Soooo sorry that it's been a little over 2 YEARS since this got an update. Hope you enjoy this chapter. It didn't quite turn out how I'd intended, but I like the way it turned out and I hope you do too. :) Enjoy!

Chapter 5: First Mission

Saguru wouldn't admit it, but he was worried. He knew that Tailmon was more than capable of taking care of herself, and yet he knew his worry wouldn't end until school got out and she was back in the digivice. The rest of the day seemed to stretch out longer than normal. Not even Kuroba's pranks helped pass the time like they usually did.

"Hakuba-kun?" Aoko whispered.

He turned his head minutely in her direction, looking at her out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Saguru could feel Kuroba's gaze on the back of his neck now too.

"I'm fine," he said softly.

"You've seemed distracted ever since lunch," she insisted. "Did something happen?"

"Not really," Saguru said. "I just have to meet someone after school."

"Gotta 'nother case?" Kuroba asked, voice pitched lowly so no one but the three of them could hear.

"Something like that," Saguru lied.

Aoko backed off from the conversation as the teacher began walking around to check their work, but Saguru could still feel Kuroba's gaze.

When their final class let out, Saguru managed to slip out before Kuroba and Aoko, heading down to his shoe locker to put on his street shoes and walked briskly over to the tree he'd left Tailmon in earlier. As promised, she was there. Saguru pulled out his digivice and didn't even get the question out before she nodded, more than likely sensing his urgency. He quickly uploaded her and headed back to the main gate to leave the school with everyone else. He'd just passed through the main gates when Aoko and Kuroba caught up with him.

"What's your hurry?" Kuroba asked.

"I told you, I have to meet someone," Saguru sighed.

The other teenage boy raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"Kaito," Aoko said warningly, but before any of them could say anything more, a car pulled up beside the sidewalk they were on.

"Saguru-kun!" Fujieda Yoshino called out, waving from behind the wheel. She was in her DATS uniform, and Saguru noted that her car was a police patrol car.

"Yoshino-san," Saguru said, bowing his head in greeting. "Good to see you again."

"Same. Is now a good time?" she asked. "I realize that you've just gotten out of school, but I could use your help with a situation similar to the one you helped me with last weekend."

"Now's fine. How long ago did it start?" Saguru asked, dropping the pleasantries and went into what Kuroba and Aoko called his "detective mode." He wondered what sort of Digimon had shown up this time.

"About ten minutes ago," Yoshino said, grimly. "I happened to be in the area when I got the call and realized I wasn't far from your school. Captain Satsuma suggested I bring you along. Do we need to stop by your house for anything?"

"No," Saguru said, rounding the car to the passenger side, but he spared a moment to look up at his friends. "I apologize, Aoko-kun, Kuroba-kun, but I must go. I'll see you both tomorrow for class."

With that, he got in the car and Yoshino drove them away, turning her siren on when they hit the main road.

"Is Tailmon with you?" Yoshino asked.

"Yes," he said, hearing Tailmon answer an affirmative from the digivice herself.

"Good," Yoshino sighed. "Another Digimon signal was detected in Ueno Park. DATS has already asked local police to clear and seal off the area. If you look inside the glove compartment, you'll find your new credentials. I was going to deliver them in person to your house this afternoon, but the call came in."

"That's alright," Saguru said, pulling out the documents.

He was surprised to see that he got an official badge as well. The badge the Kid Task Force had issued him was more of an honorary thing because he was only a minor and a consultant that wasn't being paid for his work with the Task Force. He was more like a very privileged volunteer. His fancy slip of paper inside a billfold didn't hold any real standing outside of the Task Force itself. It wasn't like the official ID and shield that proclaimed that he was an officer of DATS. His credentials did say he was a consultant, but according to his fast read of the paperwork, he was a consultant with a fairly high clearance level. He wasn't even sure that Inspector Nakamori had this high of a clearance level. Hell, he didn't think his father had the clearance for a few of the things his new status as a part-time DATS officer allowed him access to.

