Y/N: I really enjoy writing as Ken when it involves his work environment. There's just something about it that makes Ken seem happier, or lighter. I'm not sure. He's where he wants to be, and that definitely helps—and it's a place that is exclusively his. I don't know what else to say, so I'll let the chapter do the talking.
U/N: This is a Matt chapter and he was really weird to write so you'll notice how inconsistent his character is (as if it wasn't already because I was already having trouble with it) this time around. He's back and forth but that's kind of the point, so I hope that isn't too annoying of him... and I don't really remember what he does here, so I hope you like it anyway.
Title: Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine
By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing
Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.
Part 1: Incomplete
Chapter 04: Big Spender
Ken Ichijouji:
Paperwork was the bane of my existence. It was also all I was cleared for at work these days. I'd taken a two month, unexplained hiatus. It might've been unavoidable, but it wasn't as easily overlooked. Unlike the other newer recruits—Yakuin among them—I hadn't had the same length of active duty.
On the plus side, unlike the other officers in general, I hadn't followed Moretsuna's crazy demands, and therefore wasn't being watched quite so closely by the temporary chief. Our division was hosting a variety of substitute chiefs these days, as we scrambled to find anyone worthy of taking up the mantle. Moretsuna hadn't deserved it, and the mistake wouldn't be repeated so soon after his death. There was no way another member of EVOLVE would be our chief, and the selection process was long and drawn out to ensure that this wouldn't be the case.
Chief Tekina was our current substitute, and I liked him far more than the last. The last's term was cut short when it was revealed that he, like Moretsuna, supported EVOLVE whole-heartedly. The woman that was here before him was pretty great though. For the most part, we had lucked out in terms of temporary replacements. I just hoped that we would be as lucky when we found our permanent chief.
The paperwork I'd been assigned was nearly finished, and as such, it was no longer holding my attention. I wasn't fussed on it in the first place, though, so it wasn't like it took much to distract me. Mai was important though. She was continuously on my mind. Miyako, I knew, was sure that I didn't care about our daughter, and she couldn't be further from the truth. I'd loved our daughter since I learned of her potential existence. We'd been trying to have a baby for so long, and we'd finally been gifted a precious chance. Of course I cared about her. We'd met her a little earlier than expected—a lot earlier actually—but that didn't matter. She was perfect in every way. It didn't matter that her lungs weren't strong enough, and that she was still in danger at this point. None of that made me love her any less. In fact, the strength our daughter was born with just made me love her even more. She was beautiful and strong as her mother. There was nothing in the world that could make me not love her.
I looked at the clock again, and saw that my shift was nearly over. I was going to get to bathe Mai again tonight, and while I knew that the only reason I got to do it at all was because Miyako was too scared to try, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the time I got to spend alone with my daughter. I liked talking to her, and seeing the way her eyes try to follow the sound. She was still so tiny, and I wasn't sure if she could actually see me, or not. I didn't know anything about babies, really. I'd spent most of the pregnancy pretending I didn't know Miyako was pregnant. I couldn't read books about babies without causing Miyako to grow suspicious, so I pushed it off, thinking I'd get the chance to learn when Miyako finally shared the good news.
But she shared it too late.
By the time I was in the Land of Dreams, it was hopeless. Koushiro was probably the best chance I had at getting a book about babies created—since books there were compiled entirely of what you knew of a story or subject—but even then his knowledge of them was minimal at best. He wasn't interested in children yet—I wasn't sure if he ever would be either. I didn't know much about his personal plans for the future. I didn't know much about him at all, considering the two months we'd spent in close quarters.
Those two months had been the longest in my life, not knowing whether Miyako was alive or not, but this past month was really testing the record. Mai was taking one step forward and two steps back the entire way. I knew she would be okay. I just knew it. She was a little fighter, and Spring was watching over her. She was using her power of life and vitality to bless our daughter. If Spring's magic couldn't help her though, the fact that she was developed in five worlds probably would. Emiko's multiple world birth made her special enough that Sigma wanted her—and she'd been born in only three worlds. Miyako's pregnancy had started on Earth, and then journeyed to the Digital World, and was sent to the Dark Ocean, escaped to Sidhendor and had a brief visit to the white world—which Koushiro insisted was just called Theta—before coming to an end on Earth again. That's five worlds. Yes, one of those worlds was evil and the place where tainted spirits hung around for eternity, but the other four worlds and Spring's magic had to balance that out, didn't it?
I could only hope.
