadramon's hand raised high before slamming down on the concrete below, and Hinoka grabbed her sister's arm before yanking her into a small crevice in between two buildings. There were a few dumpsters lining the area, and while it wouldn't be foolproof, it was probably the best hiding place they were going to get. If Hinoka could get Chiaki out of sight, then everything would be fine.

"I need you to get in there," Hinoka instructed, pointing to a nearby dumpster.

Chiaki, who had finally put her phone away to focus on their escape, shook her head. "I can't just do that," she retorted. "You make it sound like you're not going to hide with me."

"I can't do that right now," Hinoka finally confessed, unable to hold herself back any longer. "You need to trust me. I want you to hide for just a few minutes. We're going to be fine. You just... Need to have faith that I know what I'm doing."

"But Hinoka--" Chiaki tried to protest.

Hinoka silenced her by taking her sister's hands in her own. "I know none of this is what we expected," she began. "We never thought there would be someone out there like us... At least not like this. Now that we've found each other though, I can't let it end so soon. Our father has made your life miserable for so long, and... I can't just leave people to suffer alone anymore. I've been left out to dry too many times to abandon someone in need now. I don't know what to do about our father or what we're supposed to do now that we've found each other. However, I do know that I can keep you safe right now, and that's the least I can do. I'm your sister, and I should be keeping you safe whether it be from monsters from another world or the monsters of humanity. This is the least I can do."

Chiaki once again opened her mouth to retort, but Hinoka shook her head to silence her. "I know this is terrifying. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared myself. At the same time... I know what needs to be done, and it starts with me," Hinoka continued. "I've had enough of letting others decide my life for me. I've been living at the whims of other people for so long that I barely know who I am without their control. I want to change that though, and it starts right here. I'm going to make a difference and do something on my own for once. I'm done being a follower. I'm done being aimless. I'm done being afraid. It's time to take action, and right now, that means keeping you safe. One day... Maybe you'll understand. But for now, you just need to trust me."

Chiaki looked into Hinoka's eyes, and for a long moment, the world went still. Gigadramon seemed to vanish from their minds, and all that mattered was each other. Eventually, Chiaki broke the trance by nodding, her hands still shaking wildly. "Alright... I trust you."

Hinoka moved to usher Chiaki into the nearby dumpster, but she was cut off by turquoise light sparking up around her shoes and then rising to cover her body. Chiaki threw her arms up instinctively to try and block out the light, but Hinoka couldn't bring herself to move. Instead, she simply allowed the light to consume her body. Something in the back of her mind already knew what this was, and she allowed herself to smile despite the circumstances.

Resplendent Evolution.

Hinoka's hair freed itself from its previous style with the two braids wrapped around her head unraveling and falling over her shoulders. A single streak of turquoise appeared in Hinoka's hair near her face, and her hair waved like water around her. A delicate silver crown sat gently atop her head, and a pale teal shell sat at the center of her forehead and the tiara. Pastel blue weaved around her torso in a corset accented with cerulean. Silver laces wrapped themselves through the front and back of the corset, though they didn't pull tight enough to restrict Hinoka's movement.

A pastel mint green dress manifested beneath the corset, covering Hinoka's torso under the blue. The mint green dissolved into a skirt that fell short of her knees by a few inches. The skirt consisted of ruffles that looked like the waves of the ocean, offering the appearance of constant motion despite being perfectly still.

A silver belt appeared at Hinoka's waist just beneath the corset, and it gave way to a turquoise trail that fell behind her legs. At the waist, the trail was a deeper hue, but it faded out to a light teal color at the edges. Once again, the trail looked like the movement of the ocean even when it was completely still. Silver wound around Hinoka's legs as bottomless sandals made of the same wire as her tiara. Once again, the spiraling silver was accented by turquoise gemstones near her big toe on either foot. The finishing touch to the ensemble was a pastel mint green string wrapping around her left wrist. The string surrounded a turquoise symbol that showed Hinoka was the Warrior of Water with the marking resting on her lower arm just above the green trail.

With that, the light around Hinoka faded, and she looked down at her hands in muted confusion. She knew what was happening, but she was surprised by it just the same. She hadn't realized Resplendent Evolution could happen on Earth, though given that other types of Spirit Evolution worked just fine in either realm, she should have seen this coming. This was just another part of what it meant to be a Legendary Warrior for better or worse.

Chiaki's hands had come to rest over her mouth as she stared at her older sister in surprise. No matter how many times she tried to force herself to speak, she couldn't get the words out. Each time, Chiaki sputtered and then fell silent again. Eventually, she was able to push out a single word. "You..."

Hinoka shook her head and placed a hand on Chiaki's shoulder. "We can discuss this more later," she assured her sister. Hinoka had been hoping to keep the secret from Chiaki at least a little bit longer--preferably forever--but as long as this was how the universe was pushing her, she had to offer her sister the truth. "Let me handle this. I'll be back for you shortly."

