"[excited]Here we goooo!" An orange blur dove into the pillar of light. The red bandana around its neck floated up gently. The scenery twisted and warped. For an instant, everything went blank— —pop. "[excited]We're heeeere!" Agumon threw both arms wide and shouted. The smell of green. The smell of wind. A little sweet, mixed with the scent of light. The stone monument at the top of the Portal Hill glowed faintly. Beside it, Taichi put away his Digivice. "[laughing]You're as loud as ever, Agumon." In Taichi's hands was a huge three-tiered lunch box wrapped in a cloth. He'd stayed up late making it—the main event for today. "But, but! I can smell you, Taichi, and I can smell the grass, and also—" Agumon started running in circles on the spot. Kicking the ground with those big three-clawed feet, swinging their tail wildly back and forth. "[laughing]And also?" "It's a picnic with Taichi!" Shouting while running made their voice wobble. Taichi laughed and ruffled Agumon's head vigorously. "[gentle]I'm home, Agumon." Agumon stopped. Those round green eyes looked up at Taichi. "…[whispers]Welcome home, Taichi." Right behind them, two more lights popped into existence—pop, pop. "[excited]No fair, Agumon got here first!" A small blue body came flying over, wings flapping. It was Patamon, cheerful and full of mischief. Without waiting for Takeru to catch up from behind, they landed right on Agumon's head. "I'm just as happy to see Takeru, you know!" "[laughing]Heavy, you're heavy, Patamon!" When Agumon shook their head, Patamon just laughed and fluttered their wings. "[gentle]You two, don't get too carried away." Floating down softly was Piyomon, wrapped in fluffy pink feathers. Her gentle, light-blue eyes looked back and forth between Agumon and Patamon. Sora walked up from behind and gently stroked Piyomon's head. "[gentle]It's been a while, Piyomon." "[gentle]Mm. Sora-chan, I'm so glad you look well." Piyomon pressed her cheek against Sora's hand. "Alright, let's go." Taichi pointed beyond the hill. A vast golden-green grassland stretched out before them—the Natyra Plains. In the distance, Lake Cordal shimmered in rainbow colors. A landscape made of data, in a world made of data. But the wind still touched their skin, and the grass still swayed. Agumon started running. The bandana around their neck fluttered back and forth. It was the first thing Taichi had ever given them. A long time ago, back when Agumon was still small— "Taichi! Taichi! I'm fast, right?!" "[laughing]Yeah, you're number one!" Taichi shouted back. Agumon felt so happy they ran even faster. Out on the plains, there were Pukamon. White, round, balloon-like Baby-level Digimon. They bounced around, playing tag. There wasn't a single shadow of battle anywhere. "Things really are different from back then, huh." Agumon slowed their pace just a little. Long ago, they'd fought Devimon on these plains. Fought Etemon. The sky had turned purple, the ground had split open, and they'd run for their lives. No time for lunch boxes back then. (But now—) The grass was beautiful. The wind felt wonderful. Taichi was smiling. "[gentle]What's up, Agumon?" Taichi had caught up. "[serious]Taichi. I've been thinking." "About what?" "You're amazing, Taichi." Taichi blinked, looking puzzled. "Even after the fighting ended, you've always stayed with me. The Digital Gate stabilized, and now we can come here anytime—" Agumon gripped their bandana tightly. "And today, you even made lunch. It smells really, really good." "[laughing]You can tell without even opening it?" "I can tell!" Agumon puffed out their chest. "Because everything you make smells like you, Taichi. Just that makes me happy." Looking a little embarrassed, Taichi ruffled Agumon's head again. "[gentle]When you first hatched from your Digitama, you were crying like crazy 'cause you were so hungry, remember?" "Y-you remember that?!" "How could I forget? I got my hands all black grilling Digital Meat for you." Agumon remembered. Sniffling and crying, and then smelling burnt meat. Taichi had put it into tiny Agumon's mouth. That was the beginning of "delicious" for Agumon. "You've always been you, Taichi." "What're you talking about?" Taichi laughed. Before long, they reached Everyone's Hill. Three huge Data Trees cast their shade. Taichi spread out a sheet and placed the three-tiered lunch box down with a thud. "Alright then." The moment Taichi opened the lid— —Steam rose up. The savory aroma of Digital Meat. The sweet smell of rolled omelet. The oily scent of fried