Home Again

Part Two: Questions

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingies: First of all, Digimon, all related characters and whatnot aren't mine and I'm getting no money for the creation of this story – which IS mine. Secondly, this story contains as a major plot point some non-traditional relationships that some readers may not be comfortable with – specifically with same-sex relationships. Finally, I warn you that this story is very strange.

***

Mimi sighed as she hefted the duffel bag over her shoulder. "Good thing I didn't unpack," she grumbled. Still sleepy, and in a rotten mood over being rushed out of bed that morning, she slouched in the back seat of the van, yawning.

Miyako nodded, but was more concerned with keeping her laptop safe. Aside from a few photographs of her family, that was the most important thing she owned. She'd stuffed that, the photos, and the clothes she had into a pillowcase and thus was packed. She was slightly envious but mostly astonished at the notion that one could have enough things to fill an entire duffel bag with.

Taichi, his own sack filled with his items, was grilling the younger boys about what had happened that morning. "Are you sure they didn't say anything about where we're going?"

"Positive," Daisuke replied for about the millionth time. "All he said was we had a half-hour to pack and we were moving. The house is being demolished."

Miyako sighed as she peered out the window. "It's a shame, really," she noted. "It was a nice building. And I've been there for so long."

"It was too small," Takeru grumbled, settling himself into the seat beside Daisuke. "I had to share a room with Daisuke."

"Hey!" Daisuke was quite annoyed with that comment, but noted the mischievous glint in his roommate's eyes and stuck his tongue out. "You're not much fun either, mister set-the-alarm-for-seven-am!" he countered.

Takeru grinned and Miyako rolled her eyes as the two started their twenty seven thousandth fight over the past month. She couldn't count high enough to number how many in the whole time she'd known them, but it was a lot. Usually it was good natured, like now, but occasionally they could result in violent scuffles that would go on for ages. Taichi would refuse to pull them apart unless there was risk of serious injury, and she and Jyou were powerless to stop them. Often they would continue until some form of authority – either their house mother guardian or some random officer – would break them up.

"We ready to go?" the tall, dark haired man in a lab coat questioned, climbing into the driver's seat.

"Almost," Taichi replied. "We're missing one more, sir." He was used to referring to the various authority figures in his life as 'sir,' because of living mainly on a military base, and this one was no exception even though he didn't appear to be wearing a military uniform.

"I'm coming!" Jyou shouted. "Don't leave without me!" He carried a large, overstuffed, and tattered gym bag with him that was mostly filled with books. Quickly, the tall, dark haired boy dashed out of the brownstone house, across the small lawn and clamored quickly in to the passenger's seat.

"I hope you don't mind," he half-apologized to the rest of the van's occupants. "But I get terribly carsick if I don't ride in the front seat. Is this going to be a long ride, sir?"

"Not very long at all," the man replied. "And don't worry about the 'sir' stuff. I'm not a military man. Just a doctor." He flashed a quick grin around the van that set most of the children at ease. "Buckle up!" he announced, putting the key in the ignition and starting the car.

"Begging your pardon sir, er, doctor, but where are we going?" Taichi interrupted. Having lived around military personnel his entire life, he had adopted quite a bit of their speech habits, at least when dealing with those in authority over him.

The doctor named another military base. "This particular base we're leaving has limited facilities for dealing with children," he explained. "The one we're going to is used to handling young people." By this time, the van had reached the gates, and they had to pause so that the doctor could hand over an authorization card to be allowed to exit.

"Where will we stay?" Miyako wondered from the back seat. "Another house?"

"No," the driver replied as he steered the car through the gate and out onto the main road. "There's a military facility there where you'll be staying that I think you might find nicer than the place you were living in."

Daisuke was skeptical. "What's the catch?" he asked. "Why didn't you send us there before if their stuff is so much better? Why keep us at that old dump?" He waved his arm, gesturing to the base they were leaving.

"Lots of reasons," the doctor answered. "Complicated military reasons. I can't really begin to understand them myself, honestly. You know how it is with government bureaucracy." He grinned a somewhat forced smile and laughed.

***

Takeru observed the small, simple, military-style cot before him. He had a bureau to himself, a closet, and, in fact, an entire room, though small. He was overjoyed. No more dealing with a roommate! Yes!

