Not to be rude, but—
with the way you two operate—endless work whenever there's work to do, and the moment someone causes trouble you rush to soothe them…
Even if you paid me, I'd still feel awkward working for you.
Because compared to "doing your jobs for you"…
it feels like causing trouble gets me better benefits.
At this point I'm genuinely starting to suspect the two "gods" of the Digital World are actively incentivizing me to go villain-mode.
And honestly, you can't even blame Narumi Akira for saying that, because Taichi Yagami and Rui Owada are living examples sitting right there:
Taichi worked his ass off, took zero pay, fought all the way to the end—and in the end he lost even his partner Digimon as their bond burned out and vanished. The one thing he could've kept as a memento, his Digivice, got fully repossessed too.
Meanwhile Rui didn't do any work, spent his time self-isolating, and even when he had Ukkomon basically keeping him like a sugar daddy—with power comparable to a "world-tuning system"—he still complained that Ukkomon couldn't understand his feelings and wishes, then killed it, nearly dragging the whole world into disaster and forcing the 02 Chosen Children to clean up the mess.
And at the end of it all? Rui just had to "forgive" Ukkomon and he walked away with a happy ending without any punishment.
Whatever you think about how that treats kids—this kind of outcome is also a terrible influence on grown kids.
Of course, that's one issue and this is another.
Akira might hate the garbage these two gods pull, and he might hate their absurd attitude, but negotiations still had to happen.
His thinking was simple:
Talk? Sure. Everything can be talked about. There's nothing that can't be discussed.
I know you're going to stab me eventually. But before you do, it's only fair I collect some compensation and restore my HP first, right?
So—
"Messengers, if you've got something to say, come inside and say it," Akira didn't rush to commit. Instead, he addressed Alphamon beyond the rift. "Negotiating while we're not even in the same space is pretty inconvenient, you know?"
Alphamon shook his head.
"I can't cross over," Alphamon said. "Your world's network infrastructure is still somewhat primitive. If I enter, it'll trigger large-scale blackouts."
Holy crap—that's a restriction too?
Akira hadn't even gotten the chance to roast that when Hackmon snapped back first.
"That's not a real limitation," Hackmon shot. "Even without borrowing your world's network computing power or electricity, we can still manifest."
"That's because you reverted to the Rookie stage, reducing your data consumption," Alphamon replied. "I'm an ultra-level entity. I inevitably require network and power."
"Then you can revert too," Hackmon kept pressing. "Don't tell me you can't."
…Man, the way these two talk is like they're stuffing bullets into their words. So this really is the Royal Knights' internal civil war club, huh?
"Tell you what," Akira said, delighted by chaos, "why don't you two just fight it out first and cool off? I can negotiate after. I can even negotiate only with the winner."
With that, Akira dragged Xiao Ai down onto the couch, pulled out a bag of chips, and made absolutely zero effort to hide his popcorn-eating intentions.
Seeing how eagerly Akira wanted the world to burn, the anger in both Royal Knights stalled out at once. They deflated immediately.
"I apologize, Narumi Akira," Hackmon spoke first, returning to formal etiquette. "I overstepped."
"I get it—you're representing your respective gods, so you've got face to maintain," Akira smiled. "It's fine. If the deal falls through, we can still be civil, right?"
"…I also apologize."
Alphamon finally explained now that the other had quieted down. "It's not that I can't devolve. But if I do, my partner's data will become unstable."
"So I cannot devolve."
"Then switch to a low-consumption mode," Akira said. "Don't tell me Yggdrasil is so stingy it won't grant even that level of access."
"…Understood."
Alphamon nodded. Light rippled over the tall figure, and it condensed—solidifying into the form of a blonde woman in a shirt, dressed so fashion-forward it bordered on excessive.
"This is the disguise Yggdrasil prepared for me," she stepped through the rift, visibly a little uncomfortable in that skin, and asked Akira for confirmation. "Is this acceptable?"
The way she put it… so this Alphamon wasn't the same "Sister" from Cyber Sleuth? Or maybe she hadn't gone through those events yet?
"It's fine. Honestly, you're stylish enough to be on a magazine cover," Akira said. "And it's summer here, so the outfit works."
"Understood."
She sat on the opposite couch at Akira's gesture. Akira put the chips away, and the negotiation officially began.
"I know why you're here, and I know what Homeostasis and Yggdrasil want," Akira said.