chicken. Agumon's nose twitched. "Urk." Their reason swayed, hard. (This is Taichi's important lunch.) Their head understood. They knew it was for everyone to share. But. This smell was just unfair. "T-Taichi." Their voice trembled. "What?" "I... I might not make it." Agumon staggered closer to the lunch box. Patamon let out an "Ah!" Piyomon shouted, "Wait, Agumon!" But it didn't reach their ears. The smell drowned out everything else. "SorryTaichisorryTaichisorry—" Chomp. They couldn't stop anymore. Three bites for the Digital Meat, swallowed a whole rolled omelet, threw in piece after piece of fried chicken. Their mouth felt like it was going to explode from happiness. "Ahhh!" "The lunch..." Sora and Takeru stood there dumbfounded. Taichi just crossed his arms and watched quietly. When Agumon finished the last piece of omelet— The lunch box was empty. All three tiers, completely empty. Coming back to their senses, Agumon looked at their own hands. Then at the empty lunch box. Then at Taichi's face. "…………Oh." They'd done it. They'd really done it. Everyone's share, all by themselves. "T-Taichi." Their voice cracked. "I, um, that was, I'm sor—" Their vision blurred. A drop fell onto the ground where they hung their head. It was a tear. "[crying]I'm sorry, I'm sorry Taichi, I couldn't stop—" They started sobbing. Patamon and Piyomon said nothing. That's when— "[gentle]Agumon." Taichi's hand rested on Agumon's head. Then he ruffled it vigorously. Just like always. "It's okay." "But, but—!" "Look, here." From the cloth wrapping, Taichi pulled out one more bundle. When he opened it, there was a backup lunch inside. Rice balls, sandwiches, fried chicken. "I stayed up late making this one too." Taichi grinned, a little embarrassed. "I figured you might eat the whole thing." Agumon looked up. Their face was still a mess of tears. "...You knew?" "I knew. 'Cause you're a glutton." "[laughing]Honestly, Taichi, you spoil them too much!" Sora burst out laughing. "[laughing]But look, Agumon's crying so hard!" "[laughing]Hey Taichi, you didn't forget about us, did you?" Patamon flapped their wings in protest. "[laughing]I've got some for everyone!" Agumon felt like crying all over again, but this time they laughed. "Taichi really is amazing. My Taichi is the best." Without answering, Taichi just flicked Agumon's bandana lightly with his finger. Night fell. They pitched tents on the north side of Everyone's Hill and gathered around the campfire. The leaves of the Data Trees rustled softly in the night breeze. "[serious]Alright." Gabumon, wrapped in blue fur, stood up. They were Yamato's partner—Yamato was apparently coming later tonight. But Gabumon said they'd made a song thinking of Yamato. "Listen." Gabumon took a deep breath. The campfire crackled and popped. "♪ Ya—ma—to— you are al—ways so— co—old—" —Screech. The pitch went somewhere far, far away. Agumon tilted their head. Patamon let out a "Pfft." "[whispers]Don't laugh yet, don't." Piyomon desperately scolded them in a whisper. "♪ But— tru—ly— you have— a wa—arm hea—rt—" The pitch went even further away. No, it might never come back. Taichi, Sora, and Takeru were shaking, holding in their laughter. Agumon covered their mouth too. "♪ So— that— is— why—" "[laughing]Pffthaha! I can't, I can't anymore!!" Patamon flipped over, rolling with laughter. That was the trigger. """"Ahahahahahaha!!"""" Everyone collapsed. Taichi clutched his stomach, Sora wiped away tears, Takeru pounded the ground laughing. "W-why are you laughing?! I was being serious—" Gabumon got angry. But seeing that face just made it funnier. "[laughing]Gabumon! You're incredible! In a certain way, incredible!" "[angry]What's that supposed to mean?!" Gabumon lunged at Agumon, and the two of them started wrestling and rolling around next to the campfire. Patamon jumped in shouting, "Let me join!" Piyomon laughed, "Oh my," and Sora just sighed, "Honestly, you guys!" After making a racket for a while, they all got tired and lay down. Above them, the neon aurora of the Digital World shimmered and swayed. "Hey, Taichi." "Hm?" "Today was fun." "Yeah?" "As long as I have you, Taichi, that's enough for me." Taichi was quiet for a moment, then said— "[gentle]Same for me." Agumon closed their eyes. Pressing an ear to the grass, they felt like they could hear the heartbeat of the Digital World. —Just then. Beyond the reach of the campfire's light, far out on the plains. A single black shadow. Ran. And vanished immediately. No one saw it. The fire crackled on, still burning.