Well, as of February, I am a college graduate! Well...kind of, haha. I need one more English class, but that's going to happen sooner or later. But you all know what this means! (Or should, considering I'm still, admittedly, a huge flake.) I should be able to write more often. I have summaries until Chapter 16, though they're obviously up to change. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me if you have.
Update April 8: I just found out about Kouji Wada's death and have been playing Butter-Fly on repeat. Cause I am in pain and nothing is okay. It's almost sadder to me because my father passed away from the same cancer when I was young. Ah well.
November 19: I am the worst at keeping up with writing. I totally thought being out of school would mean that I could write more. I forgot that graduation only means finding more work. Damn. Also, Digimon Tri Part 3 made a mess of me, a complete mess of me. I've also wondered about working in Tri into this timeline, just to remain "canon compliant." Or as compliant as possible, considering none of this is canon, for sure now. I donno...I could always kill the full cast at the end. That'd be completely compliant by the time of Tri! XD JK. No one dies. I'm just gonna say that now. No one dies.
Episode Four: The Peacemaker! Dorugamon Sweeps Down!
Aiko stumbled out of his room to get breakfast early. Ever since moving back to Japan, making use of the kitchen in the mornings had become part of his morning routine (Given it was a morning that he'd actually woken up in his own bed). 'It's a nice, actually being able to eat a hot breakfast in general, though,' The thought was followed by memories of cold cereal and not much else before getting kicked out of his own home in New York. When Aiko moved back here, he was slightly dismayed and overjoyed all at once to find no cereal in the house at all.
"They're very Japanese here, huh..." Aiko mumbled to himself as he began whisking a batter to make pancakes. He'd hated the natto and raw eggs over rice Iori's grandfather made the few times the man had risen before Aiko did himself, which was the very reason Aiko had bothered to get up early at all. The sun was barely rising into the windows when steaming piles of pancakes landed on the dining table. Enough for everyone, including Upamon and Dorumon's voracious appetites. 'Speaking of Dorumon...'Aiko looked over to the living room and found, instead of Dorumon, Hida Chikara, patriarch of the Hida family. "Oh, I didn't notice you there, I'm sorry, Hida-san." Aiko nearly jumped out of his skin. The older man had always been kind of Aiko, but Aiko had no clue how to talk to him, even if he wanted to.
"It's nice to see you sleeping here instead on park benches, Nomura-kun," Nothing got past Chikara and Aiko winced at the cushioned accusation. And there was the root of the problem. Chikara was well aware of Aiko's previous...situation. Which meant that while Aiko was given slight leeway to be an ass about avoiding his problems, it also meant that the well meaning man would always try to lend advice or get Aiko to open up.
It hadn't worked for the last few weeks and it wasn't happening anytime soon.
"You're right, it is a lot nicer," If there was a way to shut down the problem, Aiko had learned from a young age, it was to deflect with nonchalance. "Dorumon wanted to sleep in a warm bed anyway." He began setting the small table, and putting pancakes on each plate. Chikara watched him intently, noticing how each plate had a specific amount of the pan-fried confection.
"You spend so little time here, but you already know how much each of us eat," He hummed, moving to the plate that Aiko had also placed a pouch of prune jelly next to, "And our preferences as well! Fumiko was right when she said you were such a thoughtful boy," Aiko suppressed a flinch. He hadn't heard Fumiko call him 'thoughtful' since before she and his father divorced. After that, he'd barely seen the woman at all. There were so few memories Aiko had of he and Fumiko together in the first place. And of all the things for Fumiko to remember was Aiko's thoughtfulness. Aiko clenched the plate he prepared for himself before snatching the one for Dorumon and retreating back into his room. There wasn't any point in letting Chikara continue the one-sided conversation.
Wasn't like they were related, or anything.
Aiko passed by Iori on his way into the hallway. Iori was so like his grandfather. Astute and very pushy, though never with ill intent. "Aiko-san, you know Mother doesn't like it when you eat alone in your room."
"I'm eating with Dorumon," Aiko sidestepped the younger boy, avoiding his sharp gaze and turning swiftly into his room again. Though Iori was only his half-brother, it was easy to tell they were related when their facial features were so similar, age being the main difference between them. No one else had picked up on the fact, not that Aiko made any indication they were related. And neither did Iori, as per Aiko's request. It wasn't as if Aiko was ashamed of having Iori for a brother, stick-up-the-ass as he could be at times. It was just the questions Aiko would rather not answer about why he was here at all. To be honest, Aiko had mixed feelings about the younger boy. On one hand, this was a child that reminded Aiko of what his childhood could have been. On the other, Iori had saved the world and how could anyone not be proud of that?
Dorumon was waiting for Aiko rather expectantly inside. 'And I'm next, I suppose,' Aiko mused, shutting the door behind else would he be involved in this Digital World mess than to help save it from something? With a slight snort, Aiko noted that among his group, everyone was related to someone else who was also already a Chosen Child. Jun and Kaori to Daisuke, Momoe and Chizuru to Miyako, Shuu to Jyou, and he to Iori. 'Must be a family thing.'
"Aiko, you're doing that thing where you just sit there and think again," Dorumon nuzzled into Aiko's armpit, a pancake held between his stubby forepaws like a steering wheel. "Don't think, eat with me!" Aiko laughed to himself and mussed up the fur on Dorumon's head.
"Yeah yeah, that's all you Digimon think about isn't it? Food, food, food. You got so lucky to have a partner who likes cooking," The glutton.