He was so excited about the prospect that he immediately dumped his sack full of possessions on the bed and dashed into the room beside him. "Isn't it great?" Daisuke cheered, busy taking in the space of his own room. "All I need is some posters or a rug or maybe a good clock and then it would be perfect."

The blond boy laughed, both at the enthusiasm and at the boy's eagerness for a 'good clock'. He knew exactly what Daisuke meant by a 'good' clock.

There was a knock at the open door, and a woman dressed in a non-military outfit peered in. "You'll need to be dressed and ready in a few minutes. The doctor needs to speak with you." Her voice was kind, but firm.

"We are dressed," Daisuke began to interrupt, but the woman shook her head.

"Not the right way," she replied. "No more ratty civilian clothes." She grinned. "Check your closets and you'll find the clothes have been provided for you."

***

After a bath, a change into clean clothes, and a thorough physical examination that left everyone feeling rather uncomfortable, the group of orphans was assembled in a small conference room. All were dressed in similar bland but clean uniforms – the boys in dark blue pants and lighter blue shirts, and the girls with dark blue skirts and similar shirts. The clothes were customized, apparently, because each had their name embroidered on the left side of the shirt.

"Are we here for a reason?" Takeru wondered, settling himself in one of the chairs. "Because this doesn't seem much like the other base we were on."

Taichi was frowning in agreement. He sat on the table. "I think so. It seems too…official. Like we're important for some reason." He pulled nervously at the collar of his shirt. "We never had personalized uniforms before."

"Never had uniforms at all," Daisuke agreed. "So what do they want us for?"

"Maybe some sort of scientific experiment?" Jyou theorized. He looked as though he was under quite a bit of stress; slumped in his chair with a worried expression.

Mimi shuddered slightly. "I don't like the sound of that," she said, half-whimpering.

"They can't do anything too horrible," Miyako assured the other girl. "They'd get in trouble with the law."

"Would they?" Jyou wondered. "This is the military, Miyako. They don't need to answer to the police or anything like that. As long as the public doesn't find out they're torturing poor innocent orphans, they can do what they want."

Before anyone could respond to his statement, the door to the room opened and the doctor who'd brought them there entered. He was still dressed in the same lab coat as before, and now carried a pile of manila folders.

"It occurred to me that I hadn't introduced myself to you yet," he said, apologizing, as he shut the door behind him. "I am Doctor Fujiyama, and I'll be working closely with you over the next few months to make sure you are all prepared for the project."

"Project?" Taichi repeated, but the doctor shook his head and waved the question aside.

"I'll explain everything as much as I can, I promise," he assured them, handing a folder to each. "In the meantime, you'll have to go through a bit of training."

"What sort of training?" Takeru wondered, taking the folder presented to him.

"Testing, training, the usual thing. To make sure you're in good physical health. A medical exam or two, to make sure you're all healthy, and of course, a bit of studying is required, but I'm sure you all can handle that, right?" He grinned slightly and sat down at the chair at the end of the table.

"We're used to studying," Jyou nodded. "But what exactly is this project about?"

"Well, that's where it gets complicated…"

***

There was nothing but sand for miles around. Sand, sand, and more sand. Not a drop of water above the surface for quite some distance. It was blinding and dry, but beautiful at times, especially at times like these.

A young man with dark hair stood on the balcony of a building as the sun set. The rays of brilliantly colored light stretched over the sand dunes, outlining the subtle changes in the landscape that would be completely changed with the next windstorm.

"Beautiful isn't it?" a voice questioned from behind him, and he turned to see a pale-skinned girl with short brown hair enter the room. She was dressed in loose, linen garments, as was needed for the weather conditions one experienced in these parts. A loose hood covered her head, keeping her safe from the harsh sun.

He was startled for a moment, not having noticed her entrance. "What?" he questioned, having not paid the least bit of attention to the scenery.

She sighed and shook her head. "You seem worried, Ken. Is something wrong?" Cautiously, she walked across the room. Though none of them knew each other as well as they thought, and though she knew Ken as well as anyone could, she was still uncertain of how he would react to any sort of human contact. Something about him was – out of the ordinary.

He sighed slightly, turning away from her to stare blankly at the sky once more. "You wouldn't understand."