"Something wrong?" Yoshino asked.

"Just perplexed, I suppose." Saguru grimaced. "I don't think that half the higher ups my father works with have clearance this high."

"Well, DATS is a high clearance department," Yoshino said. "Most believe we're a branch of the counter terrorism department, and we sort of are."

"I understand that," Saguru said, "I'm just unsure whether I should be given that sort of clearance since I'm only a consultant."

"You may only be a consultant now," Yoshino said, smiling, "but I believe Captain Satsuma hopes that after a while, you'll sign on to be a full time agent, like I am. And as for the high clearance level, it's required for all field agents. You'll need it to get permission to enter private property Digimon materialize inside of and to get past police cordons, like the one we're heading towards right now."

Saguru nodded, putting his new badge away.

"You also get a uniform," Yoshino said. "Yours is in the back. You can changed when we get there."

"What's our ETA?" he asked.

"Five minutes."

5.25 minutes later, Yoshino pulled up just outside of Ueno Park. Saguru took the package that held his new DATS uniform and quickly changed inside a thankfully nearby park bathroom. It was slightly different from Yoshino's. His was a short sleeved white bodysuit with white and navy blue boots, and a navy blue and white jacket whose selves only went down to his elbows. The bodysuit was practically skin tight, but he could feel the protective padding as he slipped it on. There was also a gray belt that had a pouch for his digivice. There was some other equipment on his belt, but he decided to ask Yoshino about it later.

"Now you look official," Yoshino said, smiling as he came out and put his school uniform in the back seat.

Saguru noted that she had her bluetooth headset on, so he reached into his school bag and took his out as well.

"Hakuba Saguru is now online," Yoshino reported after he hooked it onto his ear and clicked it on. "Status on the rogue Digimon?"

"There has been little to no movement from the signal," a woman's voice informed them. "You are clear to proceed."

"Understood. Thanks, Miki," Yoshino said before turning to Saguru. "Ready?"

Saguru nodded.

Together they headed towards the police cordon, passing through the crowd that had gathered. Saguru suddenly found himself very nervous, though he was grateful that he recognized none of the officers maintaining the cordon. He hadn't had an opportunity to speak to his father about his new consulting job with DATS yet. He'd have to now. Just because he didn't recognize anyone here, didn't mean that there wasn't a chance that one of the officers might recognize him.

"Hold it," an officer said as he and Yoshino reached the cordon.

"Fujieda and Hakuba from DATS," Yoshino said authoritatively, flashing her badge. Saguru did the same, trying not to wince when the officer blinked in surprise and looked Saguru over. There was no way this officer didn't recognize him or his family name. Saguru wasn't looking forward to seeing his father tonight.

"How's the evacuation?" Yoshino asked, regaining the officer's attention.

"Everyone, including staff members from the zoo, have been evacuated," the officer reported.

"Good," Yoshino said, nodding. "We'll take over from here."

Saguru followed Yoshino past the cordon and headed further into the park.

"My father is going to be mad if he finds out about this," Saguru sighed. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him about DATS."

"I'm sorry," Yoshino said, looking concerned. "I didn't think about that. Your dad is the Superintendent of Ekoda District isn't he?"

"Yes, meaning he's very busy and we're rarely home at the same time. Tonight's dinner is actually the first time I'll get to seen him since Tailmon appeared and I got sick. But that's not your fault. I probably should have made an appointment with his secretary to see him after I left DATS last weekend."

"You have to make an appointment just to see your dad?" Yoshino asked, incredulous.

"Like I said, he's a busy man," Saguru sighed. "Making an appointment is the quickest way to see him short of an emergency situation."

"Doesn't he come home to sleep?" Yoshino asked.

