Jou sat down on the soft grass underneath a tree. It was a nice spring day in Odaiba, and the park was full of kids having fun on their Saturday off. Earlier he had received a phone call from Iori, who wanted to get together and talk. He didn't say what he wanted to talk about, but Jou agreed and suggested they meet in the park.

    Jou began watching the kids, and recalled that it had been an entire month since the end of their digital adventure, and only now were things getting back to some sense of normality. All the digimon were back in the Digital World, although Jou had a pretty good feeling they wouldn't be there long. Gomamon himself had said that he would visit as soon as he had his fill of the digital ocean.

    "Hey Jou, what's up?"

    Jou looked up and was mildly surprised to see Koushirou sitting down next to him. "I'm waiting for Iori," Jou said, "he said he wanted to talk about something. Did he invite you too?"

    "Yeah," Koushirou replied. "Do you have any idea what he wanted to talk about?"

    Jou shook his head. "Not a clue. I suppose we'll find out when he gets here."

    "Speaking of which, here he comes." Koushirou said, nodding to his left.

    Iori sat down across from them, and Jou noticed that he looked a little nervous.

    "Thanks for coming on short notice," Iori said once he sat down. He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Jou, Koushirou, I want you to know that I really look up to you, and that I've enjoyed our friendship."

    "We've enjoyed your friendship, too," Koushirou replied, smiling.

    Iori blushed lightly before continuing, "Well, I have some big news for you. I'll be...going away soon, and I feel that I should tell you something first."

    Jou looked over at Koushirou, who looked as surprised as he felt. Was Iori really moving?

    "Um...well..." Iori continued, fidgeting as he spoke, "I guess I should come out and say this right out." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm from the future. I was sent to help defeat the Digimon Kaiser and save the Digital World. Now that everything is back to normal, it's time for me to go back to my time."

    Jou's mouth was almost touching the ground. The future? Him? What the...?

    "It's true, really," Iori went on, seeing his reaction. "But that's not the main reason I asked you to come here." He took another deep breath and continued. "Jou, Koushirou, I'm also your son from the future. You're my parents."

    Jou took a second to digest what Iori just said before replying. "You mean you're our son? How is that possible? Don't you already have parents? How in the heck can Koushirou and I have a son together? That's completely and totally impossible!" Jou was a mixture of disbelief, shock, and confusion. What the heck did Iori just say? He didn't really mean all that, did he?

    Jou looked over at Koushirou, and saw that his best friend was blankly staring at the ground in front of him, his face a very, very deep red.

    "Koushirou, don't you think that this is..." he trailed off when he realized why Koushirou was so red.

    If Iori was their son from the future, that would mean they would be...together...in that way...doing...that...

    Oh dear god.

    Jou felt the urge to faint, but found that sitting there with his face just as red as Koushirou's was an acceptable alternative.

    An awkward moment past, with Jou and Koushirou decidedly avoiding each other by looking at the ground on the opposite side of where the other was sitting.

    "I was kinda hoping you would take it better than this," Iori said, finally breaking the silence. "You two are good friends already, after all."

    Both of them looked up at Iori, and Jou noticed that he looked a little hurt. "It's...well...a big announcement, Iori," he finally managed to say. "We're just a little, okay, we're very shocked by it." He paused, then added, "are you sure it's true?"

    "Yes, very sure."

    "But I thought you already had parents," Koushirou finally said, his face still the same color red.

    "I'll explain everything. When I came here from the future, I needed a family to live with while I was saving the digital world. So, I picked out the family I'm with now, since they seemed like they wanted a son. When I got here, I convinced them that I had been their son all along, and that I always was with them."

    "So the people you live with now, aren't really your mother and grandfather?" Koushirou asked.

    Iori shook his head. "No. And when I go back, they will forget that I ever existed. It sounds harsh, but that's the way it is."

    "If they aren't your real family, how is it that we're your parents?" Jou asked.

    "Well, you just are," Iori replied, looking confused by the question.

    "I mean, well, a male and a male can't reproduce and have a son by themselves, so, uh, what happened?" Jou felt his face turn redder, if that was possible.

    "Well, one time you mentioned how grateful you were that Ken got into human genetics, and that Sora was willing to be a surrogate mother."

    "Well, that explains how it technically happened, I guess," Koushirou replied. "And Jou and I really are...together?"

