Long time no post, dear readers!
I hope you are all well, safe, and (relatively) healthy. To say things have been a bit while since my last update would be a gross understatement. I can't go into ALL the detail as to what's been happening in my corner of the world, but I will state that, as a Teacher, I've been running around the last several weeks trying to adapt to Distance Learning. It's not easy, let alone for preschool-aged children, and combined with the online training I'm doing for behavior management and emotional intelligence support, a lot of my weekdays are a lost cause for the foreseeable future.
I did make the local papers for hosting an online social distance "dance party" with my coworkers, so there is that! Also celebrated a birthday, stayed in touch with friends via online game play, and picked up Animal Crossing. Which...yeah. Plus, I have been watching Psi and I am so here for everything that is happening and might be willing to whip up a few one-shots in the coming weeks between Balance updates, kind of like how I was doing for TRI.
In the meanwhile...I'm taking these things one day at a time, one chapter at a time.
o
o
DIGIMON TRI: BALANCE
o
"...is he dead?"
Chibimon touched a tiny paw to his chin as he stared up at the slumped figure, mildly concerned. Beside him, Minomon looked far more uneasy at the thought that the situation probably warranted, given that literally every other digimon in the room appeared unfazed. Even Poromon and Upamon remained engrossed in their ongoing card game against Tailmon and Patamon.
Terriermon alone seemed willing to acknowledge the question, though not enough to get up from his spot, laying upside-down on the nearby love-seat: "He snores awfully loud for a dead person."
Koushiro seemed to take that as his cue, letting out a series of snorts and half-mumbled that echoed offf every corner of his family's study.
"Taichi's louder," Agumon and Tailmon stated dryly.
Chibimon looked to them in empathy.
"Shh!" Tentomon let out a cross between a buzz and a hiss. He sat at the base of his human partner's chair, occasionally glancing up to make sure the poor boy was still breathing. That position couldn't have been comfortable. "You'll wake him."
"Doesn't he have school?" Palmon pointed to the nearby wall clock. Glints of sunlight peeking from behind the large curtain in the back of the room reflected off its polished surface, slightly obscuring the 07:56 blinking in bright green. "Mimi said that she was supposed to start school on Monday. Today is Monday, right?"
"Which one's Monday, again?" Agumon asked.
Tailmon glanced up from her latest hand. Her poker face was typically excellent, but there was no hiding the slight twitch of excitement as she eyed Poromon for the expected tell. There was only one person who could ever beat her in Go Fish, and Gomamon had been unanimously banned from playing (much to his chagrin).
"Remember the days Hikari had to shake Taichi extra hard to wake him up? Those were Mondays."
"They were?" Agumon had to think. Then his eyes lit up in renewed excitement. "Right! You mean the days their mom made those delicious omelet-things! If that's what Monday is, then every day should be Monday!"
"SHH!" Tentomon chastised again.
Everyone continued to ignore him.
"I wonder if Koushiro's mom knows how to make omelets?" Piyomon wondered, waving a single chopstick in idle thought.
Its twin currently sat on the coffee table, abandoned as an unnecessary substitute once it was decided that using two chopsticks at once was too challenging for the feathered digimon. She much preferred to stab the leftover dumplings with one, holding it to her beak like shish kebab. It didn't work quite so well with the noodles, but she'd happily passed those over to Terriermon in exchange for his share of the rice balls.
Lopmon, too, had agreed to a similar trade with Gabumon as the two sat over by the television. They had found some early morning anime airing, and the American digimon was quite entertained at the differences between cartoons in Japan compared to the ones he was used to watching back home. Gabumon just liked the story, though he often hid most of his laughter behind a claw in embarrassment.
The earlier exchange between his new friends had caught the rabbit digimon's interest, however, and he waited until there was a lull in conversation before daring to ask: "Do Agumon and Tailmon both live with Taichi? I thought Tailmon was Hikari's partner."
"I am." Tailmon sat back, allowing Minomon to attempt to comfort a distraught Poromon in his moment of loss. "Hikari is Taichi's little sister. They live together, so when they go home, we both go with them."
"Whaa~" Terriermon's paws lifted into the air and he nearly lost his balance in the process. Flopping onto his belly, he steadied himself enough to lift his head, smiling brightly. "So when a human Chosen has a big brother, all their partners get to live together too. Just like we get to both live with Wallace. How cool!"
