Things have changed drastically from one week to the next. The draft now over, the Raw and Smackdown groups of Digidestined are so different that it takes Asuka a minute to realize these are her people. Lana is the only consistent one out of all of them. Beyond that, she finds herself facing Miz, John Morrison, AJ Styles and Xavier Woods. They seem to be discussing amongst themselves who will lead now that Seth Rollins is on the Smackdown team. She listens absently as she stares down at the flashing red lights on her digivice, chewing on her lower lip in thought.
She quickly ignores them, however, when they arrive at the village and already find it long destroyed, smoke wisping up into the early afternoon sky. She freezes and grips Calumon gently, shaking her head slowly. "Too late," she mumbles, observing how still and quiet it all is, the digimon behind this long gone. The silence is perfect now and she glances behind her to find the other digidestined had stopped bickering finally, just staring ahead blankly as they take in the horrors before them. It's not new, seeing something like this, but still. Still.
Xavier especially looks shattered as he steps forward and takes it all in. He's been injured for a year, had grown used to not dealing with the digiworld and all of its injustices and horrors. She feels for him that this is the first thing he walks into. As he sinks down to his knees next to what was probably once a vibrant digimon home, filled with laughter and cheer, and is now little more than rubble and collapsed walls, she gives him a few moments before stepping forward and sinking down next to him, whispering a short, Japanese prayer. He watches her, hands twitching against the dirt.
She smiles sadly at him and looks up as she registers something in the distance. Her smile fading, she stands and grips Xavier's shoulder. "Come," she says, waiting until he's upright next to her to walk forward. He follows uncertainly and she finds another collapsed house, Xavier gasping when he finally hears it too. Scrambling over to the walls, he starts to pull and dig, Asuka moving to help him until finally they unearth the small creature crying out for help. "Hopmon," Asuka provides, staring down at the small, sobbing digimon as Xavier cradles it close, cooing comfortingly to the baby.
"Are there others?" Xavier asks and the baby only cries harder, which tells them all they need to know. "I'm sorry," he murmurs, hugging it tighter. "Should we take him to Luke?"
It's a fine plan. Luke will help him resettle. Either way, he'll be well taken care of. She smiles at him and nods. "Hai."
Asuka exhales as they prepare to return, unable to do anything here. Another digimon to find, another day, hopefully before it causes more damage like this. She watches as the group trudges towards the digiport, their prior argument long forgotten, but it weighs on her.
Seth, for all of his ego and demands, had been a fine leader. Had pulled them out of the fire more times than she can count. But times are different, this is a new group of wrestlers, and they require a certain kind of influence. Besides, she thinks, watching clouds drift by lazily overhead. Shinsuke led Smackdown for years, and he's done fine. She clenches her hands into fists and remembers that day, back in Japan, being young and scared and watching those monstrous creatures battle in the streets, causing so much destruction and pain. But it had led her here, given her Calumon, and all of these opportunities, and she can never, ever feel too badly about it just for that reason alone. The fear and anguish had been worth it.
So she stands tall now, she steps forward, and presses her way to the front of the group, turning in front of the digiport to look upon them all. AJ Styles, who she knows well enough, Xavier Woods and John Morrison, who are unknown entities to her, Lana who she will be competing against in a week for her title, and of course, her former partner, The Miz. Searches their faces one after the other before breaking out in a wide grin, almost laughing as she hits her fist against her chest and nods sharply. "I will lead."
It's a simple statement, makes the others all stop short and stare at her, curious and uncertain. But all it takes is one, and Xavier is that person, who shifts forward, still hugging the whimpering Hopmon close to his chest. "Alright," he says softly.
The others whisper amongst themselves, Miz and Morrison especially, but she knows she has them when Miz faces her with a soft smile on his lips and bows to her, John clumsily echoing his movement.
"Ah whatever," AJ drawls, stuffing his hands in his jean pockets with a shrug.
Lana scoffs and shakes her hair out, but when she feels everyone else stare at her, she gives up. "I guess you'll have to do," she grumbles.
Asuka grins as she turns to the digiport and, for the first time as leader, opens it to allow those behind her through.
