Warning for lots of family feels.
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Where Do We Go From Here?
"This is her, huh?"
Okay, for the record, I know I'm supposed to be hunting down missing Tamers until I drop but I'm apparently one of the only Tamers on standby in the area so I needed to stay at home in case fuck-me-light dropped in again. Comforting. Good to know I was so damn competent they needed me to sleep. Well, at least i got to spend lots of time with my uncle.
I leaned over Uncle Shinta's arm, which was just over my head. How was it that in my family that I had none of the height? Even Yuki was going to have a growth spurt, I bet you.
"It seems as though we made a mistake with you. The piper did have to be paid for progress, I suppose."
"Yep, that's the chief." I smiled the memories away, something I think I've only ever done with one person that isn't family. "You've seen her before. You helped with CITY regulating and stuff with Mom and Dad, didn't you?"
Shinta chuckled a little. "Yes, but she was so much younger when I saw her. You were an infant at the time, you and your brother both. She was barely not a teenager." He laughed again. "Of course, I wasn't much better."
I smiled tightly. Things always got awkward when we even referenced the existence of Nao Pryderi, of his lost wife. Though I guess if the person I loved was in an accident and disappeared while pregnant I wouldn't exactly enjoy bringing up the past either. "I didn't think you were that into younger women, Uncle," I joked instead, though it was probably flat. I don't know how to tell jokes.
He still smiled at me for the effort though. "I wonder… I do approve of a woman with a good head on her shoulders." Uncle took the picture from me with care, tracing Julia's hands resting on Dory's shoulders. "And I suppose she does qualify."
I did not even want to think about that. "I guess." I fiddled with my Digivice and that was when it vibrated off of my fingers. Raigo's face popped on screen as it landed on the bed.
"Sayo, are you-oh." He stopped and scratched his head. "Sorry, interrupting." He looked like he was about to end the call until my uncle smiled and waved at him.
"It has been a while. How are your siblings?"
Raigo relaxed, if minutely, and I pouted up at the older man. How come he knew Raigo had younger siblings and I didn't? Not cool! "They're doing all right, my brother is training for his entry exams again, but well..."
"Those are unfortunately the breaks," Shinta agreed. He shifted and I idly scratched his knee. He snorted at me. "To be a Tamer of any sort is not an easy job. It's a miracle all of you were accelerated so early."
"More like divine interference," Raigo muttered. "But you didn't hear that from me." He straightened. "Anyway, Sayo, when you've got a free minute, the others are back from their searches. I'm sure it's a whole lot of horse crap, but if you can get any clues from them at all and send it to me, I would appreciate it."
I blinked dumbly but nodded. "Yeah, sure."
He cut the connection after a couple more minutes of small talk and Uncle Shinta grinned at me. "And you're not even a gold tamer yet," he teased.
I huffed, blushing lightly. "I'm just tough, that's all."
"Yes, yes, you are the toughest cinnamon roll ever made," he said, mussing up my hair. "You break teeth with a single bite."
"And don't you forget it." I crossed my arms. Then I uncrossed them and called Dorothy. "Hey, Dory," I said as soon as her tired, grinning face appeared on screen. "You got the others with you?"
"Yep! Newton needs a shower!"
Newton's screaming of irritation went briefly ignored as I winced. Did not want to think about that. "Well, you guys go take a shower and then come over to my place. I have to get a report or something from you guys apparently. And well..."
"Yeah the mood down here is piss awful," Newton's muffled voice went through Dorothy's head. "You sure your house is clean enough?"
I raised an eyebrow. "I keep my house clean, unlike you. There are kids in here."
"Hiiiiiii," came Roni's voice from the kitchen. I shouldn't be surprised. Where else would he be?
"Also, I would have had her cleaning right now," Shinta offered. The group clustered around Dorothy's screen waved at my uncle. He waved back. I swear to god, my family knows everyone.
"Anyway." I scowled at them. "Clean up and get over here okay? We gotta figure out what to do next so Raigo can crash really hard."
There were murmurs of assent and the call dropped. So did my shoulders.
By the time they had arrived, I had managed to wrangle Roni out of the food cabinets, with the help of Danger Fluff, my uncle's partner, and his very useful tail. Of course, now Roni was stuck to the bathroom ceiling but we can't have everything.