Mai had gained another two ounces, the day before, and I was expecting to hear of a minor loss when I got to the hospital later, but I was hopeful. She was getting bigger and stronger every day. They put her on assisted breathing, which meant they had a tiny nasal tube that provided a steady stream of oxygen going to her lungs, but Mai was doing all the breathing of it herself. The oxygen was just there to make sure her blood got enough of the stuff. I was so proud of her, for the progress she'd made.
Miyako was probably proud too, but it was too shrouded by her worry. Miyako was a constant worrier. She worried when Mai wasn't gaining enough and she worried when Mai did gain enough. She worried when Mai didn't cry, and panicked when she did. She worried she'd break Mai if she held her for too long, and she worried that Mai wouldn't know her own mother when she was finally out of the NICU. Miyako just couldn't find a solid middle ground.
"How's the munchkin?" Kimi asked me, settling down on a computer chair and rolling until she was across the desk from me. "She's five weeks now, right?"
"Let's see," I murmured. "It's the ninth? So she's forty days old, now, so she's closer to six weeks. Wow. I haven't thought about it like that. She's almost six weeks old. I mean, there's still almost nine weeks until her original due date, but still…."
"And she's still tiny?" Kimi asked, amused by my surprise. I sighed and nodded. "She'll make it through. She's got you as a father. You're as stubborn as they come. You fought against Moretsuna while the rest of us just stood idly by. If she's got half your fighting spirit, she'll pass with flying colours."
"Thanks," I said. "But I wasn't always fighting the right fight."
"The past doesn't matter," she told me firmly. "It's what you do with the present. You're fighting the right fight now. That's all that matters. You fought against EVOLVE before most of us knew what it was. You were able to sniff out the truth when we were so blindsided by the waves of hate that Moretsuna was giving off. I'm lucky enough to have caught on when I did. I wasn't completely brainwashed like some of the others into doing Moretsuna's wishes."
"They weren't brainwashed," I told her, completely positive of that fact. "I've been brainwashed. They were just swayed by his words. There's a difference. When you're brainwashed you don't ever question anything. You're trapped into doing someone else's bidding. But with Moretsuna, it was just his flowery words and his talk about peace and justice that convinced the others they were doing the right thing. Now that the wool's been pulled away from their eyes, they can see it clearly. It's a true testament to how strongly they took his words, as to who is fighting the right fight now."
"You're talking about Yakuin," Kimi said sadly. She glanced across the room at him, and I tried to prevent myself from doing the same. I couldn't. I had to look. He was angry. He didn't like Chief Tekina. He didn't like that Chief Tekina didn't put up with any of his bull crap. The chief wasn't going to let Yakuin get away with anything, and it ticked Yakuin off. When Moretsuna was around, Yakuin was the star. Yakuin would shoot anything, regardless of the target so long as Moretsuna told him to. The fact that he was so happy with our last temporary chief was the thing that tipped most of us off about the guy being an EVOLVE member.
I'd never seen Yakuin so upset as he was when that chief was taken away in handcuffs.
Yakuin had fallen so far from the academy. He was once a man that stood for justice and peace, and wanted to fight for the right reasons. He was a good man, a good friend, and somewhere along the way, Moretsuna took those good qualities from him, and he became a shadow of the man he once was, of the man he could be again, if he put any effort into it.
"Not just Yakuin," I said defensively, even though it was entirely true. I didn't put much thought into the other officers that still wanted to fight Moretsuna's fight. The station was divided fairly evenly between EVOLVE supporters and EVOLVE rebels. I was the unofficial leader of the rebels, which was both flattering and daunting. I was far from the leader of the digidestined. I didn't know anything about being the leader. I didn't want to be the leader. I'd accomplished too many bad things in my life to even qualify, but I didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Things are a bit of a zoo around here," she agreed. "Sometimes, I just wish we could go back in time, and just not go down this road. It seems like it would be easier."
"No, no, no," I said hastily. "We've done the time travel thing too. Well I didn't, but Mimi did. You saw her in the movie I wasn't in—which is just so unfair for so many reasons. She went back in time to change one single moment, and it ricocheted. Different people died, and the worlds were in complete chaos. Things happen the way they happen for a reason. Destiny's a thing, I think. It's a crest at least."
"I only understand like half of what you're saying," Kimi said with a laugh. "I think I should watch this movie though. You're supposed to be in it?"
"It probably saved my life that I wasn't in it," I pointed out. "But damn right I should have been in it. I was right there next to the lot of them, fighting for the safety of all the worlds."
"I'll look into it," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe then I'll understand what you're talking about."
"Probably," I agreed, absentmindedly. I was too busy watching Yakuin. He was leaning close to a couple of superior officers. I caught the sound of Moretsuna's name, but it sounded different. Like they were talking about him, but not about his EVOLVE activities, like everyone typically did. "What's going on?" I asked Kimi.