    "Oh yes, and you two are really happy together," Iori said, smiling.

    "And you're happy having us as parents?" Jou asked.

    "Very happy."

    Jou and Koushirou finally managed to look at each other.

    "I guess that means we eventually become a family," Koushirou said, his face now slightly less red.

    I guess," Jou replied, feeling some of the redness in his own face dying down. "It still fells so...weird to know your own future."

    "I would tell you more about the future, but I'm not really supposed to say anything. I really wasn't supposed to tell you this much, actually, so please don't mention it to people."

    "That's okay, I think we know enough about the future as it is," Jou said, smiling. "And we promise not to tell."

    "I do have one question, though," Koushirou spoke up. "Who will recognize that you'll be gone? And did anyone notice that you just appeared one day?"

    "Well, when I picked a family, I also picked one that had recently moved here. So I told everyone that I just moved here. When I leave, I'll tell everyone that I'm moving again. Only the family that I'm with now won't know of me, and everyone else will stay the same."

    "I guess that would work," Koushirou replied, blinking. "Although I still wonder how you're able to change and erase memories."

    Iori only shrugged.

    "Anyway," Jou said, changing the subject, "Since we're here, why don't we play on the swings a bit?"

    "I would, but I told my, er, mother I wouldn't be gone for very long."

    Jou nodded, and the three of them got up to leave. They said their good-byes, and Iori bowed in his usual way before he left.

    "Jou, I think we need to talk," Koushirou said once Iori had left.

    "No kidding."

    They sat down on the other side of the tree for a bit more privacy.

    "Jou," Koushirou began, "I do like to consider you my best friend, and I do like you, but I have absolutely no feelings for you in that way."

    "And as much as I consider you to be my best friend," Jou replied, "and as much as I like you, I have absolutely no feelings for you in that way either."

    "So what do we do?"

    Jou paused for a moment before answering. "Nothing right now, I guess. Iori didn't say anything about when we actually got together."

    "So it could be any time."

    Jou nodded, and the two sat there in silence. As he sat there, Jou realized for the first time just what it meant to eventually fall in love with Koushirou. He pushed those thoughts aside right away, as they were something he didn't want to deal with right then.

    "Are you sure Iori was telling the truth?" he finally asked.

    "I don't know. Of course, why would he lie to us? He never lies."

    "Maybe he got forced into telling us. Or maybe it was a dream or something that he only thought was real."

    Koushirou merely shrugged. He paused for a moment, then said, "I think that whatever happens, we should take it slow. I don't think we should rush into things just so that they happen. Whatever happens will happen."

    Jou nodded. "All right, that sounds good. I also don't think we should worry about it happening or not happening until it does. We should just continue on with our friendship as if we never heard what Iori said, and not force anything."

    "Agreed."

    The two shook hands, and Jou began to enjoy the day. He pushed the entire conversation with Iori behind him, where he hoped it would stay. After all, it could still not be true.

    "Hey, Jou?" Koushirou asked, breaking the silence.

    "Yeah?"

    "Do you think any of the other younger kids traveled back in time to help with the Digital world?"

    "I don't know. We'll find out soon enough, though."

    "I was thinking that since Iori had both the Digimental and Knowledge and Reliability, perhaps it's some sort of sign that the child gets the Digimentals of the crests of their parents."

    Jou paused for a moment to let the idea take hold. "That would mean Daisuke...."

    "Would be Taichi and Yamato's son from the future."

    "And Miyako..."

    "Would be Mimi and Sora's daughter from the future."

    Jou paused again, thinking about this new idea. "Wouldn't that be weird," he finally said.

    "Of course, we still don't know if any of this is true or not."

    Jou paused once more. "If we don't know if it's true or not why does it feel like it really is true?"

    Koushirou shrugged. "I feel that way too. Perhaps it is true, after all. But, enough of what may or may not happen, I better go," Koushirou said, getting up.

    "I was going home too, shall I walk with you?" Jou asked.

    "My mom wanted me to run an errand while I was out, but thanks for offering."

    "All right, I'll call you later," Jou said. "And remember our promise."

    "I will." He smiled his usual friendship smile before walking off.

    "Koushirou's right," Jou said once his friend left. "Enough of what may or may not happen. Today is right now, and right now I have homework to do."

    He got up and left the park, his mind already focused on the math homework that was due the next day.