"Not really," Saguru said. "Only on the weekends. Most nights he stays in a flat he rents in a building only a few blocks from the station. He goes there when he doesn't want to be disturbed after a long day at the office." Among other things. Ever since his parents divorce, Saguru knew that his father had seen other women and his mother other men. He did not, however, wish to meet any of his father's paramours until his father finally picked one to marry and, therefore, became his stepmother. He had no interest in learning more about either of his parents' love lives than he already did and would not go near that flat for anything. His father was at least considerate enough to engage in such activities away from home. His mother… There was a reason Saguru had moved to Japan to live with his father. Kaitou Kid was only an excuse.

Yoshino looked like she wanted to say something more, but Lalamon spoke from her digivice and informed them of a Digimon signal 400 meters to their left.

Relieved to get off the topic of his father, Saguru gamely followed Yoshino's lead to a children's playground and found what looked like a large white bird wearing a delicate armored helm, chestplate and boots.

"Checking up on the data," the woman's voice, Miki, said in their headsets. "It's Swanmon, an Adult level, Armored Bird type Digimon."

"We're lucky. She doesn't appear to be doing any harm," Yoshino observed.

Saguru chuckled. Swanmon appeared to be trying to figure out swings.

"Allow me," he said, letting Tailmon out of the digivice, but did not order her to do anything.

Tailmon cocked her head, watching as her human partner approached Swanmon.

"What is he doing?" Yoshino asked.

Saguru appeared relaxed as he approached the Digimon.

"You sit on them," he said, gaining her attention.

Swanmon startled, flapping away, flustered, but Saguru only smiled kindly at her as he took a seat on a swing.

"See?" he said, then began to push gently back and forth, but never high or hard enough to need to start pumping his legs to gain momentum, content to just sway back and forth.

Tailmon remembered seeing swings in some of the videos and movies Saguru watched with her and found herself wanting to try it herself. So she did.

"Like this?" she asked, taking the swing next to Saguru, but she was smaller than he was and her legs couldn't reach the ground, so other than the momentum of her taking her seat, she couldn't swing like Saguru was.

"Try kicking your legs back and forth," Saguru suggested, pushing off a little more to show Tailmon what to do. He glanced at Swanmon and saw that she was approaching now that she'd identified another Digimon with him and saw that they meant no harm.

Tailmon huffed in frustration when she couldn't get her swing to move like Saguru's.

Saguru chuckled and got off his swing. "Want me to give you a push?"

"Yes, please," Tailmon sighed, then gasped in surprise when Saguru pulled her swing back a bit before letting go. Tailmon laughed with delight when she swung into the air and then back again, feeling Saguru give gentle pushes to keep her momentum from slowing when she began to go forward again.

"Would you like to try?" Saguru offered, looking at Swanmon.

Swanmon nodded timidly, taking the swing he had abandoned and sat in it nervously. Like Tailmon, her legs were too short to reach the ground. She kicked her legs back and forth, but couldn't swing the way she'd seen the human boy do it. She looked nervously over at the teenager, watching him push Tailmon back and forth.

"Would you like a push too?" Saguru asked, getting another flustered nod.

Yoshino watched in amazement as Saguru pushed his partner and the rogue Digimon on the swings as if they were out for a playful outing. But they had a job to do even though she didn't want to ruin their fun. The Swanmon was clearly hurting no one and was laughing with Tailmon.

"What… should we do, Captain?" she asked, calling HQ.

"Retrieve the squad car, bring it through the cordon and see if Swanmon will allow you and Hakuba to bring her to Headquarters peacefully," Satsuma's voice ordered.

"Roger," Yoshino said, clicking her headset off.

Saguru only looked over his shoulder and nodded at her. Taking that as confirmation that he was fine with her leaving him with the rogue Digimon, Yoshino left to retrieve the car.

Saguru, meanwhile, did his best to keep Swanmon happy and entertained, showing her and Tailmon around a children's playground. It… was actually a lot of fun. When his Digimon companions grew bored with the swings they tried the slide, the see-saw, and the merry-go-round. By that time, Yoshino had arrived with the squad car. Lalamon was hovering over her shoulder.