"They're reviewing evidence," she told me. "They really think they know who killed Moretsuna. I'm not convinced, but they keep replaying the same videos. I don't know where they got the videos, and I didn't want to ask, just in case they were EVOLVE. I'm so tired of second guessing all of my coworkers. I should be able to come into the station every morning and just know that we're all fighting for the same cause."
"What videos?" I asked, narrowing in on that part of her response. I had been there when Moretsuna died. I hadn't told Kimi that yet, but I was. I knew exactly who killed him, and I didn't want them to blame Kurayami for anything. It wasn't her fault. It was Moretsuna's fault, for going as far as he did. He tried to kill Miyako and Mai. He nearly succeeded. Kurayami saved my wife and daughter. She was the hero; Moretsuna was the villain, no matter what his shiny badge told him.
"I can show you," Kimi told me. I realized then, though I should've realized much sooner, that her job required her to have access to the mainframes. I took her up on the offer immediately, and she pulled up the first video. It showed Miyako pulling the trigger and shooting him. She reached out and patted my shoulder. "He was aiming for the baby," she assured me. "No one's going to blame her."
"EVOLVE isn't always logical," I told her, worried. The second video was actually of me and Moretsuna. It showed that Moretsuna survived his encounter with my wife, which meant she was not the killer they were looking for. I was so relieved, but at the same time, I wished I'd never saved him. I didn't want him dead, but saving him just gave him a second chance at taking my family from me. He'd almost succeeded the second time, and then the virus hit, and I thought for sure that I'd lost them. If I had just let the virus get him sooner….
No.
Mimi had already gone down that road, I'd just cautioned Kimi against it. I couldn't go against my advice. It was good advice. I didn't want to screw with the time stream. What if I did, and then the virus actually did take them from me. No. It was better not to risk it.
Another clip was pulled up, and I saw Koushiro and Sora breaking into Moretsuna's base—which I could have argued was illegally there in the first place, but I knew no one would listen—and then another clip of Sora, Taichi and Koushiro a second time. Adding to the fact that Sora was in the clip with Miyako, I was getting a bad feeling about this.
"There are also notes that Moretsuna kept on file," Kimi told me. "Don't worry. None of them mention your wife, or your child. They're all about some girl named Sora Takenouchi. There are also accounts of her accosting the daughter of a police officer, her name is…Veronica I think. Veronica has provided statements that implicate Miss Takenouchi with Moretsuna's case, as well as imply that Miss Takenouchi held a vendetta against Veronica as well. Somehow, though I'm a little foggy on the details, they discovered Miss Takenouchi's DNA within Moretsuna's base. I'm fairly positive that Veronica provided this evidence as well, but I have no proof of that. But you're fine. It's not your wife. She's not the suspect."
"But Sora is," I said hollowly.
"Oh no," Kimi gasped. "She's your friend? Is she fighting alongside you?"
"Yeah," I said, unsure what to think anymore. "She just got freed from her place as undesirable number two, right under the Digital Man."
"I'll bet you know who he is too," Kimi said slyly.
"Yeah, but I'm not about to unmask him," I said, though it sounded strange. Yamato didn't wear a mask during the videos. And he was a prominent public figure…
"Everyone knows he's Yamato Ishida," she said with a laugh. "Isn't he like, your favourite singer?"
"Yeah, he played at my wedding," I told her, without thinking.
"No way," she gasped. "How did you manage that?"
"He pitied us and our sad, sad, disaster of a wedding," I told her.
"It can't have been that bad," she said, shaking her head. "But that's a heck of a story to share with Mai when she gets bigger. How many people can say they've had the Teenage Wolves play at their wedding?"
"Watch the movie, and you won't think it's that big of a deal," I told her, rolling my eyes, even though I was still kind of freaking out about it inside my head. No matter how well I knew Yamato, the Teenage Wolves were still my favourite band. It was a dream come true—you know, aside from the part where I was marrying the love of my life, and that was the dream and all that.
"I've had enough of this!" Chief Tekina shouted. "You're always fighting among each other, and when you're not actively fighting, you're doing it passive aggressively. You aren't accomplishing anything, except turmoil. I'm tired of this. If you can't do your jobs, then you're not cut out for the force. Get your act together, or you're all getting fired."
My eyes widened at the same time Kimi's did. We were both shocked. It seemed like the outburst came out of nowhere, but when we turned to look at the Chief, we saw Yakuin, and his fellow EVOLVE supporters grouped together, staring down some of Kimi's and my fellow rebels. They were in a stalemate, and none of them noticed the phone that was ringing. It could have been an emergency, and none of the operators were standing by to answer it.