Across the room, his younger twin mirrored his expression.
Patamon and Gabumon shared an uneasy glance.
A knock at the door echoed. Loud enough to not only draw the digimons' collective attentions, but to startle Koushiro awake; the boy shot up in his seat, eyes wide and glossy as he let out a half squeak, half croak.
"Koushiro-kun!" A warm voice called from the other side. Motherly. "Are you awake yet?"
"Define 'awake'." Terriermon snickered into his paws, drawing a look of ire from Tentomon.
The doorknob started to jiggle.
Terriermon froze in place. He and Lopmon looked uncertain before a silent agreement passed between them. Ears flopped downward. Bodies went slack. Eyes remained open and unblinking, as if made of nonliving glass.
"Koushiro-kun..." The door finally swung open to reveal Izumi Kae, who took one look at the room's occupants before straightening in surprise. "Oh!"
Agumon, Gomamon, Piyomon, and Palmon all raised their equivalents of a hand in greeting: "Yo!"
Once the initial surprise wore off, Kae smiled back at them.
"Ara...this explains why he was holed up in here for most of the weekend. I had no idea we were hosting a slumber party."
"It's alright." Gabumon told Lopmon and Terriermon. "She knows." He then turned back to the household matriarch and did his best to bow his head. "Apologies if we've been any inconvenience to you."
"Not at all."
Kae's smile never once waved as she shook her head, squatting down to better meet the group at eye level. Her knees pressed together as she rested her arms atop them, watching with great interest as most of the digimon began to gather around her. Familiarity apparent in their eyes and voices as they took turns re-meeting the Izumi matriarch. The older digimon were first, while the younger ones took their cues accordingly.
Terriermon and Lopmon chose to linger back for the time begin, watching the scene unfold. Koushiro's mother reminded them of Wallace's mama in all the best ways.
"I don't suppose you're all hungry right now?" She asked.
Thirteen pairs of eyes shimmered.
"Do you know how to make omelets?!" There were stars in Agumon's eyes. His mouth watered at the thought.
Tentomon heaved an audible sigh before turning back to his partner. Most of the sleep had been blinked from Koushiro's eyes, and though his hair was still a bit of a sight...well, wasn't it always? The last few hours' of sleep had still done him some good. Color returned to his cheeks as he let out a wide yawn, reaching up to stretch both arms above his head.
"What time is it?"
His mother looked up from where she'd been shaking Terriermon's paw.
"I'd say it was time for you to sleep in an actual bed, dear, but you did say you wanted to see your friends at the cultural festival today."
Rising to a stand, she placed both hands on her hips and gave her son a good once-over. Rumpled clothing. Shadows beneath a glassy gaze. A large red mark on the lower left cheek where he'd been pressing it against his arm on the desk. She resisted the urge to sigh; long ago had she resigned herself to the fact that he would forever be his biological parents' son, but that didn't mean she had to encourage their worst habits.
"Wash up and get changed. And you're not leaving this house until I'm certain you've had proper nutrients put in you."
"Yes 'kaa-san." His shoulders slumped, knowing that anything other than total compliance would get him nowhere. "I'll just check my email real quick, and then—"
"No, young man. Now."
"...yes, 'kaa-san."
Satisfied, Kae gave one last bow to the digimon before turning to exit the room, softly shutting the door behind her out of habit.
Koushiro slouched back in his seat, fingers running through his hair before moving to stand. His legs felt awkward and his knees wobbled beneath him.
It had been sometime since he'd devoted a full weekend to any one project. And never anything to this scale. Researching what was already there? It was only a matter of finding it. Firewalls and code-breaking? Time-intensive, but anything build could always be taken apart. But this? A government-level algorithm he'd only partially memorized. Which he only had half the story as to what it actually did.
With his level of computer expertise, a bit of international (and inter-dimensional) correspondence, and a little help from the digimons' codes he'd spent the weekend scanning, he'd gotten about three quarters of the algorithm reconstructed and realized it was meant to detect and hone. Close, but nowhere near where he'd hoped to be before meeting up with the others.
"Koushiro-han?" he heard Tentomon call to him.