"Looks like it's time to leave," Saguru mused, getting a sad look from Tailmon and Swanmon.

"I suppose," Tailmon sighed, leaping up to perch on his shoulder. "It is getting late."

"You should come with us," Saguru said, offering a hand to Swanmon. "We can help you."

Swanmon looked over at Yoshino and the car, shuffling her feathers and feet nervously.

"It's alright," Saguru said soothingly. "Tailmon and I'll be with you the entire time."

"That's right," Tailmon added. "And Yoshino and Lalamon are our friends too."

Swanmon shifted nervously again, but she nodded, taking Saguru's hand and allowed herself to be taken and moved into the car. Saguru got in beside her, keeping hold of her wing while Yoshino drove them to DATS HQ. Tailmon and Lalamon chatted happily with Swanmon to help keep her calm during the ride. Once they got there, Swanmon got really scared and cowered behind Saguru as they got out of the car.

"It's alright," Saguru murmured reassuringly, keeping a firm grasp on her wing. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"This way," Yoshino said, gesturing to an area Saguru wasn't yet familiar with.

The five of them ended up in a nice waiting room area where two three-foot fall armored knight Digimon called PawnChessmon were walking about with a turtle Digimon called Kamemon, who served them some tea. The presence of the other Digimon seemed to calm Swanmon some. Her nerves were quick to return, however, when Captain Satsuma entered the room with Kudamon.

"Hello," the Captain said, as he took a seat opposite Saguru and Swanmon. "You did good work, Hakuba-kun. You brought Swanmon back to HQ peacefully."

"It was no trouble at all," Saguru said smoothly, smiling gently at the scared Digimon. "Swanmon-san is a very gentle and kind soul. She means no one any harm. I like to think we've become good friends."

Swanmon smiled nervously back, nodding.

"Now all that's left to address is where to proceed from here," Kudamon said. "Do we send her back to the Digital World where she belongs? Or do we allow her to stay and work at DATS? And if she does stay, who do we assign her to?"

"What do you think?" Saguru asked the bird Digimon. "We can send you home, back to the Digital World."

Swanmon baulked, shaking her head.

"No?" Saguru said, frowning with concern. "You do not like it there?"

"Scared," Swanmon said softly, her voice musical like she was only seconds away from singing. "Not wanted there. Won't fight."

Saguru, Yoshino, Satsumon and their partners looked around at each other, wondering what that could mean.

"So she stays," Kudamon finally said, Satsumon nodding. "Who do we assign her to?"

"Why not Saguru-kun?" Yoshino suggested.

"Hakuba-kun already has Tailmon for a partner," Kudamon pointed out.

"But Saguru-kun was the first to make contact with her. They already have a bond," Yoshino pointed out. "And Swanmon doesn't strike me as a combatant Digimon like Tailmon. She'd be more of a team support Digimon, like the PawnChessmon."

"According to our data," Captain Satsuma mused, "Swanmon are more like caretakers."

"Then you believe Hakuba should be allowed another partner?" Kudamon asked, frowning. "It's unorthodox for a field agent to have more than one partner."

"Unorthodox, perhaps," Satsuma said, "but not unprecedented. It is intriguing that our newest agent has been able to bond with more than one Digimon. Tailmon is able to help him with field work, but perhaps Swanmon will be able to help Hakuba-kun with his lab work."

Swanmon nodded. "I'll help," she chirped. "Saguru's a good friend. Very nice."

Saguru chuckled and patted her wing.

"Looks like it's settled," Yoshino said, grinning. "Swanmon stays with Saguru-kun."

At that moment, the door to the room opened and a tall raven haired woman in a full navy blue version of Yoshino's uniform came in.

"Pardon the interruption, Captain, but a Superintendent Hakuba Akira is here to speak with you and Agent Hakuba Saguru."