It was despicable.
"He's right," I found myself saying, without intending to. Everyone turned to look at me, Chief Tekina included. "I've been on both sides of this fight. I was EVOLVE, once, before EVOLVE was a thing. I was against digimon, and I used them and abused them, and I spliced them together to create a hybrid that was far too powerful to control."
The EVOLVE supporters looked uplifted by that fact, while the rebels looked absolutely gutted—Kimi included. I'd only ever hinted at my bad past, I'd never actually told her details before.
"I thought I was above them, just as Moretsuna did. The biggest difference wasn't that I was eleven when it happened," I said, throwing that fact out there, hoping that Kimi wouldn't hate me for it. I'd already lost one friend on the force. I didn't want to lose another. "The difference was that I learned that what I was doing was wrong. What you are doing is wrong. Hatred does not bring the peace we swore to uphold. You need to accept the difference between fighting for a just cause, and just fighting for a cause. Kindness, and peace and justice is what we're fighting for, what we hope to spread with our duties. Joining EVOLVE, and continuing to support it when the entire world knows that it's wrong, is just another way that you're failing the badges you carry with you. I learned from my mistakes. Kindness helped me through it, and I want to make sure this township, this world is safe from the hatred and negativity. That's why I swore to wear this badge. I was eleven, but I will never stop feeling the need to fight against what I became. If you can't acknowledge your wrongdoing, and can't bring yourself to fight against what it turned you into, then maybe you don't deserve the badges. The badges mean something, but they don't mean anything unless you believe in them."
"Thank you!" Chief Tekina exclaimed. "Someone here had what it takes to be an officer. You've got guts kid, sharing what you did."
"I've come to terms with what happened," I said, with an embarrassed shrug. "I know my limits, and I know that there's no length I won't go to ensure this world—and more specifically in terms of my badge: this city—is safe for my daughter to grow up in. Moretsuna tried to take my daughter from me. You've seen the footage. That's my wife that he's aiming at. I'm not going to let megalomaniacs get away with hurting innocent people. This station is messy and disorganized, but with a little hard work we can get back into shape."
"And you'll be able to lead them there," Chief Tekina told me.
"Three cheers for Ken!" Kimi called, and the majority of the officers started cheering. The chief didn't, but that was mostly because he was laughing too hard. Yakuin didn't either. He slipped out the door, and I wondered if he was going off to think about his actions, but somehow, I doubted it.
"What's going on in here?"
The cheering stopped suddenly, because they all thought we had a case coming in, but I knew differently. It was Miyako. She wasn't here with a case; she was here to meet up with me. I looked at the clock and realized my shift had ended six minutes ago.
"Ken's being a hero," Kimi said, rolling her eyes.
"He's always been a hero," Miyako told her, looking to me out of the corner of her eye.
"Except when he was a villain," a female EVOLVE supporter grumbled. I actually didn't know her name. She'd transferred in during my two month "vacation" to the Land of Dreams.
"His reasoning is far better than Moretsuna's or Arnold's any day," Miyako defended me. I sighed, and reached out to her hand. I squeezed her fingers, and she relaxed, just a little bit. She was away from Mai during the day. It was a first for her, and I didn't want it to be too stressful.
"You two go on," Kimi suggested. "Take pictures. I want to see Mai and the house."
"Sure thing," I told her, and I led Miyako out of the station. She looked upset at first that she wouldn't get a tour, since she'd never been there before. When we got outside, I saw Yakuin leaning against the hood of a car as he looked into the driver's window. He moved just slightly, and I saw Veronica was seated within it. I looked to Miyako, to ask what she thought we should do, but at the same time, I didn't want to bother her. She definitely didn't want to be away from Mai for longer than necessary.
And it was necessary.
We wanted to find a home, a real one, to bring Mai back to. We had some extra money lying around, since Hideto decided to steal everything Mai would ever need. Miyako had been saving for those very purchases, and I had been saving for this purpose. I wanted to buy a house. I knew we'd have to work out a mortgage, and that we'd have to spend sparingly for awhile, but we could make it work.
I didn't want to bring Mai home to the dingy, crappy apartment we lived in. And I definitely didn't want to bring her home into the apartment that Sigma had tortured my wife in. I wanted both Miyako and Mai to feel comfortable and confident in our home.
It didn't take long once we met up with the realtor for her to contact us with a list of houses that fit our budget and requirements. We were scheduled for a tour of those homes that day, and were going for a bit of a drive. The realtor was very bubbly, and friendly, and I knew those happy tendencies were a trap meant to lure me into buying whatever she was meant to sell—and in this case, it was a house.