"I'm alright." Forcing a smile, he turned his attention downward. "Maybe once I get back, I can try—gah!"
"Koushiro-han!"
A single step was all it had taken for Koushiro's ankle to roll. His center of balance was lost. Not enough to cause him to fall, but enough to knock him straight into his computer monitor. The screen momentarily rippled before fading back into its usual hues.
With one noted difference: he'd inadvertently jostled the mouse, clicking on the link to his latest email message.
What he read stopped him cold.
Both hands slammed down on the table with such force, it startled poor Patamon into scattering his playing cards. Koushiro's eyes were shimmering with awe and excitement and Tentomon wasn't sure whether to be relieved his partner was feeling obviously better or worried he was about to get in trouble with his mother over this.
"That's it!" The boy exclaimed. Not bothering to close out the window, he rounded the desk and made a beeline for the exit. "I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. The answer was right in front of me all this time...twice over, even!" He threw the door open with a flourish, calling back over his shoulder, "You guys stay here. I have to get to the hardware store before school!"
"Koushiro-han!" Tentomon tried to fly after him. "What about—?"
His devotion was rewarded with a door to the face.
"...breakfast..."
The rest of the group exchanged glances, each more unsure than the last.
"What do we do now?" Lopmon asked.
"Well, he did tell us to stay here." Terriermon hopped down from the love-seat, scratching at one ear. He turned to Chibimon. "That means we're following him, right?"
Chibimon looked almost offended by the question, giving a tiny huff in response.
"Of course we're following him."
o
o
Daigo had hoped for a quiet morning.
Everything about the day was ideal. Skies with a few sparse clouds scattered. Not too hot, not too sunny, and with just the right about of breeze to feel refreshing. His services as homeroom teacher wouldn't be needed, as his class had each signed up for club-related obligations. None to which he was an adviser. Classes were off, and all he needed to continue employment at the high school was show up.
So show up he did, with a cup of his favorite spicy noodles and bottle of royal milk tea. A vacant teacher's lounge awaited him. He considered regretting not bringing a small radio with him, but was content to listen to the songbirds chirping right outside the open window. Soft and cheerful.
And peaceful.
...until the door slammed open and an irate Yagami Taichi stormed in.
"We need to talk."
Out of the corner of his eye, Daigo watched the songbirds fly off, wishing he could join them.
"I see you're in a good mood this morning, Yagami-san."
As he expected, Taichi ignored all pretense of pleasantries or politeness, marching straight up to his calligraphy teacher with a heated glare.
"You said you were going to be honest with us.
Daigo held the chopsticks centimeters from his mouth, taking time to blow on the steam. "In my defense, I have literally not seen you for two days. When would I have had time to lie to you?"
"You're still having us followed." The boy's tone was at heated as his cup noodles, though his arms folded across his chest in an oddly defensive manner. "We saw them. Twice on the way to Hikari's school. And again on my way here after I dropped her off."
"You still walk your sister to school?" Daigo raised an eyebrow.
"It's on the way!"
Daigo gave a low snort before sending one last, longing look to his second breakfast. So much for a quiet morning. He set the noodle cup back on the desk, placing the chopsticks over the lid. Hoping some of the heat would be contained long enough to keep the noodles from growing cold. From there, he spun around in his seat to properly face Taichi.
"Truthfully, I'm more surprised you're this surprised." His lips twisted to one side in a crooked grin. "We told you what it is we're after. What we're looking for. Doesn't it make sense to follow around the closest things we have to anomaly magnets?"
For a moment, Taichi was just confused enough to forget he was supposed to be pissed. "What are you talking about?"
"Come on, Yagami. You're smarter than that. Think." He lightly tapped the side of one temple for emphasis. "Three years ago. Six years ago. Last week. Digimon appearing in the Real World...and what was the one thing in common with each occurrence?" He gave Taichi a moment to ponder the question. Waiting to see if he figured it out on his own. He didn't. "You. All of you. In the last ten days alone, we saw a grand total of five anomalies, and at least one of you were within range at every single one."
Taichi's arms unfolded, left to hang at his sides. His mouth opened. No words came out. His body moved of its own accord, leading him to the seat opposite his teacher.