"I also think about you, Aiko. I didn't get lucky to have a partner who cooks, I got lucky to have a partner who is you." Poor syntax aside, Aiko was happy to have a partner that was Dorumon, too.
Except Aiko realized he made a slight miscalculation about how many pancakes to make when his plate was suspiciously bare. "I've been in here for all of three minutes! How did you eat all of the pancakes?!" Dorumon smiled at Aiko guiltily.
"You make such good food, I couldn't help myself!"
With a defeated sigh, the teen got off his bed and headed back into the kitchen. Maybe Chikara had been smart enough to know that for all of Aiko's so-called 'thoughtfulness', he hadn't taken into account Dorumon's extra-strong appetite for Aiko's cooking and had some food leftover.
After breakfast, Aiko took to cleaning the dishes he had made use of. It was only fair that he did them, wasn't it? By then, Dorumon had ambled over to where Aiko had stationed himself in the kitchen, apologetic. "I'm sorry you had to eat more of the smelly beans again," He prodded Aiko's thigh with his forehead, wings drooped in submission. Aiko couldn't help but grin despite himself. That natto had been terrible and there wasn't enough prune jelly in the world to overpower it.
"It's fine, Dorumon. I should be flattered you like my food that much. How about we go for a ride when I come home from school tonight?" Skateboarding seemed to be Dorumon's favorite activity, after eating. The last few days, Aiko had taken him to the park where he'd shown Dorumon some of his skills.
The two had been so preoccupied by their light banter that Aiko didn't notice Fumiko join him in washing dishes. She was as sneaky as her father-in-law, Aiko realized dismally.
"I really enjoyed the pancakes, thank you, Aiko," Fumiko didn't meet Aiko's eyes for once. Normally, she tried at every opportunity to get Aiko to talk to her, to get more interaction than a polite 'good morning' or 'good night'. Did Chikara and Iori mention how Aiko had already shut the both of them down earlier? Seemed like he was getting Hida team-tagged today.
"You're welcome." Aiko responded plainly.
"Are you going to the Digital World today? Iori has been telling me that you and your friends have been going lately."
"I've been thinking about it."
"I'm glad you're making friends now."
"Yeah, it's nice having them. I have to get ready for school now. Come on Dorumon, let's go," Aiko finished the last of the dishes and turned away, leaving his mother standing by the sink to watch him retreat into his room once more. Inside, Aiko leaned on his now closed door.
"Aiko, are you okay?" Dorumon pressed his forehead into Aiko's thigh again. Aiko bent low over to Dorumon, leaning into Dorumon's forehead with his own.
"No, not really. Thanks for asking, though."
Sometimes, Iori wished he didn't have a brother. No, that was mean. Iori wished his brother had been different from what he had been expecting. When his mom had gotten a call, all the way from America, to let her know that a minor would be coming into her care, Iori had been excited. Of course, it had meant learning about someone Iori had never known existed before. On one hand, Iori was upset his mother had kept this from him his whole life. On the other, it was clear from her expression that Fumiko had never expected to see her firstborn again.
When Aiko arrived, he looked a little frightened of their mother, if Iori was honest with himself. Which was also odd, because while Fumiko was strict, she was never unkind. Aiko also spent most of his time before school started out of their home, avoiding any contact with them unless absolutely necessary. Even when the weather was slightly unpleasant, Aiko would stay outdoors with his skateboard, keeping himself at an arm's length. Despite this, he'd always been polite, which only needled Iori's confusion and irritation at the person who was supposed to be his nii-san.
When Iori thought of all the older brothers he knew, Taichi, Yamato, Mantarou, and even Shuu, Iori thought of someone to admire and respect. He would be able to give Iori advice about things he hadn't experienced yet and would be thoughtful, yet stern, but never judgemental. Maybe they would even be able to share their thoughts in a way Iori couldn't with his mother, because there are just things you can't talk to your parents about without feeling uncomfortable. But Aiko wasn't anything like that. He was thoughtful, sure, but at the same time, totally thoughtless.
Didn't Aiko know how much it hurt Fumiko to brush her off the way he'd been doing? At first, the politeness seemed to be discomfort at being in a new place, but Iori knew better now. It was deflection. So when Aiko left the apartment after forcing down what was left for breakfast (because he'd made pancakes for everyone but himself it seemed) Iori felt himself grow indignant.
"Mother, is it really okay if Aiko does this?" Iori stared at the front door. Aiko never left for school at the same time Iori did. Initially, Iori would have chalked it up to the two going to different schools, but after everything Iori had seen in the house, he knew that Aiko was avoiding him. He'd made it clear after coming home with Dorumon one day, much to Iori's shock that Aiko was suddenly a Chosen Child as well.
"If the others ask...you don't know me, okay?" Aiko requested when they'd walked home from the park. Iori was still stewing in the shock. While he'd gotten the message that member's of Daisuke, Miyako, and even Jyou's families had become Chosen Children, Iori saw that one other person had also received a Digimon. He hadn't been expecting to see Aiko sitting at the park with a short purple fox sprawling itself over his lap contentedly.
"Why?" He replied. Why would Aiko want to keep something so trivial to the situation hidden?
"I just...I don't want to answer any questions that may come up from people knowing. I don't want to think about it and I'm never going to ask you for anything else, so can you please do this for me?" It was the first time Iori had seen Aiko look...desperate? Panicky seemed to be the more suitable word. There was such anxiety in Aiko's expression that Iori had never seen before.