"One of you wants the world to remain coordinated. The other wants change and upheaval. You've been locked in a stalemate for ages, which has maintained a kind of balance."
"Now Xiao Ai and I broke that balance and shifted the situation—so you're here to recruit me. Correct?"
"…"
"..."
Akira's sharp read of the situation—and his ability to say it out loud so cleanly—left both Royal Knights silent. They clearly didn't know how to respond.
Seriously—if you're both the type who aren't good with words, why were you assigned to negotiation duty?
Fine. Then don't blame me for raising the price with pure rhetoric.
"I have no interest in judging who's right or wrong," Akira continued. "The world isn't black and white. Everyone has their own version of justice."
"The problem is: why are humans being dragged into your chess match?"
"And don't feed me that garbage about 'the Digital World's crisis was caused by humans so humans should take responsibility.'"
"If humans were truly the reason the Digital World is like this, then Yggdrasil would've sent the Royal Knights to wipe us out a long time ago."
Akira looked straight at Alphamon.
"Am I wrong?"
Alphamon's expression darkened. She couldn't answer.
Not because she couldn't refute it—she could.
But once she remembered what Yggdrasil did during the X-Program… she couldn't open her mouth.
After verbally knocking Alphamon out of the air, Akira turned to Hackmon.
"My classmates knew nothing," Akira said. "And they still got dragged into a Digital World crisis."
For the one who cared most about stability, Akira kept it simple:
"So I don't care about Homeostasis' hardships or its grand principles. I only want a normal negotiation. Understand?"
Hackmon's face dimmed. "I understand."
"Good."
"Now show me your demands and your price," Akira clapped his hands and opened the real topic. "Hackmon, you go first."
Maybe after watching Akira's razor tongue in action, Hackmon abandoned the verbal sparring entirely and went straight to the offer.
"As long as you stop interfering with the Digital World's course," Hackmon said, "that Digivice and Digi-Egg will belong to you."
Then it added, pointedly:
"Homeostasis guarantees it will not revoke ownership."
Oh, so Homeostasis knows the "if the Chosen Children lose their初心, their bonds run out and their partners disappear" setting is braindead, so it's preemptively clarifying?
"How is it just mine?" Akira was speechless. "Why not abolish that stupid rule entirely?"
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
Hackmon explained, "You know how strongly human emotions can affect Digimon—and how unstable human emotions can be."
"We cannot guarantee all Chosen Children will remain on the right path forever."
"Therefore…"
Hackmon's eyes suddenly shone as something else took over the line mid-sentence:
"…Unless humans establish a containment institution to restrain the Chosen Children, we cannot grant that level of authority."
So Homeostasis isn't even pretending anymore. It's just logging in directly.
To be fair… if a Chosen Child grows up into a miserable wage slave, piles up negative emotions, and does something catastrophic—it's not impossible.
And if you end up with a few more Meiko Mochizuki-types and Rui Owada-types in the roster, then yeah, having an insurance mechanism is better than having none.
But—
Akira refused to accept Homeostasis' framing.
"We're here to negotiate, not to debate morality," Akira said flatly. "Humans can build a restraint organization—if you show enough sincerity."
"And don't try to erase everything that happened by pointing at the most extreme worst-case ending. That's just an excuse to exploit the Chosen Children."
"If you want to persuade me with that line, there's only one way."
Akira looked straight at Homeostasis.
"Stop making the Chosen Children clean up your garbage."
"..."
Homeostasis' light thinned under those words, already showing signs of dispersing.
Just as Akira thought the negotiation had collapsed, he heard a reply that made him blink.
"Three years."
"For the next three years, we will not execute this insurance protocol," Homeostasis said.
"If you can establish a restraint organization for the Chosen Children, then we will allow your partner to delete that protocol."
"And before that?" Akira pressed. "That's just a verbal promise. Don't tell me you still expect me to stop interfering."
"For those three years, as long as you do not completely destroy order, we will not object to your actions."
"We are not like Yggdrasil. We permit the Digital World to have rulers."
Just before fading, Homeostasis looked at Alphamon and added meaningfully:
"As long as order continues to exist, we will not interfere with the ruler's actions."
…Hold on.
That's basically a declaration of "Digital World ruler" legitimacy—and it's something Homeostasis is willing to sell?
What the hell kind of price is this?
Has Homeostasis completely stopped caring about living a normal life?
Faced with that absurdly generous offer, Narumi Akira went a little blank.