Chapter Three - Mono (One)
Miyako actually tore down the stairs, foregoing the elevator in her haste to just get where she needed to be. There were a few whispers about her as she ran, some about her but Miyako ignored them as much as she had to deny Poromon's irritated squawks for a few minutes, at least until she got to a stop light. She would regret it later, she knew, stomping out of the house without explanation, causing a fuss, rocking the boat, whatever it needed to be called. It didn't matter, they were going to ruin this kid for no reason and hadn't that happened enough?
She wasn't repeating that out loud, nope, not her.
As she fidgeted from foot to foot, it snuck into her brain that she still hadn't talked about this whole thing with her family. Ugh! She mussed up her hair and groaned loudly enough to disturb the businessman on his phone.
The light took long enough for her to almost start dancing in place, and also long enough for her friends to catch up to her.
"Miyako-san, I appreciate the hurry but…" Takeru began, pausing for air as the light changed. Miyako paused in mid-step, heavy frown threatening to turn into a Mimi-trained glare. "We shouldn't go barging in there."
"You mean like those reporters did into a hospital room."
"It's a public area…" Iori said, getting his air back first because he was Iori and had more stamina than Daisuke sometimes. "They have every right to be there…"
"And we don't?" SHe moved off the crosswalk and Iori grabbed her arm.
"They don't want us there, Miyako-san," he said. His voice was still breathless from running. "We'll just make it worse for her. You understand, right?"
How could they make it worse? She was already a freak and a monster to them. She was already being overstimulated like Chizuru got sometimes, She remembered days where her bubbly sister would just go silent enough to terrify the gravestones and sit through a crowd and remember none of what was said. She didn't even have to think back very far to pull the images to mind. It would only get worse. It would. And then what? Would a kid attack someone?
Probably. If it made everything stop.
She shook her head free of those thoughts. "If I go, I can at least get them out of the room."
"And the rumor mill will start flying." Takeru straightened. "We have no idea what's going on. We shouldn't…" he hesitated. "IF they think she's a digimon, Miyako-san, they'll want proof, of any kind. And she's not a citizen as far as we know. There's, there's no legal way we could stop them."
Miyako paused. Her brain spun like a top, wind expanding, mind unfurling. Then, she smiled. "Bingo! I've got it!"
Iori and Takeru shot each other a worried look.
Miyako didn't notice, pride twisting her nose up. This would take some doing, begging, and careful work, but if this worked, at least two birds would be hit with one stone. Maybe even three!
This world wasn't quiet at all.
Sayo had thought it would be, thought it would be softer and gentler, or that the bustle would be bearable. She'd barely been on Earth twenty-four hours and already she wanted to be gone again. This wasn't her home.
Her eyes watered and she wiped them with her thumb. On the other side of the door, she heard the hushed conversation of the nurses. SHe scowled at the sound. Then she shivered and knocked the expression away. Those loud people, with their flashing lights and screaming mics had tried to get her to smile. Like humans did. Well, earth humans. She knew they couldn't all be alike. The Chosen Ones weren't, but then, the Chosen Ones were special. They had to be, to save the world. She knew that. It didn't make anything any easier to bear, of course, but knowing that helped her sleep at night,
Of course, the streetlamps here were too bright. Or maybe she was just being sensitive.
She sniffled and looked at the crayons. Her fingers itched for them again, but a woman had smacked them away in favor of her microphone and probing. She looked at the door, where no one came form again, but shook her head. She couldn't chance it. These people were strange. Sayo sniffled again, coiling up on herself to loosen the stiffness on her tail. The pain in her back eased eagerly and she rolled onto her side. She thought of the loud voice of the girl with purple hair, so much like her own. Her insistence, her forced look.
She was probably scared. Sayo couldn't blame her. Apparently someone like her was unusual. She supposed that was fine. After all, it was better than lying about it. The nurses were liars. The reporters, even more so. Home had barely bothered with reporters. THe gossip grapevine was too pervasive to pay someone for it. How could this many loud and noisy people have jobs and not hurt anyone? Maybe they just thought they didn't?
The door opened and Sayo tensed up, fuzz fluffing out. In stepped a man with wheat-blonde hair, lighter than Litton's. He had a chiseled face that made her think of the old shopkeeper's photographs, black and white and of wheat fields and boys.
"Hello there," he greeted. "May I?"
Sayo nodded slowly. He lacked a camera or a mic, but that thing remained around his neck.
The man nodded and sat in the plastic chair like the older boys had. "My name is Ishida Hiroaki. Ishida Yamato, one of my boys, is a CHosen Child." At Sayo's sharp exhale, he smiled. "That means something to you."
"We hear their stories," she said after a moment. "S- The person who teaches us Japanese sometimes brings up people who know the stories. They're heroes, sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" The man laughed. He wasn't looking at her ears. Or maybe he didn't care. "That's not a good thing for a father to hear."
