Warnings: implied racism, trauma, bullying, past character death (like immediate past)

chapter one – such great weather now

December 17th, 2002

The tide washed out and Dagomon perused the remains.

It was a common routine for himself with the choppy waves of his land, one that if he could not worship then his pages would. They were competent when they so chose to be. On the stormiest nights however, he preferred to explore the shore alone. All the truly valuable things remained after those long evenings, things that needed more careful perusal and delicate touches that he knew his servants could not do. They were subtle in mentality, yes, but they had all the care and caution of a Monochromon in a Digitamamon restaurant.

He slunk beneath the waves, watching the water ebb and flow in the remnants of the storm. Raindrops slid down onto his head and into the ocean below. The waves receded slowly, unveiling a small body sinking into the sand. Dagomon reached out and pulled the seaweed away from the nearly skeletal limbs. The water had rendered the skin nearly transparent, and if it weren't for the pale gray of the clothes marking it as more than an item, from the distance, Dagomon would have thought it was just a corpse.

Then, almost too faint to grasp, he saw its fingers twitch.

The monster would have smiled if his jaw was capable of it, his triumph expressing itself instead with the deeper indent of his staff in the sand. He made a breathless whistling sound and his monsters, his children in a way, lumbered from the depths. Their limbs dragged along the sand, true, but they were still moving with diligence and speed. Soon the creature had sunk into the depths.

Dagomon, satisfied, continued his wanderings along the beach. It wasn't that he thought nothing could go wrong, that nothing could be helped. It was only that, well, humans were fond of discarding things that they didn't like.

Then they could make use of them, as those with an inquisitive, creative mind, often did.

June 21st, 2003

Daisuke's summer was off to a terrible start.

Hikari-chan had dumped him for what he suspected the final time (she wouldn't have the patience to deal with him still asking), Iori had a sweetheart, no one wanted to come with him to New York and now-

He held the egg in his arms. It didn't wobble, but it was the only source of cool air in the vicinity, so he was going to clutch it tight no matter how much it hurt his heart and no matter how much it hurt to look at it.

Don't worry, he had whispered to the egg, to the girl as she had died. I'll find them. I promise I will.

Motomiya Daisuke did not go back on his word.

Of course, it was much easier said than done. After all, New York City was like Tokyo and huge, like Tokyo and impossible to navigate the first few days. Also, it was summer. Therefore, he was currently melting as he walked.

"Do you want me to take it?" Mimi was all of a sudden right in his face and she needed to stop that. He nearly leaped into someone's back to escape. Wallace, from Mimi's other side, let out a snort.

"Mimi-san, hey!" He scratched his head. "I… I got it. 'M just hot." Daisuke tightened his grip on it despite how much it made his palms sweat. Chibimon wasn't helping. He was draped on top of the big thing like an awkward souvenir.

"It's cool up here" he whined, not even bothering to cover his mouth and not terrify the locals.

Mimi squinted at him. She had discarded the winter clothes into a charity bin a long time ago, and didn't even seem to notice the heat. Though the skirt probably helped. "Are you sure?" She leaned back a little so her squinting wasn't as obvious. "We can take a break! It's been a couple of hours. We haven't even really eaten either."

Now that she mentioned it… His stomach growled right on cue.

She grinned at him and he made a face at her in return. "Come on, there's a place I know you'll like!" She hopped up to her feet as the subway began to slow. "Willis, come on! We're getting food!"

There was a tired, almost dusty sounding mumble. Willis shushed Gummimon but it was clear he didn't want to get up himself.

The egg didn't move.

"You can take your time," Daisuke told her, trying to be strong and not just sad and hungry. The fact that it didn't move and in the train he just sounded creepy and weird didn't help his spirits any. He still smiled, though, because he was Motomiya Daisuke, and he wouldn't get anywhere lamenting how miserable things were.

Then the train rolled to a halt, opening with a rush of even hotter air that made them all groan in unison, Mimi included. She rarely complains about much these days that has to do with hard labor or heavy walking.