Dorothy and Kakumi sat on my bed like they belonged. Newton was stealing my Uncle's cookies. Judging by the way Danger's claws gleamed in the light, I got the feeling he was next. Oh well.
I sat in my computer chair. I don't think I looked that imperious. Everyone was quiet anyway. Even Spike, and I know he could kick my ass twenty ways to Sunday. "So… nada?"
"Not a lick," Sukekiyo agreed with a sigh. "I'll give the chief credit: she sure knows how not to be found. You'd think with Duke around, we'd have just followed the craters and scorch marks."
We kids paused to shake our heads but Shinta frowned. "How childish of him."
"Pretty much," Spike agreed with a wry grin. "It's why he's one of our commanders."
Uncle was still frowning but I sighed. "And she wasn't at Thriller… and Ponch and the others are gone." I paused, tapping my foot. "Are there any areas we haven't checked or anything?"
"Limit Valley," Newton supplied. "Though that place shouldn't even exist apparently so no idea there. Most of our Digivices block it now, fir safety reasons. Transfield, but we haven't been able to get to Transfield for like: years now..."
My head hurt at the name. Uncle's face twisted. I love how no one told him to leave the room.
"Proxy Island," Kakumi added. "But we need to be at least Gold Rank to be allowed there, ever since that one time we sent rookies in and the water drove them all crazy." And drove them all dead. I was pretty sure one of Helen's kids had been there. Poor woman.
"Magnet Mine and that volcano place too," I counted off. I looked at Luna. Magnet Mine was where I had been dragged to the hospital from. Luna stared owlishly back at me. "Okay so we have some places but we can't go to them and why would she go there or how would the others go to them anyway?"
"She's been pretty out of it," Dorothy offered. "She's been sleeping more but still tired and everything. Maybe she just took a vacation and forgot to leave the email..." Her voice dropped. Not even she could believe that one.
I watched her. Her skirt was frayed and ripped. She hadn't even bothered to change before she had showed up here. I felt my uncle staring at her and gave him a gentle elbow to the ribs. He didn't really like Dorothy much. Our relationship had been… messy to say the least, so I guess I couldn't blame him. Still, she was my friend even now. I had to do something.
"Sayo?" Spike's thoughtful, respectful voice directed at me, making me blink. I never thought I would be in this position ever in life. "What about Koh? You have his number now, right?"
The air in the room went thick.
"Those guys tried to kill us, Spike," Sukekiyo pointed out when he got words back. "He kicked her around last I heard. We can't call them. For all we know they'll come into Darkmoon and bang. That'll be it. They're just like us, after all. We would do it."
Spike looked at him and Sukekiyo didn't quail, not even for the experience and confidence that had just always radiated from Spike.
I saw Sukekiyo's point, though, we all did. They had attacked all of the available agents, calling us the horrible things we all heard from propaganda down below, that they had heard. And we were supposed to be the same, in the same boat, doing the same things. We were only split by affinity to corral us and teach us without overwhelming the teachers. There wasn't supposed to be this divide to begin with.
Uncle's hand stilled in my hair as I said, very quietly. "He apologized." At everyone's eyes, I cleared my throat. "Koh apologized, I mean. And he gave me basic intel on Sunshine. It's bad there and he knows it. And…" I swallowed. "He said Yuki's there."
"How do you know he's not lying?" Sukekiyo challenged.
I stared at him. "I don't care if he's lying. I'll find out, I'll smell it. And even if he is, this is my best shot." Shinta's hands went tense around the comb in my hair and I tried to smile. "Besides, this is my house so I'm pretty sure that if he tries anything my kids will smell it and eat him."
"Not if I don't do it first," Shinta muttered. I pretended that wasn't embarrassing and focused on sending the message.
It took barely two minutes before he replied. 'Yeah, sure, I can find a way in.'
I typed back an assent and nodded at them. "He's on his way."
"Wonderful," Newton grumbled. "Guy got me right in the groin in the jungle."
"You don't really need it for that much," Dorothy informed him.
I muffled a snort. Shinta gently tugged my ear.
There was a slow patter of footsteps and Phascomon chirped overhead. "Sayo, Koh is requesting to come in."
My kids shifted on their feet. I guess they had assumed I wasn't serious. Assume nothing.
Koh appeared to a lot of people staring at him. He managed a nervous smile. "Hello. Thanks for calling."