"I wouldn't know." The blunt words made her face burn. "Ah, I…" He waved a large hand away.
"I have boys," he said with a chuckle. "SOme of the time. My oldest son tends to be a bit too revealing for his own good sometimes." He sat back a bit. "What do Chosen mean to you beyond that? THey're heroes."
"Sometimes." Sayo squirmed a bit. "It depends on who you ask."
"It always does." The man sat back and his fingers flickered at an object that wasn't really there. It was probably a lighter. "Do you like them? Hearing about them?"
The girl stared at him. Sayo cleared her throat and took sip of water from the nearby glass. "I… I beg your pardon?"
The man laughed, a bit hoarsely. She smelled cigarettes, now more than ever. "What is it like?" Being the ones left to admire their feats. You live in that world, right?"
Sayo's tail twitched against her spine. He didn't seem to be really making fun of her, only curious, as all of the adults were curious. At least he was quieter than the rest. And she supposed she would have to tell everyone anyway.
"Not really," she finally said. "This world's children get praised for the same things we do every day. They're a symbol of hope for the Digital World and that's good, but… why aren' we?" She tugged at one of her ears. "Why am I a petting zoo animal? This is just what I am."
"Because humans are fickle creatures." Ishida Hiroaki said with a sigh. "Because man does not look very far. Speaking from experience." He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Looks like my time's up. You'll be getting out of here soon."
Sayo reached to pull up the sheets again, purple eyes staring at him through their thin fabric. "What will happen to me next?"
"I would tell you if I knew. You'll probably be given to one of our families, if you're lucky."
She wasn't sure if that would be luck or a miracle, or worst of all, a calamity.
Sayo awoke hours later to being able to breathe again. She sighed softly and looked outside. Floatier hovered on just out of reach of the Tokyo skyscrapers. She could almost imagine touching it, breaking off a piece.
I need to get out of here.
She had to find her fallen Digivice, wherever it was. If someone else got a hold of it, it would cause disaster, not in the least because of what Lunamon would do. Once she had it, well… she'd think of something. There was probably a computer somewhere that could get her to the Digital World. If she could at least get back there, she could help manage the crisis before everyone got Gated out.
That was wishful thinking. She twitched in her seat at the ambitious idea. Then the door opened. Her ears and tail stood straight up. I thought this country was really obsessed with manners. Is knocking not one of them?
She returned her face to its nervous expression as fast as possible. It wasn't like the face was a lie, right? In walked in one of the Chosen, that one with purple hair. What was her name again?
"Hey," the girl said before she could ask. Sayo didn't flinch this time, she was a lot quieter today. Or maybe that was just because she was catching her breath. "Can you move around?"
What the heck kind of question was that? "... Yes," she finally said, fixing the other with a stare.
The girl grinned. "Good. So that means we can get you out of here. You're coming to my house now to stay. Otherwise, they're gonna lock you up or something."
Like that person had warned her about. "You're… taking me in?"
"Yep. Me, my parents, and my siblings." she handed Sayo a bag with clothes. "We have a nice size house too!"
Sayo hadn't even been thinking about that. She took the clothes slowly and let the girl turn away. MIyako. That was her name. She remembered now. "... Miyako-san?"
The girl jumped, surprise etching onto her features. "Yeah?"
"Why are you doing this? You have no obligation to do so."
Miyako waited until Sayo had finished changing her clothes before answering. "Should I not be?"
Sayo reached for the hat left on her bedside table. "I don't know. You don't want to be placed with burdens that these people are giving you, right?"
"That sounds like something Iori-kun would say." Miyako grinned as she turned around. "But he wouldn't, because he knows me better than you do.I want to do this because i want to, you see. And I don't like it, seeing you locked up in a room and things like that. If that was Poromon, I'd absolutely lose it. Wouldn't you, if that was your DIgimon?"
Sayo nodded a little. Yes, that made sense. It was more out of some altruistic reason that had nothing to do with her, just like the stories said. It had nothing to do with Sayo herself. That was… probably for the best. "I have a Digimon."
"Really?" For some reason this caused Miyako to suddenly get very close to her personal bubble. Sayo wasn't sure if she liked that. People at home tended to avoid getting too close, too many weapons that she now did not have.
She swallowed, trying to not let her entire body radiate discomfort. "I need to find her. Lunamon's probably worried about me."
Miyako tilted her head. "I've never heard of that one… maybe Koushiro-san has. Anyway, we'll help you find her once you get to sleep in a bed that doesn't smell like this room."
Sayo worried her lip. Too fast. She was too close, too fast. THe stories made them out this way, kind and helpful and good, but the reality was that that was impossible. If they were good people, surely they would know, right?
She touched her ears. "You've… you're doing enough…" She searched for words.
Miyako beamed. "It's okay! It's seriously fine! I don't want someone to like, kidnap you or anything. Okay?"
Cheerful but stubborn. Cornered by the immense amount of enthusiasm, Sayo nodded.