Daigo took that as a sign to continue, holding up two fingers to start before adding one at each subsequent count.
"Downtown Odaiba? Two separate anomalies. Signals were twice as strong. Local park where your friends were last seen? All readings indicated the presence of residual digital energy signatures. Train delay on your way to the airport—"
Taichi's head snapped up with a start. That was a digital gate?!
"—not to mention to obvious incident at the harbour. I don't think I have to tell you what happened there."
He didn't.
Taichi shifted uneasily in his seat.
"Coincidence?" He suggested, already knowing how weak it sounded.
Daigo shook his head silently.
Taichi's lips pressed together, forming a thin line. His gaze turned downward, staring at the hardwood-covered floor. At the boards. Each one cut in the exact size and shape as the next. Falling exactly where one would expect it to. But the patterns in the wood itself varied so greatly from board to board that it was impossible for one to match with those surrounding it. A puzzle that both fit and didn't fit at all.
What Daigo said made sense to him. The kind of sense someone like Koushiro would have pointed out. Or Hikari. As much as the thought gave him pause, Taichi was willing to admit there was a connection between the Chosen and the Digital World. Could that be what was causing the gates to start ripping open? And if so, why? Because of their Crests? Or the scan Homeostasis had done on them the night of Parrotmon's (first) attack?
And, more importantly...did that even give them a choice in whether or not to keep fighting?
"Maybe Yamato's right," he muttered. Mostly to himself.
Daigo heard all the same.
"Look," A heavy sigh passed through his lips. He genuinely felt for the boy. The internal struggle he was facing. "I know Maki-chan's all for side-lining you guys. Part of me is too. It would certainly make all this a lot easier on everyone involved. But I also know there's very little chance of getting all of you to listen to reason when there's no way in hell any of us did back then." His chin lifted until he was staring straight up at the ceiling, eyes glazed over in bittersweet nostalgia. "I just don't want the same thing happening to you that happened to her."
Taichi grimaced. "You mean your friend, Itsuki?"
"No. I mean Maki-chan."
Taichi opened his mouth, only to close it again soon after. He looked to Dago, awaiting elaboration.
"Losing Itsuki-san and Tapirmon...it broke her. Permanently." A shadow washed over him, and for an instant, his eyes darkened to a depth that caused a chill down Taichi's spine. "She lost the two people she'd cared about most in either world, all in the blink of an eye. Her partner. Her best friend—no, not even." His closed his eyes. A private thought crossed his mind, unspoken words souring his tongue. "Her heart completely shut down. But that wasn't even the worst of it. Remember...none of our parents knew. How could we tell them? So when we came how, and Itsuki-san didn't..."
He trailed off, leaving the rest of Taichi's imagination.
The boy's face paled.
"I know she went to see them. Once or twice, I think. I have no idea if she ever tried talking to them, or came close to explaining what happened. The rest of us felt too guilty to face them, and we didn't know them like she did. It was only later we learned—through an evening news broadcast—that her mother passed away from grief. Her father went about a month after." Lowering his chin back to a neutral spine, Daigo met Taichi's gaze directly. "This was all less than a year after we lost Itsuki-san."
The image of his own mother flashed in Taichi's mind's eye then. Specially, that burned image of her tear-soaked face as she sobbed over the hospitalization of her baby girl. And that had "only" been a severe case of pneumonia. What would have become of her if Hikari had died that day? Or succumbed to her cold in the Digital World?
It wasn't just their family, either. Koushiro's parents may not have shared a blood relation with the young genius, but there was no mistaking the love they felt for their adopted son. The same with Sora's mother, a woman who'd risked life and Bakemon for the sake of reunion. Takeru and Yamato's parents only ever seemed to reunite for the sake of their sons. Mimi's doted on her like she was the center of their world...which she probably was. Jou's family only ever wanted the best for him. The same with Daisuke's family and Miyako's.
Wallace...Taichi had heard from multiple sources just how close the American Chosen was with his mother. How he'd called her constantly during his cross-country trip to save one of his digimon partners. Going so far as to travel all the way to Tokyo with her so she wouldn't have to make the trip alone.
And Iori's and Ken's had already faced devastating losses—how could they be expected to lose even more?
"I don't..." he began, feeling his body grow tense.