"Anyone who says global warming is a hoax can fight me," he heard her grumble. "This heat is not normal."

"Especially not for New York," Wallace added and for a moment, Daisuke felt that lurch of envy come back, hot and fast and gone within seconds because really he had nothing to be jealous of him of. He was still here even though he lived in Colorado, still around with one little green ghost instead of two who mattered, two who belonged together, and still jittery as heck.

But he was the freest Chosen Child in the world. Daisuke was pretty sure of that. In theory.

Daisuke grunted, palming his face to wipe off some sweat. "Another Digimon, maybe?" He followed Mimi off the train, Wallace bringing up the rear with Gumimon in hand, or well, arm. Said digimon was trying to escape, muttering something in English that Daisuke didn't think he wanted to understand.

Mimi made a face. "Proobbabbllyyy~" she dragged the word out a little too long. "I wish it wasn't, but… three years ago it was… and now it was..."

"And with Chocomon it was," Wallace muttered.

Mimi shook her head, the stars in her hair dancing in the setting rays of the sun. "So it's likely a digimon, which means we need to talk to the other kids around here as soon as we get to some food and some air conditioning! This is doing horrors to my hair dye job."

Daisuke almost raised an eyebrow, but then the rest of the sentence caught up with him. "I thought you were gonna make it green anyway."

Mimi huffed. "I was but none of the green dyes wouldn't make me look like a weird leprechaun!"

Wallace laughed and then his own stomach grumbled.

Daisuke grinned. Now it wasn't just him.

The egg wiggled a little. Daisuke's smile shrank but softened.

"It's okay," he told the egg again. "We're gonna help, okay, Nat-chan?"

No answer, but the egg felt just a teeny bit cooler than it had been previously.

Furude Sayo was too small to be eleven and too fast to be nine. And whichever one she was didn't matter. What mattered was that she didn't belong here, her skin too dark, her eyes curved differently, her body too small… She was simply different and even summer vacation wouldn't let people forget that.

She wasn't running from anyone today. Instead, she watched from her place on the playground bench, chewing thoughtfully on an apple slice.

Rabbit girl rang loudly in her ears from only an hour before. Now the children had gone into ignoring her, finding more joy in playing with each other rather than harassing someone else. Probably the joy of proving she was ignored and no one cared.

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at it all. It wasn't like she was going to get in the way of their game. The opposite! She was just going to watch and figure it out. Figure out who could win and who would lose. Figure out if it was really all in good fun or just another way to reach the top of the hierarchy pile. It was sometimes both with her classmates because everything was a competition.

For what, she had no idea.

Sayo gave up, rubbed the bruises on her cheeks to make them try and go down. When that only succeeded in making them sting, she stood up from the bench and began to make her way towards the train home. Her bag, straps old and fraying, threatened to sink further on her shoulders. She stubbornly ignored it and lifted her pass to the reader. The slip of plastic slipped in, then out, and she moved on. She was still of a size that she could duck under it and skip paying, but that was for more crowded times, and times not so far away from the monsters in the sky of several months before. They could afford to pay that.

Everyone thought that Americans had a short memory, caught up in the times of what was right in front of them, the injustice of the day. Sayo could tell you no, they remembered, and they held it the way angry elderly did, and simmered, and waited.

She saw a little girl, skin like her own. She was bobbing back and forth, black dreadlocks full of plastic beads and swinging between her parents' arms in impatience. Sayo smiled a little, almost wide enough to see. Then she lost sight of them as the trains doors opened. It was somewhat empty for now, so she hurried to find a seat.

There was no construction on this line this week, so she was free to stay on the train all the way down to Queens. There was however, a lot of people rushing in. Three teenagers were chatting loudly as they entered. All of them carried something she could see out of the corner of their eye. Like pillows or stuffed animals. Something like that.

Sayo, without hesitation, looked away. They looked, if not happy, then content. Not lonely. Together. Safety in numbers. Sayo looked at her lap and pretended it didn't feel strange at all. Older too. Like they could solve all of their problems someday, with a little time.