Saguru winced, pursing his lips in distress. It looked like his father had heard about what happened at the park. Not surprising even though Ueno was outside of his jurisdiction.

"Very well," Captain Satsuma sighed as he rose to his feet. Kudamon slid off his shoulder and jumped down onto the chair. "Where is he waiting?"

"In the lobby, sir," the woman said. "He doesn't have clearance to be anywhere else."

"I'll be back," Saguru said softly to Swanmon. "Stay with Yoshino-san, Tailmon and Lalamon until I return."

Swanmon nodded nervously.

Together, Captain Satsuma and Saguru made their way past the labs, the main operations room, and into the lobby of DATS HQ. Saguru repressed another wince when his father came into view. His father normally projected a happy, genial manner when in public, but at the moment, Hakuba Akira's face might as well have been carved out of stone. It wasn't quite angry, but it was more severe that Saguru was used to seeing it outside of their home.

"Good evening, Superintendent," Satsuma began. "What brings you to DATS?"

"My son," Hakuba Akira said stiffly. "I heard he was involved in one of your operations this afternoon."

Akira's expression grew more stern as he took in Saguru's uniform that clearly proved he was a DATS agent.

"He did," Captain Satsuma said, his voice level and genial. "He did good work today. We are very happy with the results. He's only assisted us twice, but already he's proven himself a very capable young man."

"So this isn't that first time," Akira said, staring his son down.

"Today's operation was the first official job he's helped us with," Captain Satsuma clarified. "The first time, he just happened to be at the right place at the right time and helped one of my agents apprehend a suspect. We were impressed with him and offered an official consultation."

"Which I accepted," Saguru added. "I meant to tell you sooner, Father, but I didn't want to interrupt your busy schedule. I intended to tell you about this tonight over dinner, but Agent Fujieda asked for my assistance in the case that occurred after school got out this afternoon."

Akira seemed to be at ease a bit, now that he knew that Saguru hadn't planned to work with DATS behind his back.

"So this is only a consultation?" he asked.

"Yes," Saguru and Captain Satsuma said.

"Then why the uniform and badge?" Akira asked, eyeing the billfold poking out of a pocket on Saguru's belt.

"Even our consultants are required to carry a badge of office and dress in uniform when working on our operations," Captain Satsuma explained. "It is required of all field agents, full time, part-time, or consultant because when they work our cases they represent DATS in public."

Akira nodded, then returned his attention to Saguru.

"How is this going to affect your work with the Kid Task Force and your private investigations?"

"At the moment, it's not," Saguru said. "I've made arrangements with DATS to work on an as needed basis. From now only, I'll only work jobs that I'm in the area for so long as I'm not in the middle of a case or situation that requires my presence. I'll also be interning in their labs during the weekends on a rotation schedule of sorts that I've worked out with DATS personnel and Grandfather."

"Seems you've figured it all out," Akira sighed.

"Yes, sir."

"Are you done this evening?"

"I have to finish my debrief, sir," Saguru admitted.

"And that will take another hour, but afterwards, Superintendent, Agent Fujieda was bring Hakuba-kun home," Captain Satsuma interjected.

"Very well," Akira sighed. "I'll see you at dinner."

"Yes, sir," Saguru said, bowing in respect as his father turned and left DATS HQ without another backward glance.

Saguru held back a weary sigh and followed Captain Satsuma back to where the Digimon were waiting.

Funny, thing... Swanmon was not going to be the original Digimon that Saguru faced for his first official DATS mission. It was going to be an Elecmon, but he'd been appearing in a lot of my other Digimon fics lately and Elecmon does show up when Masaru begins his run with DATS, so I thought it'd be repetitive to write one, only to write another when Masaru shows up a few chapters down the road. :P

So... Saguru technically gets two Digimon now. XD
ANYWAY, I hope you guys liked the chapter and hopefully it won't be another couple of years before I post a the next one because this story is far from forgotten.