To be honest, I was sure that we wouldn't find a home that Miyako liked with as little touring as we did. But she surprised me. The very first house we came to caught her eye. It was an old house, with a wooden interior. I didn't think it looked all that great, but Miyako was absolutely enchanted by it. When I looked at it, I saw it as a list of things I'd like to change. But the changes were manageable.
"I want it," Miyako announced.
"You'll take it?" the realtor asked, needing clarification.
"I guess this is our house," I told her. I tried to imagine our family here, and it wasn't hard. I could see Wormmon climbing up the walls, and Hawkmon bringing Poromon up into the trees, so he could teach his pupil the names of each tree. Miyako and I seated on the lawn, while Mai plays with the dandelions.
Yamato Ishida:
It felt really good to have things change.
I couldn't understand how I had been so afraid of the general idea of alterations before now. It seemed foolish and maybe even childish. Change was everything. I could remember a girl telling me once—during my senior year of high school—that I was 'great' and to 'never change'. At the time I thought that was a compliment, but in fact it was a hindrance. I had taken the advice of someone I hadn't even known the name to because I thought that perhaps what she was saying was kind. That poor girl didn't know just how freeing it could be to change.
I felt like I was flying at all times. A smile was always plastered onto my face and I walked with a reinvigorated spring to my step. I had once seen a movie about a walrus that was living its life in a zoo, and in the end of the film that walrus was set back into the wild where it roamed free with other like-minded creatures. I was that walrus.
I had my new bike parked in my father's garage because I didn't have one yet—I didn't have one because I had not yet picked out the place I wanted to live. I was narrowing in on some really cool ideas though, and that meant that things were on their way to changing even more. I added a new spunky element to the music I had been writing and I'd never been more proud of it before—even Yutaka admitted to how great it sounded (after they verified that I was in fact in the band again). And really, he wasn't wrong. It did sound great. I dragged Mimi out to help me with some shopping because I didn't know who else to ask. We were there for hours and neither of us seemed to mind. It was weird because we seldom spent time together, but she was all for an impromptu shopping trip. Usually I would find them boring but somehow it just felt fun and fresh.
I was seeing this really adorable girl who, while I wasn't sure where we stood exactly, was just amazing. She was so fascinating. She wasn't like any other girl I'd ever met before. She wasn't a girly girl, nor was she a tomboy—she was somewhere right in the middle where she was able to just be herself because what she identified with didn't seem to matter to her or to anyone else. It didn't matter to me at least. She was just Amai, nothing more and nothing less. And that person she was being was amazingly clever, thoughtful and original. There was no frame of reference in all of my past experiences that could relate to Amai. She was just different.
I did have this slight anchor in my chest though, trying to drag me down to the old me, something that was reminding me that I hadn't accomplished anything that I had wanted to do. Sure, the band was fun and I was beyond glad that I was still a part of something that had lasted through all of those ups and downs. Sure, the entire nation briefly referred to me as the seeker to peace—and they were still doing that too. It was kind of annoying having to be careful everywhere I went. Especially now that I was looking for a suitable place to live. More than once I had found someone who recognized me and I'd been forced to leave. It was weird because I wore massive sunglasses and dressed in clothes I wouldn't normally wear. Including a hat. They were supposed to think I was Takeru. The point—was that I hadn't done anything I'd set out to do. I had been steadily and mildly successful, which I was thankful for, but comparing me to the others was more than a little disappointing.
Of course I knew that comparing myself to others was a dangerous and harmful way to view the person I had become, but I was mostly comparing to the amount of dreams everyone had accomplished. Taichi was the ambassador of an entire world and had his own home in that land. Koushiro was a researcher and did he ever ask for anything else? Mimi had rebuilt her restaurant like six times, Hikari had become a teacher and Daisuke had his noodle cart. Everyone was living their dreams—and it was horrible that most of them had recently been crushed, but they were all fighting for it again—and there I was, never having tried.
I had accomplished all my training, though I was sure I would be required to do it all again, but I would be okay with that if I got to go to the moon at the end of it all. Sure it was all Taichi's lame idea to get me to go into those bizarre classes in the first place, but it was also true that I had planets hanging from my bedroom ceiling for years growing up. I had always dreamed of what it would be like to be endlessly alone, just for that short period of time. If being around other people was how you got to know and to understand them, then what might it be like to get to know yourself in all of that alone time? It was something I had always been interested in, and I could now actually do that, but I hadn't. Why?
Going to the moon would also help conceal me from the people seeking the Digital Man. At least for a while. If I could even get into space without someone recognizing me. I was really starting to regret the decision to use my face for the cause.
Even if it had been successful.