Thoughts of their families had never been pushed from any of the Chosen's minds for long. During the earliest days of their first Adventure, all they had wanted was to find their way home. And yet, the grim reality of their lives—and how those lives were affecting so many others—was only now beginning to dawn on Taichi.
He looked to Daigo. The only adult who could come close to understanding. "What should I do?"
But to his great dismay, Daigo could only shake his head.
"That's the thing about growing up, Yagami-san. Nobody can tell you that but you."
o
o
Iori shifted awkwardly from one foot to the next. Reaching up to adjust the strap pulling on his shoulder, the weight of all his books causing a strain on his already tense muscles.
The movement seemed to draw very little attention from the growing crowd around him.
In a way, he supposed it made sense for them to ignore a random elementary student wandering into their schoolyard. Most of them were too busy setting up booths and decorations. A quick glimpse at his watch told him he was over a half hour early for opening ceremonies. Plenty of time for those leaving things until the eleventh house. But also late enough that the beginnings of outside guests weren't entirely unexpected.
"Umm...excuse me." Steeling his nerves, he approached a group of three girls nearest the entrance. One was in the process of hanging up a banner, but the two at the base of the ladder looked to him just as he respectfully bowed his head. "Please forgive my interruption, but I was hoping you might know where I could find my friends this morning?"
In the time it took his soft-spoken tenor to reach their ears, their expressions went from mild curiosity to...well, it wouldn't have been an exaggeration to say they melted.
(Figuratively speaking, of course—it wasn't that hot out.)
"How cute!" The younger girl gushed amid her friend's giggles. "You must be from the local elementary school. What year are you?"
Caught off-guard by her reaction, Iori could only blink back a wide-eyed stare.
"...uh..."
"Hush, Ueno-chan. You'll scare the poor boy." The girl on the ladder began her decent, waiting until she was safely back on solid ground before turning around. A hand went to the back of her head, absently checking the tie securing her long, black ponytail as she offered Iori a more demure grin. "Don't mind her. You said you were looking for some friends of yours. May I ask their names?"
Iori felt himself relax at the far more casual tone. Between the three girls, he would have pinned the one in the ponytail as Class Representative, or at the very least, head of one (or more) of her school clubs. She had that air about her. Confident and knowledgeable, but approachable enough that it wasn't too intimidating to ask for help.
She reminded him just enough of Miyako that the girl's name very nearly passed through his lips first before he remembered himself.
"Ah...one is Motomiya Daisuke-san. One of Takaishi Takeru-san. And the third is Yagami Hikari-san. I don't suppose you're familiar with any of them?"
"All three, actually." Ponytail grinned without missing a beat. She cranked her neck to look at something in the distance to her left. "Motomiya-kun should be by the soccer field today. I think they were selling noodles or something like that. Yagami-san's helping with the drama department, but I'm not sure which room they were given. Information should know that much. As for Takaishi-san..."
Where she trailed off in uncertainty, the one called Ueno stepped in. "I know him. He's in Nee-chan's homeroom. They were supposed to be doing a scavenger hunt all week."
"That's right." The third girl stepped forward, adjusting her thick, lavender-rimmed glasses as she spoke. "I believe he's supposed to be on recruitment duty, which means he could be anywhere in the school. Ah...actually, since you're here..." she made a quick dash for a nearby bench, diving straight into the pile of bags sitting on its corner. When she returned, she shoved a small flier into Iori's hands. "If you're interested, it's open to anyone. Here are the rules, and here is where you check in each day."
In fact, Iori had already known about the scavenger hunt from Takeru-(an identical flier was sitting inside his shoulder bag)-but he accepted the flier with grace anyway.
"Thank you. For you help, and for the flier as well."
"Anytime." Ueno waved a hand in the air before smirking. "But seriously...any chance you'll be coming here next year?"
"Ueno-chan!" Her friends giggled in unison.
"Kidding!"
The trio headed off in a flurry of gushing and hushed whispers, and Iori was left frozen in place until long after they'd disappeared across the courtyard. Left utterly confused, bewildered, and...almost a bit curious as to what had just happened and—more importantly—why. And for the first time since she'd disappeared, he realized he was actually grateful Miyako wasn't there with him.
Because she'd never let him live this down.