"Wouldn't I?" her voice was light, almost teasing now. He turned, somewhat surprised. No one usually bothered to tease him. "Why? Is it a male concern?"

"Perhaps," he said, non-committally. Ken was often non-committal, with vague answers and shrugs. Especially when questioned about his past.

"I need to show you something," she said then, and, without waiting for his approval or even a comment, she lowered the hood of her garment.

"They've grown," he observed.

"They have indeed," she nodded. Atop the girl's head was a pair of cat-like ears. "And they're becoming more sensitive. I hear…differently now."

He nodded, approving of that statement at least. "That, so far, is normal." The ears atop his own head twitched almost without his knowing, as though agreeing with him.

She nearly laughed at his remark. "Normal," she said, half-snorting. "As though anything here were normal. As though you or I were any where near normal."

"Normal for us, I suppose, then. This place has some sort of new normality," he amended. "What does Sora say?"

"She says they look very nice. They match my eyes," she replied. "I think she's nearly jealous," she added in a confidential tone.

"I see." Ken was uninterested in that piece of information, but he did find it interesting that she thought of such things as jealousy in a place like this.

"Koushiro said something about hormone levels and energies and all that," she added. "Still no sign of a tail. He suspects another month or two before the transformation is completed."

"That's usually the time span," Ken nodded. He was becoming somewhat disinterested in the conversation, though he was trying not to show it.

"So when I'm completed, Iori will be the only one of us left to look like a human," the girl finished. She sighed, though it was unclear whether it was contentment or worries that caused it.

There was silence for a few minutes as they both pondered that. "Hikari," Ken said suddenly, turning away from his continued observance of the darkening sky for a moment. "Do you sense something – missing?"

Now it was the girl's turn to blink in surprise. "Missing?" she repeated blankly.

He turned away again quickly, hiding his embarrassment. "Never mind."

"No, no, it's all right," she assured him. "Go on. What do you mean by missing?"

"No, it's nothing."

"It's not nothing, or you wouldn't have asked me," she protested. There was silence. She sighed. "I feel sometimes like there's things missing, yes," she admitted, slowly. "I feel like my life is missing – so many of my memories. From where we came from. I feel so lost here. I know we're not from here, so where have we come from?"

"Sora can remember -," he began.

"I know Sora remembers. Jun remembers, too. And Momoe. And Koushiro, too, thought not much. But they don't know any details. What if we had family where we came from?"

"There are a lot of questions," he admitted. "Like, who built this place." He gestured to the room around him, and to the settlement beyond the window. "But that's not what I mean…"

Hikari looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

Ken sighed deeply, shoulders slumping slightly. "I'm not sure, really. Just like – there's a part of me – that's missing? Like there's someone that should be here that's not…" he trailed off, unable to really explain.

There was another silence then, and he was about to give in, to accept that she had no idea what he was talking about and he was going insane.

"I've had dreams," Hikari said then, breaking the silence. "Dreams of – someone. I can never see who – but I know there's someone in them. We're always doing things, and we're always together, and it feels so…right."

He nodded. "Exactly! And then you wake up and suddenly – "

"It feels so empty," she nodded, frowning for a moment. "I don't know who the other person is, but…"

"But?" he prompted, after she didn't continue right away.

"But they're not – that is…," Hikari paused and cleared her throat. She studied her feet intently as she spoke the next part. "I'm fairly certain that the other person in my dreams is female." She looked up then, cautiously, from the side of her eyes, as if afraid of what might be said.

Ken breathed a sigh of relief. "The person in my dreams isn't," he explained.

"I don't understand why I should be so nervous about it," she confessed. "I mean, I don't remember any sort of childhood memories telling me that it was wrong to be with someone of the same gender, but still – "

"Somehow you just expect that it won't be accepted," he finished, nodding. "I know."

The light was dim now, but it was easy to see that they were both much less troubled then before.

***

The main comment I've received in relation to this story is "Please Continue." Well, rest assured, I'm doing that. The other comment is that it was confusing. In the future, it will make more sense. This story is progressing slowly, but fear not, for more is to come. School's almost over for the summer, which means I'll have more time soon to work on writing! Yeah! Thanks for the reviews, and I hope you enjoy!