I'll write to Koh when I get home, she told herself, closing her eyes as the train went down down into the dark. It wasn't dark in the subway, of course, but not for lack of trying. Sometimes it was darker than others, and sometimes, it was more painfully bright than in other times. Summer was the worst for this. Still, the shaking could lull anyone truly tired to sleep their whole route back.

The crowded train paused a moment and as people exited, she heard the people and their stuffed toys again.

"It's really not moving."

"We'll find her partner, Daisuke-kun, don't worry."

"I know, just..."

"Cut yourself some slack, it was just this morning."

"I know, I know..."

Sayo truly did not mean to eavesdrop, but she couldn't help it. It had been ages since she'd heard her native Japanese tongue in a public setting. Her family tended to stay near the English or Spanish speaking sectors ever since the move and Chinese speaking areas just were not the same. It was so nice to hear her first language to someone else. Even from eavesdropping, it warmed her heart to a nearly nauseating degree.

Of course it was still rude that she was listening at all. But the train car was quiet, and there was no way that she would be noticed, so she would content herself with this little bit of bad manners. It wasn't like she understood what they were talking about. She sat back on the hard plastic and closed her eyes once again.

"You owe me for that last bowl," she heard after a little bit of other sentences she could understand but not understand and didn't want to try. "You were supposed to stop at two."

"I get hungry when I keep changing temperatures, Wallace."

"That's your excuse Daisuke-kun? That? You sure you're not a Digimon in human form?"

Digimon. Sayo couldn't help it, she tensed up. She remembered New Years Eve. She remembered the lights all around her, the endless darkness and her mother murmuring soothingly to her sister. She remembered-

The voices thrumming on the cliffs nearby, laughing, laughing as they chased her down the path and the kind voice, the warm voice, begging, begging-

Dying-

The train began to skid to a halt, jerking Sayo out of monochrome vision and back into reality. As the train ground to a halt, Sayo made herself lift her head to look at the station name. Still a while left to go. Bu she wanted to get off all of a sudden, run the rest of the long trek home without looking back, far far away from those people that carried her homesickness with them. But she stayed still, possibly because one of the boys yelped and tumbled to the floor.

"Daisuke!" yelped many voices. Some weren't human, too high pitched. The thump was heavier than usual. Most people glanced around and then ignored it, too busy trying to reach their open doors. As Sayo shifted in her seat to get up, to see what was happening despite every single alarm bell going off in her head. And yet as she moved forward, the doors on the train closed. With a jerk, they were moving again. And something was rolling on the floor.

Decision made, Sayo hopped down to block its path with her legs. To her confusion it stopped, freezing in place before it could even reach her toes. Sayo frowned and knelt to pick it up. Her arms wrapped around it, and she made to heft it up from the side. It shifted in her grip, leaving one bit pointed up. It was like a baby. She had carried her sister like this once.

"Hey!" The kid from the floor nearly shouted. Sayo winced, turned her head, and nearly dropped the egg during both moves. "Nice grab."

Sayo wilted a bit. He was speaking English again. But she managed to nod. The egg was strangely warm. She did not want to let go of it, but she would have to. It thrummed gently in her grip. The older boy said something else, but Sayo could not hear it. Instead, all she could hear were the waves of the faraway bay, and the horns of a passing ship.

Her sneakers dug into sand. A lighthouse swung a black light over the monochrome sea.

"Finally," whispered a voice. "You're here. You're here at last."

The egg glowed with warmth, but Sayo had never been so cold.

A/N: God... this fic. It has been years. It has taken a long time. Multiple reinventions, careful reinterpretations, and a long time with this first chapter. But it's finally here. Please enjoy this long labor of love and be patient for the next update. I mainly wanted this up so I could do more short things as I update. Thank you!

Challenges: Epic Masterclass adv-tri list 7, non flash bingo "Digi-Egg of Miracles", interseason boot camp "shiver", interseason bingo "02/Savers" (Me being me, I added story), epic bingo "seek", Dicing Up Songs "Secret Base", 100 prompts 100 MCs, 84 love, Diversity Writing L8, what if challenges