Chiaki didn't even have the chance to ask what Hinoka was talking about before the Warrior of Water instinctively clenched her fingers together. All the water in the surrounding air became physical immediately, and it condensed itself into a pair of wings on her back. Hinoka launched herself off the ground afterward, taking to the skies and putting herself parallel with Gigadramon.

As soon as he realized where his prey had gone, Gigadramon charged forward, one claw outstretched. Hinoka whirled her arm in a circle, and the water from the surrounding area created a shield that blocked his claw and slowed his movement before he could hit her. While Gigadramon was stunned from his attack missing, Hinoka curled around behind him and pressed her palms forward, hitting him right in the back with a massive column of water.

Gigadramon hit the ground hard when the water slammed into him, and he groaned a few times before falling still. He pushed himself up and went to fly once again, but Hinoka attacked before he had the chance. She flicked her wrist apathetically, and that was all it took for the water she had summoned before to slow his claw to come rushing back toward him. The fluid wrapped around Gigadramon and pinned him to the ground easily. No matter how much he tried to thrash against his bindings, he couldn't escape, leaving him as an easy target for the Warrior of Water.

Hinoka raised her left hand high, and her symbol of Water glowed like a lighthouse in a hurricane. Turquoise light erupted throughout the area as the water in the air pushed down against Gigadramon with all the force in the world. Gigadramon screamed as the waves suffocated any sense of resistance he had left. When he finally stopped moving, a Void Fragment ripped itself out of his spine and splintered at the center of the inferno.

Hinoka took that as her cue to stop, and she sighed as Gigadramon rose to his feet. She glanced around and found a billboard screen nearby. She flew toward the screen and tapped her hand against it to open a portal. While Gigadramon rubbed at his head in confusion, Hinoka whistled shrilly. He glanced up at her, and that was all it took for the pieces to come into place for him. He streaked toward the screen and entered the Digital World once again. The portal closed behind him, leaving no signs of his presence aside from the massive destruction the street had suffered.

Hinoka flew over to Chiaki, finding that her sister was still staring at her with wide, terrified eyes. Hinoka took Chiaki's hand in her own and closed her eyes, allowing her element to consume them. They shifted into water before sliding through the earth below, effortlessly escaping the scene before anyone could start to ask questions about what had happened. Hinoka would already have to reveal her secret to one person that day, she refused to be pressured into sharing the truth with anyone else.

Hinoka only released herself and Chiaki from the grip of the water after they had gone at least three miles from the site of the attack. From there, they appeared in an alleyway as themselves again, and Hinoka sighed heavily as her element abandoned her, leaving her in her regular outfit in a flash of turquoise light. Hinoka rubbed at her temple with one hand, realizing too late that Yumiko and Junpei hadn't been kidding when they said Resplendent Evolution was exhausting.

"How... How did you do all of that?" Chiaki asked. She had gotten a grip on herself in the last few minutes, though she was still pale and trembling from the adrenaline rush. "You can't... You're human. No, you can't be. You're... You're..."

"One of the human monsters," Hinoka finished for her. "And that's one way of putting it. I... I didn't want to have to share this with you, much less like this. It's a long story, and I need you to promise to keep it a secret no matter what. Can you do that for me?"

Chiaki's hand instinctively went to her pocket, searching for her phone out of anxiety and habit. "I... I don't understand any of this," she admitted. "But I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life."

"Yeah... That doesn't surprise me," Hinoka laughed darkly. "You get used to the near death experiences after a while, but... This was your first time."

"Multiple times... You've been doing this for months, haven't you?" Chiaki asked, her voice getting louder and more afraid with each passing word. "You're the water fighter. You're one of the twelve human monsters we've seen this year."

Hinoka nodded, holding one hand up to try and calm her sister enough to stop nearly yelling the truth to the rest of the world. "I am... Though the proper term is Legendary Warrior of the Digital World. I can tell you everything you want to know, but you have to promise to not tell anybody. That includes Katsuharu, Teruo, Teppei, and anyone else you might want to tell about this. It has to be our secret."

For a few heavy moments, the world stopped again. Chiaki's fingers remained pressed over her pocket like she wanted to pull her phone out and tell her friends everything she had seen that day. Chiaki hadn't caught the latter half of the fight on video since she had been too shocked to record it, but she had still seen more than enough. If she wanted to, she would be able to end the investigation then and there. She could end the search if she just texted the rest of her friends.

But when Chiaki looked up and met Hinoka's gaze, she knew she wouldn't be able to do that. She didn't know what she was stumbling into, but she couldn't just stab her sister in the back so soon. Hinoka had put her life on the line to defend Chiaki from a monster that could have killed them both in a single hit. After all the time Chiaki had spent aimless and confused, she finally had her answer, and it was that she had to keep the secret.

Chiaki hadn't ever been given the chance to enjoy the company of others, at least not for long. The investigation team was her first time branching out enough to make friends... But she wanted more. She needed more. Hinoka was standing in front of her with pleading eyes and a promise of the truth Chiaki had sought with the condition of secrecy. Even if it would have changed her life, Chiaki couldn't bring herself to share the truth with others. Hinoka was what she needed. At long last, Chiaki had someone else to rely on, someone to call family, and if it meant keeping one little secret to enjoy a connection like this... Well, the choice had already been made for her.