"Maybe if he took his shoes off?" Mari suggested, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up from the sheet music in front of me and caught sight of Masa being chased around the library by Emiko who was holding a big dictionary, ready to beat on Masa who had apparently done something unforgivable. Masa's shoes were covered in mud and it seemed that was what Mari was focused on.
Chiziru waved Mari off, "Oh he doesn't mind."
"How great for him," Mari said, easily defeated. I didn't know her well but that seemed out of character. One time I asked Mimi for the number six combo at her restaurant but accidentally said 'condiment' and since then every time I had ordered at their restaurant Hideto gave me mayonnaise at Mari's request. She informed me that it was condiment number six and that it was my favourite. She didn't let things go easily.
Momoe rushed past the two girls, chasing Emiko in an attempt to stop the violence, but no one seemed too invested in helping her out.
The library was amazing. I couldn't believe Mari hadn't invited us to stay here before. The floor space was open and carpeted, and I did love a good carpet; there was a large kitchen area that used to be the check out area that was essentially closed in by a large rounded counter; there was a massive amazing bathroom that used to be two bathrooms separated by gender, but Mari had adjusted them and taken out the dividing wall to have one super bathroom that contained stalls (just to be cool and unique) a hot tub, a ridiculously fancy shower and self flushing toilets. Basically it was the coolest building ever—and it was in Ebisu which was basically a really beautiful location filled with old beautiful buildings and greenery.
The walls in the open area were lined with shelves that were soon to be incorporated into the walls themselves. Each shelf was lined with books, which fit the term 'library' well, even if it was no longer a library.
Mari looked to me and glared, probably because I was lying on her couch, and so I rolled over and spun my legs around, smiling to her. She seemed pleased that I had adjusted myself, and I didn't mind anyway. I was just in a really good mood. I was wary though because it definitely seemed like something had to go wrong. There was no way a series of good things could happen to me without flaw.
Mari flopped down in one of the comfortable bean bag chairs and grabbed a stuffed platypus, holding it close to herself.
"Are you okay?" Yutaka asked, dropping his guitar and moving to Mari's side, "you seem upset."
She looked to him cautiously but apparently decided he was harmless enough, "I just wonder how permanent of a situation this is," she said simply, "I agreed to let you all in, but is this a... forever kind of deal?"
"Well," Yutaka said in a voice that immediately received three glares from Takashi, Akira and myself, "We'll go wherever you want us to, and we'll do whatever it is you need from us." It was his 'I'm-going-to-be-very-obvious-while-I-flirt-with-this-girl' voice that we all knew too well.
Mari seemed to think for a moment and then placed a hand on Yutaka's chest and pushed him backwards. Akira roared with laughter as Yutaka tried to compose himself from his most recent of many rejections. I didn't want to over stay our welcome, but at the moment this was our best option for location. It was no longer a public place, and so I was completely safe from the public eye, there was plenty of room for anyone who needed to be present. All of the Teenage Wolves were here, Chiziru, Momoe and Mantarou often spent a great deal of time here, which was great because they were all friendly and intelligent individuals who could date whoever they wanted to. Natsuni frequented, often bringing along Goblimon and Iori. Hikari even joined them sometimes, usually bringing Takeru, though we didn't interact much outside of home. There was no need, we had enough time to bond there. Natsuni's father was here a lot too. He hadn't mentioned anything, but being in his house and seeing it so empty was obviously a foreign concept to him. He wasn't used to this separation from his wife.
Basically we had the whole team here, including my father, and we were still working on making videos. We had long since completed a video based on every crest, but we had never run out of things to talk about for even a moment. Lately we had taken to discussing the virus and how it affected the world, and what horrors Arnold had caused out of hate. We even showed them different parts of the Digital World that were still affected by the virus—that was slowly but surely being cured thanks to Jou—and it seemed to have the desired effect.
We didn't have to broadcast it and interrupt everything anymore though. We had enough of a following now that we simply uploaded the videos to an account on a highly trafficked video site. The view count was growing with each video—each one was helpfully translated by Babamon and Gigimon to many different languages—and even when people didn't see them, the videos were talked about on the news and in other videos and just everywhere.
Sure, the digimon interrupted the life of the humans, creating a massively large difference from their normal lives—to the point where some people were referring to this year as 'year 1 AD'. 'AD' in this case standing for 'After Digimon'. I didn't think that would catch on, but they were making an impact and I didn't expect everyone to fall into a norm so easily. I was proud of the people who were so accepting and loving. Then there would always be those who were the opposite. Unfortunately digimon were very susceptible to human attack.
I noticed Akira staring at me like I was a horned pig flying over Tokyo city and realized I'd been staring into space. He returned to his guitar where he began to strum random chords together. I looked around the room to find Mari storming toward the kitchen area. I slid off the couch and was immediately aware that Takashi had stolen my spot.
As I neared Mari I heard her talking to Yutaka in a voice that was calm—but only just. "What are you doing?"
"I'm making some bacon," he told her, smiling proudly.
"Okay," she said nodding with her lips tight together, "I see that, why? How? Who even brought bacon in here?"
"I did," Yutaka told her with a deep laugh, "I love bacon! Everyone loves bacon, don't you want some?"
"Obviously not," she said, shaking her head, "I only eat lean cuts of pork or fish."
Yutaka's mouth dropped and his spatula hovered over the frying pan, "B-b-but bacon?"
Mari rolled her eyes, "Yes, bacon. It leaves a horrible stench trapped within everything the toxic air that it creates touches. At least open the window." Mari pointed with her thumb to the window above the stove. Yutaka smiled and propped it open. "Enjoy your slimy slice of pig fat."
"Oh I will!" Yutaka beamed brightly.
It was then that Gabumon ran past me with a speed and excitement that was unusual for him. Then Gabumon ran past me again much more in character. I cursed myself under my breath for having mistaken him for Melga again. Then Warg was screaming at the top of his lungs with Tapirmon chasing him with a wooden spoon. He laughed maniacally and Mari seemed like she wanted to stop them but her eyes lingered on Tapirmon.
Obviously she did not want to interrupt his fun. Laughter was hard to come by these days, especially in those who lost their partners. Taichi told me that Pal and Pul had taken to a new vow of total silence. I knew Terriermon and Lopmon weren't doing much better. And of course Mari knew what it was like to lose a partner. She wanted them to behave, but she wasn't going to be the one to bring Tapirmon from his high.
"That's mine!" Hideto's voice cut through the air as he ripped a mixing bowl from Mantarou's hands, "What is this?" he looked inside the bowl and scoffed.
"It's cookie dough," Mantarou said, offended. "I'm making them for Sora."
Hideto looked up to me with one eyebrow raised and then he shrugged when I didn't return a look. I didn't know what he wanted from me, but I had gotten my closure with Sora. I needed nothing else now. "Needs more flour. Let me help." Hideto passed the bowl back to Mantarou who took it, pleased but Hideto snatched it back again, "This is still mine."
Katsue then popped up next to me, reminding me of what I wanted to ask her earlier, "Hey," I said tapping her shoulder, "Could you send me the videos that Tako gave us? I'd like to review them."
Katsue nodded and then rounded on Mari. "Mari," she said, "I think I downloaded a virus onto your computer."
"Virus?" Emiko shrieked, rushing to her mother, dropping her dictionary in the process. Masa actually began wailing, but instead of rushing to his mother he ran to his partner Kunemon, which Chiziru did not take kindly to, and she started voicing her feelings loudly.
Monmon began making his presence clear as well, swinging from the very expensive looking chandelier, screaming at the top of his lungs. I glanced back to Mari whose eye was twitching. She slowly looked to Katsue and took her hand, "Let's get one thing done at a time. Come on beautiful."
Katsue blushed from the unexpected compliment and tossed her hair over her shoulder and let Mari drag her away.
As Hideto slapped Mantarou in the hand with his whisk it became clear to me that Alias III was very territorial. They had no reason to not be either. We had not extended our hand to them nearly as readily as we had in the past. Ken was invited because he immediately fit in with Miyako, Takeru and the others. Kurayami latched on to Daisuke and Hikari. But Alias III stuck to themselves and there was no real bond between us. It was our fault really. I made a mental note to spend more time with the three remaining members.
Hideto didn't seem nearly as upset as Mari though. I was sure that had something to do with the glances he thought were subtle that he took every now and then, gazing toward Akira, Takashi and Yutaka. He may not have liked them much, but they were still the Teenage Wolves, and it was no secret that he was a fan.
"Don't touch that," Mari was zooming past me, rushing away from Katsue who she apparently had already assisted. I noticed then that Mari was wearing enormous blue slippers that looked like big monster feet. I supposed she couldn't wear heels all day every day. She pointed up to Monmon as she passed Momoe and Momoe apologized profusely and continued trying to persuade Monmon off the chandelier. Mari grabbed the book that Takashi was holding and put it back on the shelf, "Not that one. It's my favourite."
"Maybe I'll like it," Takashi said.
"No." There was no question about it, she was frustrated. She glanced at the shelf and she gasped, "What did you do? These are all in the wrong order!"
"I-I didn't know there was an order," Takashi admitted.
"Of course there is!" Mari snapped, "They're all separated by colour and organized in the typical rainbow spectrum, but kept alphabetized by the last name of the author for easy locating."
"How could I have missed that?" Takashi said sarcastically.
"Don't sass me," Mari held up a finger daringly and Takashi backed down.
Even though the library was a perfect fit for us, I wasn't so sure we were a perfect fit for the library. I jumped when hands covered my eyes. "Guess who?" a dreamy voice questioned.
"Andromon," I said, firing off the first name that came to my mind.
"No it's me!" Amai shouted, jumping around to the front of me, she grinned and then looked over to Mari, "Your friend is really anal." I snorted and nodded. It was true. I had never seen this side of Mari before, but to be fair I had only been in their previous home once and I left quickly after finding Hideto's 'Teenage Wolves' shrine. She was reminding me a lot more of Neo and I was starting to understand why he may have chosen who he had for his team of 'evil'.
Amai and I moved to sit by the stairs where DemiDevimon and Gabumon joined us. Eventually Katsue and some of the others crowded around too and the conversation seemed to be killing some of the chaos around the library. Mari seemed to be pleased—at least partially, because Monmon was still at large—and I felt relaxed again.
Katsue was the last to join us, bringing news of a press conference that Rida was to be taking part in, "I'm going," She told us all, "You're coming too." She looked right at me, "We'll be sticking it to him."
"Could I come as well?" Amai asked, leaning forward to look at Katsue. Her curled red hair fell over her shoulder and she smiled, "I would love to witness this inevitable smack down." Katsue grinned at Amai and nodded. The conversation kind of went up from there, building to a point where we were all on the same page.
Until the conversation of Gennai came up. Amai had wanted to know how we all came about the team because she was new and apparently felt the need to get to know everyone's personal stories. It started with the Teenage Wolves and their story was pretty short. Then Momoe explained how Miyako and Jou got her involved and by extension Mantarou and Chiziru. Katsue told the story of how she dated this 'bozo' who was in love with someone else and she somehow just stuck around. Amai seemed really interested in Katsue's story—if only she knew I was that bozo.
And then Gabumon started telling our story. When he reached the part where Gennai locked us out of the Digital World, Amai seemed concerned. "That's horrible," she said, shocked, "You had to say goodbye?"
Gabumon nodded, "Yeah, but the connection between the worlds was strong, so we could talk. It wasn't until seven years later that we had to endure some real separation. Gennai sealed the worlds apart for good that time."
"But not for good," Amai pointed out, "because here you are!"
"It should have been for good," I said bluntly. Gabumon sighed. He'd heard it before, but that didn't change anything. "Gennai wanted the worlds to be kept apart. He wanted peace, and that peace could only be brought about by separation."
"Oh, well I'm all for integration," Amai said, "It's the new frontier."
"So am I,"I assured her as Gabumon took my hand in his. "And I love all the time I've gotten to spend with Gabumon. It's been six years since we met up after that three year gap, and I wouldn't trade those years for anything. Gabumon is the most important thing that's ever happened to me." I sighed, "But sometimes it's hard to ignore what Gennai wanted. He basically told us to go away, and we did. And then Sigma broke the barrier and peace has since to be found. Gennai had never been wrong before. He chose all of us for a reason and it worked. He had always guided us in the right direction and never once did he make a mistake."
"Until he told us to stay apart," Gabumon said, nodding.
"I don't think that was a mistake either," I said quietly, "I think he knew what he was talking about and I think we made a mistake."
Gabumon pulled his hand away from mine. "Well we'll never know. Because he's dead."
Gabumon and I stared at each other for a while as everyone else seemed to ignore the tension. Then Amai, as graceful as ever, intervened, "Perhaps both of you are correct," she decided, "Perhaps this Gennai fellow knew that peace could be achieved by separation. But surely there is more than one way to find any solution. You seek peace, just like your friend Gennai. RISE is all about peace. Why don't you come to an event? You could see what we're like in action."
I looked back to Gabumon and he seemed pleased that someone might be trying to change my mind. I didn't think it was possible, but in the meantime, I didn't see anything wrong with conversing with like minded people, "Sure," I decided, "Of course." Then I paused, "Can I invite some people?"
"Absolutely," Amai smiled, "The more the merrier. Like father Christmas. Merry and fat."
"Huh?" Gabumon questioned, but I didn't think too much of it. I was trying to pick the perfect group of people to bring along. It had to be right. Not too few people, but not too many—and I'd have to select carefully.
But I already knew who I was going to take. It had been a while since we'd all hung out together, just the seven of us.
Next on Digimon Adventure 08: Jou rises to the lead of the chapter as we get maybe a glimpse of what the RISE team actually does while Izzy has some other things on his mind.