"Aiko, don't get upset..." Dorumon murmured gently, leaning into Aiko's leg and waiting until Aiko's uneven breathing calmed. Iori and Upamon looked at each other, then to Aiko and Dorumon. For a pair that had only met at noon, they seemed quite close already. In his own experience, Iori had to take some time to get used to having Upamon around.
"Okay, I'm okay," Aiko exhaled steadily, "But I'm serious about this. Just don't tell them. I...I don't want to talk about it to them. Or anyone," Aiko amended his statement upon seeing Iori's questioning face.
"Alright. I can do that."
"He's going through something," Fumiko approached Iori with his backpack, helping him into it, "I know you're frustrated, but America and Japan are completely different and Aiko still needs time to adjust. He's only been here for two months."
"But the way he avoids you...you're his mother too..." Iori pleaded.
"He hasn't seen me in ten years," Fumiko started pushing Iori to the door a her smile faltering just a little, "It seems that we all need more time to adjust, okay?"
"Alright. Bye, Mother."
"Bye. Have a good day at school!"
Explosions flashed across the TV's screen, the smoke clearing and 'Player One: Defeated' in blocky orange and red lettering spelled themselves out. Bickering arose from the couch. Jun rubbed her temples.
"WOULD YOU TWO SHUT UP AND JUST GET READY FOR SCHOOL?!" She cried out in aggravation, "The one day both of you manage to get up early and it's for video games. I don't know why I expected anything different from you two," The two in question, Daisuke and Kaori (who still hadn't changed out of her pajamas...but at least hadn't slept in her uniform this time), peered over their shoulders, staring back blankly.
"I don't know how you could have expected anything less, Nee-san," Daisuke yawned lazily, "What I want to know is why you thought coming along to Onee-chan's would be healthy for what's left of your sanity,"
"He has a point," Kaori chimed in, her finger pointed upwards mockingly, "This is all we do when we hang out!" And with that, the pings of whichever fighting game Kaori had chosen this morning resumed. Beside them, V-mon and Labramon hollered at the screen, cheering for their respective partners.
"Kaori-chan, go go go!"
"Daisuke, dodge!"
"I'm trying, V-mon!"
"Eat shit, fuckface!"
"FATALITY."
And with that, Kaori leapt onto the couch, moving erratically in what Jun liked to call Kaori's victory 'dance'.
"This is why you're never going to get a boyfriend," Daisuke grumbled, glaring at the 6-2 victory tally mocking him on the screen.
"And that's why I keep doing this," Kaori singsonged, waggling back and forth with even more gusto, "Relationships cut into game time. Screw that."
Jun knew better than to believe Kaori when she said that. Not so long ago, Kaori probably wouldn't have minded a boyfriend. But then again, 'minded' was the operative word and that was neither here nor there, Jun conceded with a sigh.
Her cellphone buzzed on the counter, catching both hers and Hyokomon's attention. "It's probably Momoe-chan," Jun said absentmindedly, picking the cell up and clicking through her messages.
'We're on your floor, we could hear Daisuke and Kaori yelling the minute the elevator dropped us off. :P'
"You guys are so loud, Momoe-chan and her sisters could hear you guys from the elevator!" Jun hissed at her brother and cousin, who had stopped playing their game to wrestle on the couch.
"You may beat him in games, but you'll never beat Daisuke in real life!" V-mon rallied beside his partner, "Get her in a full nelson!" Daisuke grinned wickedly as he held Kaori from behind, laughing at the girl's hapless flailing.
"Kaori-chan is only letting Daisuke win because she'd kill him with her full power!" Labramon countered before tackling V-mon herself.
"Hyokomon, I am so glad you and I are above this insanity," Jun grumbled, only to smack her forehead when Hyokomon raced to the action, bouncing onto the living room coffee table.
"Kaori-san, your footing is off, plant yourself to throw Daisuke-san!" He coached, sword waving in the air like a directional baton. Groaning, Jun marched over to where Hyokomon was shouting orders.
"What happened to your cool, unaffected, samurai demeanor?!" She snatched Hyokomon into her arms, "You're the worst."
"But my counseling proves effective and deadly!" Hyokomon pointed at Daisuke, who was now pinned down by Kaori, her knees digging into his thighs, "Jun-san, you too could do with some physical combat training!" Jun was almost tempted to throw her boisterous little chicken into the door by his eggshell for the insult when it opened instead.
All three Inoue sisters stared into Kaori's apartment, their faces an identical bespectacled expression of confusing.
"Select your fighter!" The TV, still on but completely forgotten, blared.
"So..." Miyako glanced into the living room, "I'm guessing you guys aren't ready for school yet?"
"Uhh..,just give us a minute!" Kaori leapt off the couch, shoving her palm into Daisuke's face on the way, and raced into her room.
"You mean give you a minute, everyone else is dressed!" Daisuke shouted back, rubbing his forehead grumpily. Kaori's door opened and a shoe flew out, clearly meant to hit Daisuke, but it sailed into the hallway, half a room's length away from its intended target. Jun snickered a little. It was a shame gaming skill didn't often translate into physical prowess. 'Maybe Kaori should take up physical training with Hyokomon,' She bemused.
"Kaori-chan, if you make me late for class, I'm not giving you a discount at Ai-Mart!" Chizuru tapped her foot impatiently. "I really mean it!" The blonde stomped over to where Kaori's misaimed shoe had landed and chucked it back into Kaori's room.
Unlike the shoe's owner,
"OW!"
Chizuru had much better aim, "Chizuru-chan, I thought we were friends!" Kaori cried out, bursting into the hallway with her crinkled uniform on moments later, one projectile footwear held between her teeth by a single shoelace, its partner still struggling to be worn properly. Jun sighed to herself again; was she really the only person in her family that could do things in a timely, (slightly) organized fashion?
"You are a hapless child." Chizuru concluded wearily, grabbing Jun's disheveled cousin by the collar and dragging her out the front door.
"Wait! I haven't even gotten the other shoe on! Chizuru-chan, come on! My socks will get dirty! Let go!" Kaori whined, falling over herself, "Labramon, avenge me!" were her last words before being yanked from Jun's sight.
"That's funny," Labramon plopped onto the couch where her partner had sat only minutes earlier, "Kaori-chan's socks are already dirty."
"Aaaaand now it's time to go!" Jun suddenly didn't want to spend a moment in her uncle's apartment any longer. What else in there had gone without cleaning for who knows how long?
"How was school?" Shuu swiveled in Kaori's computer chair, feeling slightly powerful as he did so...only for the feeling to dissipate instantly when it swung past Jun and towards the wall to her right.
"Well, I don't think the wall knows it was at school," Jun remarked lightly, leaning down to kiss the top of Shuu's head. That definitely helped the minor bruising to his ego. It was probably for the best that he was facing the wall anyway, because now he wouldn't have to see Kaori make gagging noises. Only hear them, "Just because you're bitter and alone doesn't mean you can be a jerk about my happiness," Jun snarked in their romantic defense. Though it wasn't Shuu's first relationship, it was nice having a girlfriend who was okay with getting angry for his sake. The older he became, it seemed that more and more women learned to be content with their unhappiness.
"I'm not bitter, I just need that chair uncontaminated to live," Kaori came into view with her retort as Shuu turned the chair to face everyone. Momoe and Chizuru looked a little frustrated. Chizuru definitely more so, but from what Shuu had come to know of the girl in the last four days was that she was horribly impatient. Aiko just seemed nonplussed by the entire debacle. He kept glancing back and forth between Jun and Kaori to Dorumon, as if asking for a way to stop the arguing. Dorumon only shrugged.
"I thought we were here to head into the Digital World?" Chizuru interjected loudly over Jun and Kaori, both of whom startled out of their squabbling, looking sheepish, "Thank you. My god. You two are over the top sometimes."
"Only on Fridays," Jun held her hand in a peace sign, tongue stuck out playfully, "But you know what's over the top? The fact that we're the ones going into the Digital World every day for a week now. Shouldn't Daisuke and the others be going? They have more free time, right?" She did have a point. Shuu had a paper to write after they got back, one he'd been putting off since meeting Fanbeemon. Not that she ever let him forget that he was procrastinating...the persistent little bug that she was.
"I bet the others are just trying to take advantage of the new meat!" Fanbeemon accused lightly, "They get a vacation while we do the grunt work!"
"You know that's not true," Momoe held her hands up to pacify Fanbeemon, "Miyako just joined the computer club at school, so she's out every day. Iori-san has kendo practice on Fridays. And Daisuke-san, Takeshi-san, and Yagami-san are all doing other things in the Digital World at the moment, where they're needed. We are all going where we're needed." She leant down to the computer where Shuu was sitting (he rolled back to give her room and thought of how a computer chair of his own would make a great investment at home for rather childish reasons) and began typing up on it, "That's why Miyako showed me how to open a gate at any computer, that way we won't have to wait to help."
The computer screen lit up, the Digital Gate opening in front of it. "So do we know what we're going in for?" Hyokomon asked, flapping up on the table.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Kaori saluted goofily, "Neutralize enemy factions, sir!"
"In terms we all can understand?" Chizuru requested irritably.
"More Digimon factions are spreading. According to a Izumi-san, some of the more aggressive Digimon seem to be under some sort of control. We need to know what's causing it, right?" Aiko summed up the situation, "He also mentioned something about gears and rings, though I'm not sure what those are."
"They were some kind of brainwashing device, Jyou explained it to me last night," Shuu answered, "Though I can't help but imagine that if these Digimon are being controlled by a device again, wouldn't you think whomever was behind this would find other methods? It hasn't worked this way yet." Maybe this was why children were always sent in to fix the problem, because the problem never really escalated, Shuu thought.
"...So we know what we're looking for. Let's get going," Bearmon started doing jumping jacks, "I'm ready to get big and tough and angry!"
"Or not!" Aiko yelped suddenly, "We don't need to get angry at all!"
"Party pooper." Bearmon grumbled, slumping against Momoe. Momoe only smiled gently in response, ruffling Bearmon's head. She held her Digivice to the computer screen.
"Let's get going for this big baby's sake. Digital Gate, open!" Momoe and Bearmon flashed into the computer, just as Bearmon shouted out an indignant 'Hey!' before they were completely on the other side, reappearing on the screen, "Well, let's not keep Chizuru waiting," Momoe's playful teasing could be heard through the screen.
"Arrgh, Nee-san, that's not nice!" Chizuru snapped back, snatching Dracomon under her arm and passing through the gate as well. Shuu could hear Momoe's chortles of laughter while he and the others followed suit.
They had all ported to another forested area of the Digital World, that unlike the last, was filled with the noises of society. 'That's a relief,' He thought, 'Maybe there are some Digimon who can help us out instead of attacking on sight.' Really, why did every Digimon they had run into here seem to want to fight? Was it a common structure in Digimon society to fight for control and dominance?
...That was no different from humans, actually.
"Hey, there's a small village down this way!" Labramon pawed at a dirt path that led through the forest, "I can smell food!" Labramon stuck her nose to the ground and started sniffing out the way, motioning for everyone else to follow. They followed the path until it reached just outside the village...
"It's a lot smaller than I expected." Chizuru stared at the tiny huts that only reached her waist, chin drooping into her palm. Shuu walked up to one of the huts, kneeling at the entrance.
"Hello?"
There was only quiet, then quiet rumbling as a stampede of little Digimon rushed out of not only that hut, but all of them. The horde right in front of Shuu ran out so quickly, they knocked him onto his butt.
"Ow." Shuu was beginning to wonder if the universe enjoyed watching him get hurt.
"Oh wow! There are so many of you!" Momoe knelt down in front of the young Digimon, little pink, yellow, and blue ones, that were crowding at her feet. "What are your names?"
"They aren't at a speaking stage, yet." A bigger, rabbit-like Digimon came out from another hut in the center of the tiny village, "They're only babies."
"...babies?" Fanbeemon asked, "You don't mean..."
"Yes, I do. We are the refugees from Primary Village. I am Elecmon." The rabbit Digimon stood on its hind quarters in front of everyone. "And you are Chosen Children? You look...tall for humans."
"We're not exactly 'children' anymore," Jun scratched her cheek, embarrassed. A loud 'whoop!' from Kaori (who was tossing one of the baby Digimon in the air) to her right caused an amendment, "most of us, anyway"
"I see. So are you the reinforcements Tentomon sent?" Elecmon continued, "We're all that's left of Primary Village, but these mindless Digimon continue to come after us. A few of your friends have been here to help, like Agumon and Tentomon, but they are only useful to us when their humans are here too."
"Wait, wait. Did you say mindless?" Aiko cut into the conversation, "The last two times we had to fight, both Digimon seemed pretty aware of what they were doing."
"Yeah, they kept mentioning their 'Master' to us, and how there was no beating them!" Dorumon added.
"Not every Digimon is a willful follower of the Master. About a month ago, a few Digimon began following a holy Digimon into the Digital Underworld. They returned, with orders. Submit or be destroyed. Of course, we had just seen the end of the Digimon Kaiser and we unwilling to bow down. The rebellion didn't last long, and many of us have been deleted since.
I, of course, remained in Primary Village, to tend to those who would be reborn. But you can't identify a Digimon from its egg, so I had no idea which eggs were our allies, and which were our opponents. None of those eggs held our allies. It became smarter to submit after that and many did, choosing the Master to prevent permanent deletion.
The rebellion continued to fight, but our numbers only dwindled next to the Master's army. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I called your friends, the other Chosen Children and had them destroy Primary Village and every Digiegg in it." Elecmon had to force himself to stop there, clearly overcome with emotion, "The remaining baby Digimon and I have been taking shelter here, ever since. We've needed protectorates, and the Chosen Children have been working in shifts to do so."
"I'm really getting tired of coming here with only half the picture, aren't you?" Chizuru sighed, heaving her head backwards, "If everyone knew all what was going on, why didn't they tell us?"
"Does it matter?" Elecmon countered, "They sent you because we needed you here. Primary Village has been destroyed. Whatever comes after us, if they succeed in wiping us out, we're not coming back. There is no Primary Village for anyone to come back from, not anymore."
"But that's a relief, isn't it? If we can take the corrupted ones out, the problem is solved. They can't come back now, either," Shuu snapped his fingers, but Fanbeemon smacked him upside the head.
"That's insensitive," She chided, "These Digimon, they may have switched sides for protection. We've seen Digimon arguing about it before. We may be killing innocent Digimon. Forever." That sent a chill down Shuu's spine. His whole life life, he'd been taught that every life was invaluable. His father had become a doctor to preserve that very sentiment. His brother, while doing what their father wished, had also become a doctor because he, too, believed that to his core.
"But the corrupted Digimon...isn't there a way to...undo what's going on with them?" Aiko voiced what Shuu could not. Here was Aiko, some kid Shuu barely knew, and even he wanted to preserve the lives of these Digimon, a lesson Shuu could not seem to understand.
"I'd like to see you try," Elecmon snorted, "It's us or them."
It was the first time Shuu had seen such a glint in Aiko's normally averted eyes.
"Don't touch Dorumon! Take me! Take me!"
Huh? What was that? Shuu looked around. 'Who's voice was that?!' But he couldn't match the voice to a face, not even in his memories. Besides, Dorumon was fine, the fox Digimon had been rolling around the baby Digimon since they had arrived. 'Was that...Aiko?' Shuu wondered, but the voice was that of a little boy and Aiko, clearly, was far from little.
"Shuu? Is something wrong? You look...a little crazy there," A hand on his shoulder pulled Shuu from his confusion. Jun. Everyone else was staring at him with the same worried expression, "You started looking around for something for a good minute there."
"Huh? I'm fine..." That wasn't a lie, was it? Shuu was fine...now, anyway. Jun opened her mouth to push the subject when the ground started rumbling.
"Something is approaching!" Hyokomon unsheathed his sword, standing in front of Jun in a defensive stance, "Hold your ground!"
"Shuu, look out!" Kaori shouted and Shuu turned his head to see-
"Shuu-san!" Aiko screamed, as a rock plummeted into Shuu's side, throwing him into an empty hut. Immediately, Kaori and Labramon were upon him, healing energy flowing from Labramon's maw. The shaking intensified as a small, stony Digimon broke through the clearing. It's eyes were smoking black.
"It's a Gotsumon. But...how is child Digimon causing an earthquake?!" Fanbeemon cried out, still buzzing about Shuu, who was slowly stirring.
"Watch out, that's a corrupted Digimon!" Elecmon began backing up, trying to shield as many baby Digimon as he could behind him, "All of the corrupted Digimon seen have had some kind of augmentation to their abilities! Be careful!" The Gotsumon shambled towards Elecmon, eyes fixated on the baby Digimon behind him. Each step taken caused the ground to shake beneath them.
"We should get all the baby Digimon out of here!" Momoe and Bearmon leaped into action, wasting no time in scooping as many babies as they could into their arms before running off.
"Follow me!" Jun called, running to a clearing, the others following suit. Kaori already had Shuu supported on one shoulder, Chizuru making way to grab his other side as they moved him out of danger.
'Every time we come here, someone gets hurt. Why do we have to fight like this?' Aiko grit his teeth, 'I don't want to hurt anyone..'
"Aiko, this isn't the time to stand and think!" Dorumon forced his head into Aiko's knees, "We have to go!" Gotsumon didn't seem aware of Aiko and Dorumon, his only goal seemed to be the baby Digimon and their ward, easily staggering past the pair.
"He doesn't want us," Aiko murmured.
"What was that?" Dorumon asked.
"He doesn't want us. We might be able to stop him because he isn't focusing on stopping us." Aiko explained. "We might be able to slow him down and buy the others time to hide." Dorumon looked up, meeting Aiko's eyes. He nodded.
Simultaneously, the two grabbed at both of Gotsumon's arms, pulling back as much as they could. "Come on, this has to slow him down a little," Dorumon grumbled, flapping his tiny wings to try and create a little drag. The rock Digimon was undeterred, still making the same unsteady strides towards the others. It was as if Aiko and Dorumon weren't even there, holding Gotsumon back.
"Just keep pulling, we might get his attention on us if we don't stop," Aiko responded, "Gotsumon, can you hear me? You don't have to do this! Snap out of it!" Some part of Aiko knew this wouldn't help. There was something in Gotsumon's pitch black stare that said something vital in him was missing. The part of Gotsumon that made him who he was was long gone.
But if the only other alternative was to destroy an innocent Digimon...no. There was no reason to hurt someone who didn't deserve it. There was never a good excuse to hurt another person. Period.
"Please, Gotsumon, stop!" With Aiko's last plea, Gotsumon stopped in his tracks.
When Aiko would recall the story, years later, he'd mention that disasters often disguised themselves as miracles. "Oh thank God. Gotsumon, can you hear me?" Aiko moved to face Gotsumon, crouching down to his level. The solid black in Gotsumon's eyes faded, leaving clear yellow eyes that stared up at Aiko solemnly.
"You should have run with the others." He croaked before his now free hand lifted up and cracked into Aiko's cheekbone. The action sent him falling backwards, until Aiko was crab scrambling on all fours backwards, away. Gotsumon inched closer, until Aiko found himself backed up against a tree.
"Aiko!" Dorumon leapt out, only to be swatted away.
"Dorumon, no!" Aiko lifted an arm out, only to find the other side of his face had also been struck. Gotsumon was upon him immediately, grabbing the crown of Aiko's hair, yanking him up face to face. Though one of his eyes had started swelling from the blow, Aiko could still see that Gotsumon's had turned black again.
"I don't want to do this. You're making me do this." He spat with a tone that wasn't his own, "Isn't that right, Aiko? You're only doing this to yourself."
"W-what?" Aiko stammered, suddenly feeling the need to vomit and it wasn't related to the throbbing in his face. Was his cheekbone broken? It hurt to talk.
"You do this to yourself. If you weren't such a fuckup, this wouldn't have to happen. You see," There was another crack to Aiko's face. If his cheekbone wasn't broken before, it definitely was now, "If you hadn't tried to stop me, you'd never be stuck here. Stupid fucking twat," Gotsumon sneered, yanking the crown of Aiko's head down, forcing him into the dirt, into the bruised side of his face. Though every part of Aiko tried to resist, he couldn't help but let out a pained scream. Hot shame bubbled into him that couldn't be suppressed, much like the tears that he found were a natural reaction to pain.
'No, stop crying! You're not a weakling, and only weaklings cry!' His mind roared at him, but the pain of his broken face proved to be too much and Aiko continued screaming into the ground. Where were the others? They must have heard Aiko screaming by now...
"Aiko! I've got you!" Dorumon tackled Gotsumon into the ground, distracting the rock Digimon enough that he released Aiko, who could only curl up in fetal position. On the ground, he could still see Dorumon above him protectively, teeth bared at Gotsumon. "Stop hurting Aiko!" He demanded.
"D-Dorun-mon," Aiko croaked, the pain in his face keeping him from saying much else, "run..." Dorumon looked down at Aiko aghast.
"Don't be silly, Aiko. I've got you," Dorumon replied simply and was overtaken by a bright light before Aiko finally passed out from the pain.
"Dorumon, evolve, Dorugamon!"
"Where's Aiko and Dorumon?" Momoe shouted amidst the earthquakes, frantically looking around but failing to see Aiko and his partner.
"I thought they were right behind us!" Chizuru yelled back, when a bright light shining in the direction they had come from, "Over there!" Like fire, Chizuru turned heel and raced back to where Aiko and Dorumon must have been, "Let's go, Dracomon!"
"Coming!"
Chizuru couldn't believe Aiko had done something so stupid as stay behind. She saw the look on his face when Elecmon said that corrupted Digimon couldn't be saved. What an idiot, trying to fix everything?! Chizuru was ready to give Aiko a piece of her mind when she returned to the clearing and saw what looked like a huge version of Dorumon standing over Aiko, who was unconscious. Blood was seeping out of a cut under his eye. But just as alarming as Aiko and his injuries was the Gotsumon between the large Digimon's teeth and its sudden explosion into bits of data with a final chomp.
"He needs Labramon!" The big Dorumon exclaimed, prompting Dracomon to turn right back around to fetch Kaori and Labramon. Chizuru went in the opposite direction, running towards Aiko and the big Dorumon, who turned into that same light Chizuru had seen earlier and shrank back into the Dorumon she recognized.
"What the hell happened?" Chizuru asked, kneeling down to roll Aiko onto his back carefully, "He looks like shit, to be honest." There was massive swelling around Aiko's left eye.
"Gotsumon hit him in the face. A lot," Dorumon looked a little ashamed of himself, "I couldn't stop it, I tried and I couldn't stop it until..."
"Until you evolved?" Chizuru completed Dorumon's sentence for him.
"I tried to evolve sooner, I really did! But...Aiko was holding me back," Dorumon explained forcefully, "I wanted to stop Gotsumon from hurting him, but Aiko...he...he didn't let me! I couldn't evolve until he passed out!"
"He didn't let you?" Chizuru asked, confused. Dorumon was about to answer when the others rushed in.
"Oh my god..." Momoe clapped a hand to her mouth at the sight of Aiko's face and turned a little pale. It wasn't that bad, was it? Chizuru wondered if her older sister really had that delicate of a stomach. Shuu definitely didn't, the sight of blood already had him turning away and covering his eyes.
"Come on, don't just stand there! We have to fix his face, you guys," Kaori stepped forward with Labramon in tow, "Well, Labramon, do your thing."
"Cure Liquor!" Healing energy began to pour from Labramon into Aiko and like a reversal of time, the damage done was slowly reversing itself. With a gasp, Aiko shot up looking like a deer caught in the headlights.
"What's going on?! Where's Gotsumon?!" He asked frantically, looking around. Upon seeing no one but his companions, Aiko suddenly withdrew, knees and head to his chest. Dorumon rushed over, hiding his own head against Aiko's side.
"You're welcome, ingrate," Kaori retorted sharply, "God, no one ever appreciates the medic until the medic doesn't come, huh Labramon?"
"Kaori, you're so insensitive! Can't you see something is bothering him?" Jun snapped back, "Let's give him some air and let's get the hell out of here. Next time we head out on one of these fucking missions, I'm going to demand that nerd tell us the whole story," With that, Jun went over to ease Aiko up from one side, motioning to Chizuru to get the other, "Come on, Aiko. We're going home and you're going to get some rest."
Something about Aiko's reaction to his injuries felt peculiar to Chizuru. When she and Jun went to lift him, Aiko flinched. Even though Chizuru made sure to rub Aiko's back in a comforting manner (not that she was ever good with being...comforting), Aiko seemed to pull away from the touch as much as possible. Not only that, but he had gone completely nonverbal, just nodding his head and avoiding eye contact with everyone except Dorumon. But Dorumon had gone silent as well, save for the purring sound he was making that sounded like it was supposed to be soothing. It looked like Chizuru wasn't going to get her answers about Aiko holding Dorumon back.
How could a human even keep a Digimon from evolving in the first place?
It was hard not to pace back and forth after a day like that and Chizuru couldn't help herself from pacing whenever she was thinking. Aiko had kept Dorumon from evolving. Had he given a command not to evolve? No. Though Chizuru had known Aiko for all of four days, it didn't seem like something he'd do. Nitpick about the neatness of a person's uniform, sure, but actually command someone? Not likely.
Besides, after leaving Kaori's, Aiko just shuffled off on his own, Dorumon in his arms, without saying a word. What was up with that guy? He didn't even want anyone to walk him home, just to make sure he got there in one piece. Chizuru had to hold Momoe back from following him, even if it went against her better judgement not to. Everyone wanted to make sure Aiko made it home safely, but it was clear he wanted to be by himself. Though, Chizuru had to remind herself, Aiko wasn't really alone.
Dracomon settled on her bed was a reminder that none of them were really alone anymore. Speaking of Digimon...
"Okay, so you're a Digimon," Chizuru plopped down onto the bed next to Dracomon, "Obviously," She added quickly when Dracomon gave her an almost affronted look.
"Dracomon is a Digimon, yes. Dracomon has '-mon' at the end of her name," She answered slowly, not understanding what Chizuru was getiting at.
"And we've seen baby Digimon, so you've evolved before, right?"
"Yes, though Dracomon doesn't understand where Chizuru is going with these questions..."
"Dracomon...if I told you not to evolve, even when I needed you to, would you?" The question gave Chizuru's partner pause. It took a few moments before Dracomon even opened her mouth again.
"It's never happened before, so Dracomon can't really answer that. If Chizuru was ever in danger, Dracomon would do anything to keep Chizuru safe. And Chizuru has energy to spare, so Dracomon could easily keep Chizuru safe." She explained cautiously, "Why is Chizuru asking now?"
"It's something Dorumon told me. He said that Aiko was...holding him back from evolving? I just don't understand. I mean, With Jun and Nee-san, evolution happened easily. But Aiko was so beat up...Dorumon said he was only able to evolve after Aiko had passed out. Do you know anything about that?" If it seemed to be a human-to-Digimon kind of problem, then maybe Dracomon knew more than she was letting on?
"Izumi-san explained before, but Digimon with human partners share energy, and that energy is used to evolve...if Dorumon wanted to evolve, it would have to be with Aiko's permission, whether Aiko knew it or not. So if Dorumon couldn't evolve, it was because Aiko, or maybe part of him, didn't want Dorumon to. But why wouldn't Aiko want to be protected?" Dracomon asked helplessly, "Chizuru wants to be protected from danger, Dracomon can feel it in Chizuru's energy. Aiko is a strange human..." Strange human, indeed. Chizuru pulled Dracomon into her arms, taking care as she did so. To Chizuru, it felt more like she had to keep Dracomon safe than the other way around. But then again, Dracomon probably felt the same way. She'd just said as much earlier.
"So...Aiko wanted to get his face smashed?" Chizuru asked with a small amount of humor. Not that it was funny, but the idea was so outlandish.
"Or...the energy Aiko was giving disconnected," Dracomon replied simply, "Aiko...Aiko is different. Not like Chizuru or Momoe, or everyone else. Aiko hides himself. Even Dracomon can see that,"
"Well I couldn't," Chizuru pouted. It wasn't as if she was looking very hard, though.
"Humans don't see everything Digimon do because Humans think too much. Chizuru thinks too much, she does. Almost left a trench in the floor." Dracomon pointed to the carpet, which had flattened slightly from where Chizuru had been pacing. "Dracomon thinks Chizuru needs to relax!"
"Hehe, maybe you're right!" The suggestion moved Chizuru to lift Dracomon up and swing her around gently, "Maybe Chizuru just needs a partner like you to bounce ideas off of, huh, Dracomon?"
"Is Chizuru making fun of how Dracomon talks?!" Dracomon squirmed helplessly against Chizuru's cuddles, "Dracomon talks like Dracomon! Chizuru should talk like Chizuru!"
"You know it's because I adore you, right, Dracomon?" Chizuru teased back, nuzzling her head between Dracomon's horns.
Iori came home late after kendo practice, entering his apartment with a loud, "I'm home!" With the exception of Chikara saying the same thing behind him, there was no response.
"Why are all the lights off?" Upamon asked, bouncing out of Iori's kendo helmet, "Is your mom out? What about Aiko?"
"He might have decided he liked sleeping on a park bench better today," Iori muttered irritably, "I don't get why he's here with us right now. Aiko obviously doesn't want to be here."
"Iori," Chikara replied sternly, "Your mother and I have explained that Nomura-kun came from a place much different from here. He needs time to adjust. He's your brother whether you like it or not and you need to treat him accordingly." Iori knew his grandfather was right, but it still didn't make much sense for Aiko to suddenly be staying with them. They couldn't be Aiko's only family in Japan. And what about in America? Surely, Aiko's father had family there that could have taken him in. So why did Aiko have to come back to Japan?
"I know you're right, Jii-san. But it's not easy! When Aiko talks to Mother, it's clear he's hurting her. Why would he do that? Why would anyone want to hurt their own family?" Iori demanded. Something that looked like regret crossed Chikara's face.
"There are a lot of things family do that we don't understand. But I promise, if you're understanding to Nomura-kun, he will open up to you. You are brothers, after all," And with that, Chikara nudged Iori in the direction of the bathroom, "Now take a bath. You're stinky."
"He's right, you know," Upamon chimed in, "This kendo helmet is impossible to breathe in!"
Iori couldn't help but laugh as he made his way to the bathroom, stopping when he heard voices from the door across the way; Aiko's room.
"Mom...why did you leave me with him? You knew what he was like and you left me with him? Why?" It was Aiko's voice. Iori took a step back, realizing he was listening in on something private. But another part of him insisted he stay. Something had happened that caused Aiko to break down. His voice...he was crying.
"It wasn't my decision. Your...your father was the one working when we divorced so he was the one who gained custody. I'm so sorry, Aiko. I did everything I could to keep you with me." From the sounds of it, Fumiko was crying, too.
"I just...I don't understand why he was that way...am I really so horrible? I know that the therapists and the CPS told me it wasn't my fault, but if I were better, he would have been better. I keep thinking about it, Mom, but I can't understand how it isn't my fault! I keep saying it, but it doesn't change how I really feel. It was my fault he hit me and it was my fault he got caught, and it's my fault I'm here, taking up space and bothering you in your own house!"
Aiko's father...was he abusive? Guilt crept up in Iori, this really wasn't something he should be listening to. This was what Chikara meant when Aiko would finally open up to Iori about why he was so difficult. This wasn't something Iori earned and he knew that Aiko would be horrified to learn that Iori had heard this. Taking a small step towards the bathroom, Iori tried to shut his ears, but something still made its way out the door.
"Why didn't I fight back?"
"You're still the same Ai-chan, aren't you? Even as a little boy, you've never once thought about hurting people who hurt you."
It was the proverbial nail in the coffin. Aiko's father had been abusive. And even though Aiko was now seventeen, he'd never once fought back. Iori couldn't help but feel guiltier. All this time, Aiko had been recovering from trauma and Iori probably hadn't been helping. No wonder he didn't want anyone to know they were related, much less brothers. It meant digging open wounds that Aiko hadn't even begun to heal.
"Upamon...we have to keep what we just heard between us," Iori whispered as he entered the bathroom. "I'm going to make sure I earn his trust."
I really hope I get better with writing frequently. Actually, I've been writing later story stuff instead of following the story. Introductory arcs are difficult. I feel like I'm giving too much away, though I could probably...not do that if I really wanted to.
Anyway, how you like my cop-out for a fight scene? Aiko passing out and not seeing any of the action? Well, read, review, and hopefully stick around? Sorry for the infrequent update!