Chiaki took a few breaths in the heavy silence. Hinoka continued to watch her all the while, her heart slamming in her chest. Ironically, Hinoka was more afraid of what her sister was going to say than she had been of Gigadramon when the massive monster almost killed her. Hinoka had gotten used to monsters trying to kill her by now, but she didn't think she would ever get used to the spike of anxiety that came with speaking to people like this.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Chiaki finally nodded. "Alright," she agreed. "I promise." Her hands were still shaking, but Chiaki pulled her fingers away from her pocket and left her phone where it was. Hinoka could tell by the look in her sister's eyes that this would be alright. Chiaki wasn't going to break this promise no matter what. It had only been one afternoon, but they both knew they could trust each other. This was only the beginning, and while it was hardly the opening to their relationship they had wanted, it was what they had, and they had to work with it.

Hinoka inhaled deeply on her own with the promise and exhaled slowly. At long last, her racing heart began to calm. "Okay. Let me tell you about a place called the Digital World..."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wow. That was a doozy of a chapter.

I've been looking forward to this one for a while, and I really like how it turned out. This is our first chapter that's focused on one character's perspective almost exclusively, and I think framing it as a day in the life for Hinoka works perfectly with accomplishing her Resplendent Evolution. We're up to three now just in time for the exact halfway mark of this story! Woohoo!

Okay, let's get to breaking this baby down. I like the opener of this chapter a lot since it goes a long way to establishing the sinking sense of dread Hinoka feels throughout all of this. She's been through a lot already, and this first scene is priming us for a long day like what she's expecting.

Next, we've got the scene with her and Koichi. I wanted to have Hinoka talk to him here because they've both been through the same situation, albeit under very different circumstances. The secret sibling reveal is different between them, but it still comes down to the same basics, and Hinoka needs all the support she can get for it. You can feel the heaviness and tension throughout their entire conversation, and I think it helps to build the dread from the opener well as we get closer to the climax of the chapter. Also, Koichi is finally going to tell the rest of the group the extent of his secret when it comes to being connected to the Warriors of Void. There's no going back now.

Then there's the scene with Emon. I wanted to have a confrontation with him in this chapter to show that Hinoka has come a long way from where she once was with him. Even though she's terrified, she still wants to try and make a better life for herself without him, and this is the first step. The fact that she's afraid is important, especially when it comes to the evolution sequence. Also, we get more action from the other Warriors of Water here. They deserve it, so here they are.

Alright... Let's get into the big one. I really liked working on the scene with Hinoka and Chiaki at the ice cream shop. Despite it all, they still want to try to be friends even though their father would hate it. After all they've been through, they're finally stepping out from beneath his thumb, and connecting with one another is the first step. These two are so sweet. I love it.

It's a shame that Gigadramon had to ruin it, huh? I wanted this to be the chapter where Hinoka got her Resplendent Evolution, so that meant their peace had to be disturbed, and in this case, it was by Gigadramon. I really liked writing this fight sequence because of the unique setting and also the unique objective. Hinoka wanted to get Chiaki to safety while still keeping the secret behind her identity as a Legendary Warrior, and the tension rises before the secret can't stay hidden anymore. There's a reason why Gigadramon attacked right at the moment that Chiaki asked about how Hinoka and Izumi met. It's all about the dramatic irony.

Hinoka and Chiaki's conversation during the Gigadramon fight was a great one and a real highlight of this story for me. Hinoka wants to keep her sister safe even though she knows the situation is dangerous, and she needs to be there for Chiaki since she wasn't able to be for so long. For many years, Hinoka was isolated with nobody to turn to because of the abuse of both her father and Emon, but she's determined to be different for Chiaki's sake. She may still be afraid, but she refuses to let that hold her back forever. Even if she's terrified, Hinoka is going to fight.

And fight she most certainly does! As is a trend with Resplendent Evolution, she absolutely destroyed Gigadramon. That adds to the awe factor with Chiaki at the end while also showing off the extent of Resplendent Evolution's power. Chiaki is finally seeing her sister for who she really is: one of the 'human monsters' and a defender of worlds. They're both being fully honest with each other and opening up for better or worse.

So... Yeah. Chiaki was sworn to secrecy about the truth when it comes to the Digital World, but she knows now. She's the first person outside the Legendary Warriors team to be aware of the truth. I wonder what implications this is going to have with the rest of the investigation team. They've been searching for the truth for so long, and now, Chiaki knows but can't say a thing about it. I bet Shinya and Masae are jealous of Chiaki being told the truth before them; they've been struggling with it for a while only for a previously unknown sibling to steal their spotlight.

Speaking of Chiaki knowing, that's where the chapter gets its name from. Chiaki may not be a Legendary Warrior here, but her coming together with Hinoka has the same effect. At long last, these two sisters are together. They're converging as Hinoka evolves. I like it a lot as a title.

Phew. Okay. This chapter was a lot. Next time, we're going to pick up with the aftermath of the Gigadramon attack. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital