Notes: Sooo... I did NaNoWriMo 2020, which I haven't done since Cycle for 2008, cuz when's a better time to get back into writing, amirite. The outline I had for that fic wasn't intended to reach the 50k word goal by itself, so I did this one-shot during the last week.
Yoshino's POV. A day in the life of Yoshino (or 2, or 3...)... That's what this idea started off as, but it ended up covering more time than that... Yeah. Yoshino, the older sister of the DATS trio. Despite being the youngest of three sisters in her own family.
You know that wondrous little gap between ep 11 and 12 before everything turns into a big rollercoaster ride? Yeah, we're there again. Things are nice and cozy at DATS up until Piyomon shows up, after all. It's a simple and comfy setting to work with. The PS2 Savers game has a similarly comfy setting, though in that world, Piyomon happened, and Ikuto is in there, but not Kurata... Well, that's for another fic or something that may or may not happen.
Also... gdi Yoshino is the most relatable working career girl in the Digimon tamer universe and I will fight tooth and my short nails for this.
Noble x Aniki Let's goooo
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At this point of her life, Yoshino had her Digimon partner for thirteen years-they'd been together since Yoshino was the young age of five, the longest out of anyone at DATS. Although she managed to keep Budmon hidden from anyone else's discovery for many years, Budmon eventually permanently evolved into Lalamon, and DATS did eventually track her down and scout her, leading her up to her current point in life. There were a lot of rough bumps and personal conflicts along the way, but she couldn't possibly imagine where she would be without DATS today.
If not for DATS, would she still have undergone law enforcement training in her early teens? Would she still have juggled a job and gone to school at the same time in order to make ends meet for living on her own? Fortunately, her school days were finally over now, so she could concentrate on work, but oftentimes she had to wonder... If she had that extra time back and had just been a regular schoolgirl, what would she be doing now instead? Would she have found that figurative 'diamond in the rough' she had fantasized about to have married into wealth by now?
Not that she would trade in Lalamon for just the unsure possibility of that. There was a good reason why she went through so much in her younger days in order to stay with Lalamon. Without Lalamon, who knows if she'd even have the confidence to go outside to see what the world had to offer, at all.
And the world had so much to offer...
Time and time again, her encounters with others would remind her of this.
Masaru and Tohma, her two comrades in arms at DATS, were no exception.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was another quiet start to their weekend work day at DATS, which was never an accurate telling of what could go down when the boys came in later on. Still, Yoshino cherished these peaceful moments, taking her time to steep some vibrant tea to wake her up, checking up on the news at her work computer... She didn't mind these long work weeks as long as her pay was worth it. Admittedly, she considered herself to be well off for all the idle time she had until an incident was abound.
"'Sup..."
Masaru came in with a different accessory around his neck this morning to DATS, instead of his usual yellow strap and carabiner that he would use with his uniform. It was a solid black choker, with his dog tag planted in a somewhat tacky, yet oddly charming hold right dead center below his chin.
"What's with the choker, Masaru?" Yoshino asked as the brunet started marking off his routine paperwork next to her.
"Oh... Tohma gave it to me as an 'early Christmas present'. Not sure if I like it much, but maybe I'm just not used to having something this close to my neck all the time. The DATS uniform doesn't help either..."
"From Tohma, huh..." Yoshino made a discreet glance over his neck before returning to her computer screen. That had to be a custom-made choker to have such a convenient place to hold the dog tag... and when did Tohma even get a chance to get the fit for that dog tag in the first place?
"Yeah, he said something about being concerned that I'd lose my dog tag and Digivice someday because of the strap flying around loose when I'm fighting. Which I guess is a valid point, but... Mmmm..." he tilted his head, allowing his neck to be exposed enough that Yoshino could see the high quality material it was made out of. It was even double-layered so that the dog tag wouldn't come into direct contact with his skin. "I've always been fine with the strap, even if it flies around. And Agumon doesn't like hanging around my waist as much, so I dunno if I'll be using this..."
Knowing Tohma, he must have spent a summable fortune on that choker... But also knowing Tohma, maybe there was something more in that accessory than just being a decorative piece. Yoshino couldn't help but suspect that something else was going on...
In the meantime, a small word of honesty came to mind. "It looks nice on you."
"Huh?" Masaru replied, unexpecting. "Oh... thanks. But yeaaah, I can't see myself wearing this in the long run. I could get used to it if I were wearing something more loose with it, but for here at DATS it's probably just for today. No offense to Tohma or anything."
"That's too bad."
Yoshino just gave a muttering of acknowledgement as Masaru finished up his papers and went to his work desk on the other side of the room.
If Masaru had any idea how much that choker probably cost...
Yoshino blinked a few times at the thought. The things Tohma would do for him...
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Later in the afternoon, Yoshino had a chance to talk to Tohma alone (with Gaomon) in the break room while she went to make her afternoon coffee. Tohma would often spend some time after lunch break there, typing away on his DigiWindow and sipping tea at one of the tall tables with Gaomon standing quietly at his side like the watchdog he pretty much was.
"So you got Masaru that choker he's wearing today, right?"
"Yes, although it seems it's not to his liking much."
"Hmm..."
"He was pulling at it a lot when we went out for lunch. I wonder if I should have it loosened... but if it's too loose, that defeats the purpose..."
Yoshino's eyes widened ever so slightly to hear that the two had lunch together. Yoshino was always eating one of her own bento lunches whenever it wasn't a splurging day for eating out (unlike Kurosaki and Shirakawa who ate out pretty much every day), and the two boys often left at slightly different times during lunchtime, so this was news to her. More like... since when did Tohma eat anything other than what his butler had arranged for him?
"Oh, you two went out for lunch?"
"Only to the sea docks nearby. For some reason, Masaru likes battling it out against the seagulls there to protect his lunch. We're swapping lunch boxes for the rest of the month."
"Wow, a lunch swap... I guess it'd be nice to get a taste of what it's like getting to eat those fried eggs that Masaru's mother makes all the time." In the corner of her eyesight, she could have sworn that she saw Gaomon swish his tail at her comment. She assumed the Digimon were getting their share of the lunchbox exchange as well.
"It was his idea. I dare say it's been a fair exchange thus far."
"Mmhmm... Anyway, there isn't anything special about that choker you gave him, right?"
"What do you mean?" he took a sip from his tea cup.
"Do you really need me to spell it out?" Yoshino said while backing up her head visibly. "Was there an ulterior motive behind giving him that? You didn't put in some kind of secret device in there or anything, right...?"
"Hm? If you mean a tracking device, that's not necessary since we're tracked through our Digivices already."
"Of course I don't mean that kind of device. I mean like... I dunno, sleeping gas or hidden needles or an explosive or something."
"What in the world do you take me for?" Tohma gave her a look of disbelief. "I'd never do something like that to someone so important to me-as a friend."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" She really was kidding, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that Tohma wasn't completely denying the possibility that he'd do that to someone who WASN'T a friend. Scary...
But that wasn't the point she wanted to get across at all. There was something a tiiiny bit dubious about how he tacked on the last part of his sentence. "I'm just thinking that getting that choker custom made must've been an awful lot of effort for just 'a friend'."
"Is it? I was just trying to be considerate, and I wanted it to be something functional for him at DATS... otherwise, I haven't given that kind of present to anyone before."
Yoshino sensed that she'd just heard something mildly incredible about Tohma, although it didn't show in her expression.
"...Well, it's the thought that counts with these kinds of things. Don't get upset with him if he goes back to wearing his usual strap the next time you see him, okay?"
"That would be a bit of a shame, considering he..." he trailed off. He covered his mouth area with one of his hands... he tried to be discreet about it, but the motion was still pretty obvious to Yoshino. "No, nevermind..."
And he wasn't doing a very good job covering the blush creeping above his hand either.
Yoshino raised her eyebrows and was about to say something more, but decided against it and left the break room instead.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
It was only for a very brief time, but Yoshino was the first to directly work with Tohma on missions when he first joined DATS. It was intended to be a temporary assignment to let Tohma get some hands-on experience out on the field before he decided where he wanted to go in the longer run.
Her overall initial impression of Tohma, aside from knowing from Captain Satsuma's briefing that he had come from a noble family line in Austria and was a prodigy who had just graduated, was that the boy was actually very passionate about his sense of duties... Not usually in a bad sense, as she noted how focused he would get when analyzing Digimon movement patterns during their missions, or how he would take the time to incorporate Lalamon/Sunflowmon into his plans, but only as fully necessary. More often than not, his plans involved doing things solely with Gaomon, and at times it seemed he was even going out of his way to see that he didn't need additional assistance.
Yoshino still remembered when he made his introduction in his blue DATS uniform, the same blue that all the male white collar workers in the Research and Development department wore. To that end, he stood out simply with his blond hair and the slight design difference that went with the uniforms designed for field activity. His Japanese was impeccable, to which he curtly explained that his mother was Japanese. There was a moment when Yoshino noticed that he had used past tense to refer to his mother, but she didn't feel the need to pry further. She knew it was likely a sensitive matter, and Tohma would constantly exude that his focuses were on the mission at hand. It was a wall that Yoshino didn't take interest in breaking, lest she might get on the genius's bad side.
If anything, it made her job easier for that brief time, since Tohma's plans made their missions run as smooth as butter, and his Digimon partner Gaomon was just as top notch. She had nothing to complain about in that regard. It never really came to mind how unique her situation was until Kurosaki and Shirakawa switched off from field duty to support, right before Tohma's term ended. The number of Digimon incidents had de-escalated around that time, and Tohma and Yoshino could easily handle the load, so the girls' transition was well accepted on DATS's administrative end. Tohma's parting was a little sad for them, as one of the main reasons why they switched to the support role was to see the great recent university-graduate 13-year-old genius in action with their own eyes (whereas previously they couldn't when they had been sent out on different field assignments). Honestly, it was a bit of a strange reason in Yoshino's eyes-no, it was a VERY strange reason, to be honest... but she never dared tell them that to their face.
After all but just about a couple months after he started, Tohma was scouted into the Research and Development department, taking him off the field and into the lab setting in another part of the massive DATS building. Kurosaki and Shirakawa complained quite audibly about losing their highlight of the job, but Captain Satsuma eventually stepped in and figuratively whipped them back to focusing on actual work, and that was the end of that... at least for then.
For the half year following, the technology in DATS grew multifolds with every piece Tohma developed using his genius intellect. While she rarely saw him, she would often see the results of the things he developed instead. It seemed to be at least every other week from that point where a new piece of equipment would arrive for her team to test out on the field. After setting up the Digital Dive equipment in the Japanese subdivision, next he was off to the EU subdivision to get them sorted out. He was overseas for half a year.
Things had been mostly quiet during that half year, right up almost until Tohma's return...
When Tohma returned to their subdivision after a full year from his first field missions, the first thing Yoshino noticed was how much taller the blond had gotten. When they had first met, he had been about the same height as her. But now her eyes only met him at shoulder level, and he was still on his way to get even taller. The difference from this boy's growth in a single year was quite astounding. Yoshino was already well past her own growth spurt, so seeing Tohma's growth was an odd reminder for her that boys had their growth spurts much later than girls. Another thing she noticed was that his voice had become considerably deeper and huskier, though somehow retaining his prince-like aura in its entirety. The boy had grown up to be even more the nobleman he was 'destined to be,' in a manner of words.
The other difference, however, and the biggest one by far... was that Masaru was also on their team now.
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Masaru was a completely different beast by all means.
"This is the worst" was never meant to become a catch phrase of hers, but ever since the fighter of manliness entered the scene, she really didn't have any better words to describe a lot of things that had happened proceeding his entrance... at least while those events were unfolding. But when she really came down to think about it, most of those events weren't Masaru's fault in the first place-it was more of a matter of time and place, and his own involvement because of such coincidences. Except when he was refusing to come to DATS after housing Agumon...
Her mission to barge in on the Daimon residence to hound down Masaru and bring Agumon back to DATS wasn't the first time she had to mosey up to strangers to get her work done, but it was certainly one of the most comfortable times. The mother, Sayuri, was such a welcoming and unasking angel of a mother. The younger sister Chika had just the right of spice to her attitude, yet she was still super down-to-earth. And Masaru himself never put Yoshino in an uncomfortable position. Yoshino definitely envied him for having such a laid back home environment, despite there being a missing father. Prying into the situation when she was first assigned to the mission to retrieve Agumon, she knew the Daimon family was still receiving the missing father's yearly salary as normal, even as ten years had gone by with his status still unknown. Any other information regarding the father was confidential, but it wasn't as if she needed to pry THAT far for the mission...
Looking back at those early days with him now, there were some homey upsides to her encounters with Masaru that she never experienced with Tohma. She quickly came to find out how caring Masaru was as Agumon's 'Aniki,' a rare sensibility that Yoshino didn't find in almost any other boys his age. There had never been boys in her family when she was growing up, and even her own father was mostly absent from her life, so her concept of boys his age all came from her memories during her own time at junior high school. Most schoolboys at Masaru's age were more concerned with their personal things happening outside the family, like what game they'd be playing with their friends next, or their other upcoming school activities. Masaru would go out of his way to emphasize his caring aptitude towards the people close to him... Under the name of manliness, that is. It was easy to dismiss his behavior as a lost one-note cause, but anyone who knew what he truly cared about would know better...
Suddenly having someone like Masaru hanging around with her in a 'work' environment, it felt a bit awkward to just become his work senior, considering how familiar she had already become with his entire family. But even that awkwardness didn't last long, when Masaru declared that he would call Yoshino by her first name, without any honorifics. In other words, he immediately considered her to be an equal comrade in arms once he joined the team, rather than dealing with a seniority system... And honestly, Yoshino was content with it. Again, it was because Masaru never made her feel uncomfortable and exuded such a homey feeling.
However, that homey feeling went pretty topsy-turvy on Tohma once he rejoined the team.
She did realize in the back of her mind that Masaru was also the same age as Tohma, but... indeed, Masaru was such a different beast that she never thought to compare the two until they both appeared in the same room together, days later.
Suddenly, Masaru cared about the seniority system when Tohma made his appearance. Suddenly, he wasn't the only guy in DATS with a stubborn attitude towards things meant for the good of everyone in the end.
Suddenly, there was someone to challenge Tohma's cold, fundamental way of thinking altogether. Suddenly, there was someone to challenge Masaru's brash behavior in respect to all things.
After the rocky fiasco of their team establishment finally simmered down, Yoshino felt a little tainted for ever thinking that Masaru and Tohma were more mature than average for their age... When it turned out that nope, these boys still had a lot to learn.
Yet learned, they did. Masaru came to terms with his differences with Tohma in that homey way he always did in the end. Tohma too had his turn to learn about Masaru and his family, and his handling of Masaru's quirks became a quick second nature to him afterwards. Not before long, Yoshino realized that the two boys had become connected together in a way she never thought was possible for how different they were. She could see that connection on some gradually visible level, as if it were an undeveloped photo with its colors becoming clearer and clearer every day she was with them.
She could see it whenever Tohma shouted Masaru's name after the fighter took on a violent Digimon attack, whenever Masaru was struggling with the machines at DATS and Tohma would have to physically intervene before things went haywire, whenever they finished up a mission and would give each other lingering fist bumps...
As for how far that connection would take them... Yoshino was plenty curious, but she preferred letting the ebb and flow of things take their course naturally. Something was bound to happen sooner or later when it came to these two, after all...
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Just as he declared, Masaru went back to wearing his usual strap the next work day. Yoshino thought that might've been the end of it, but it wasn't until the weekend after when she would see the unexpected...
It was yet another chilly winter late afternoon, but Yoshino was craving her favorite coffee jelly desserts. She'd been holding back on getting them since she preferred to stay low during the Christmas season instead of dealing with holiday crowds... but she had quite the need after the long missions she had to deal with earlier in the week. And she had a coupon she needed to use that was going to expire before the end of the year.
So she braved the chill of the wind and headed to the pop-up shop where her favorite coffee jelly desserts were selling an exclusive variety. As expected, the lines were filled with others waiting in the cold wanting to get their dessert fix, but she braved through them and made her splurge of a purchase. Feeling accomplished, she immediately started digging into her first serving and took a small walk along the seaside where the pop-up shop was located.
"You're really going to eat one here now?" Lalamon asked from her Digivice. The occasional passerby would give her a look whenever she talked to Lalamon in the Digivice, but they would all assume she was talking to someone on her cell phone. "And going through more than a dozen by yourself before they go bad seems like a lot..."
"There was an extra discount for the bulk purchase! I just wanted to splurge on myself for once... and these are best fresh and in the outdoors!" Yoshino insisted. "I'm still willing to share one with you if you're interested..."
"I guess I could take a few bites when we get back home, but you already know I'd prefer other things..." Lalamon trailed off as she spotted something in the distance from the Digivice. "Yoshino! Look down there, isn't that Masaru?"
"Hmm? Where?"
"Over there, waiting outside that brick building!"
Yoshino scanned the area near the 3-story, super wide, red brick building in the near distance. She had trouble recognizing him at first, but indeed he was there, one hand in his pocket...
Aah, Masaru was one of those guys who could stand wearing so little, even in the chilly winter temperatures. Yoshino was still feeling chilly with her many layers, gloves, and a scarf wrapped around her neck like many other people had. All he had on was a v-shaped jacket with various buckles, pants with more belts and buckles (his Digivice was clipped onto the belt), some kind of glovelettes, his usual shoes, and... the choker she had seen only once before, clearly visible from his otherwise overexposed neck in the cold.
Yoshino knew Masaru had the capacity to be more fashionable than meets the eye. She still remembered the wardrobe she had seen in Masaru's closet during her visits to the Daimon residence-it wasn't that she was snooping around either; Masaru had to open it up when he was digging out blankets so he could sleep on the floor when she had barged in for a full night. He had a few garments that veered on the punk style, just like what he was wearing right there. It's just that she had never actually seen him wear any of those until now...
It was really quite a refreshing look, considering Yoshino constantly saw him in only his DATS outfit or his school uniform.
"What's he doing out here?" Lalamon wondered.
Yokohama's recognizable Minato Mirai skyline could be seen in the other direction, and this seaside spot was pretty tucked away from all of it otherwise. There were few reasons to come out this far unless there was a specific reason like Yoshino had for her desserts.
"Must be waiting for someone..."
Yoshino kept watching from her distance, hiding behind a plot of small trees that broke up the super wide walkways, unbeknownst to the brunet. Her undercover investigative tick had been activated.
A steady flow of well-dressed adults entered the building behind Masaru, some of them giving him strange looks or pretending to not see him altogether. Eventually, a couple of older ladies, probably in their thirties, approached him...
"Waiting... for them?" Lalamon said, seeing the women talking to Masaru.
"No way..."
These particular older ladies looked slightly more lavish than the other adults streaming into the building. Yoshino imagined Kurosaki and Shirakawa for a moment, although these ladies were certainly even older than those two. There was no way Masaru had business with them, did he...?
Maybe not, as although Yoshino couldn't hear their conversation, Masaru obviously looked unamused.
The two women kept trying to talk with him. At some point, Masaru started to look troubled, and then he pulled another expression...
"Ah, I know that face. That's his 'I wanna punch someone so bad but I can't' face," Yoshino deducted with a mocking smart tone. "Are those women actually reverse hitting on him? They should be able to tell he's still a minor..."
"I know enough about humans to know that doesn't stop some people."
Yoshino put out a deadpan stare and didn't respond to the ruined innocence of her Digimon partner. She could put her law enforcement training skills to use if she wanted to, but this was Masaru...
She didn't need to. And Masaru didn't need to do anything either, as another person showed up to confront the women... It was Tohma.
Well... The dashing prince has arrived, Yoshino thought to herself.
The blond had a stylish all-white winter coat on, marking a deep contrast to the dark-haired man he stepped next to, who was wearing almost all dark colors. The two women nearly shrieked (in delight) at the sight of Tohma, but he simply said something curtly and high-tailed the scene with Masaru in stow, grabbing the brunet by his glovelette-covered wrist. The two men went into the wide building without looking back, joining other well-dressed adults who were still steadily heading in.
The two women left the area soon after, openly giggling to each other more than looking disappointed. Yoshino sighed, finally leaving her little hiding spot.
"Well, that happened. As I thought... Tohma was the one he was waiting for, to go here..."
There was a sign outside the door that she had to get closer to read, as otherwise the red brick building was pretty much unmarked.
Yoshino recognized the name of the place, as she had read about it in the news before... They'd have special guests playing in-house live music just about every weekend while they served up multi-course meals in a fancy setting.
"Is this... a restaurant?"
"It's certainly no FAMILY restaurant... This isn't really a place you go to with just a casual friend..."
She could never imagine Masaru going to a place like this. But assuming it was Tohma who made the arrangements, things were starting to come together.
A classy, romantic setting... a long dinner session with live music...
Not like she was going to go in herself though. She could always talk to them later about it...
She had enough exploration and food for thought for the night. Finishing up her dessert, she left the area to dispose of her trash and headed on home.
Masaru was back wearing the strap on his next day at DATS. Yoshino couldn't help but overlap visions of him in his choker outfit despite having only seen him for those few moments outside the restaurant... The impact was just that intense.
Tohma generally came in later in the day, allowing for some repose between the full coming of the dynamic duo. Yoshino brought up seeing Masaru that day a bit after he got settled in... or more like as he spaced out in front of his computer screen.
"Whoa, you were there? I didn't see you at all..."
"I was just passing by... I probably would've said hi, but other people showed up before I could."
"Huh... oh yeah. I guess there was some extra company." It seemed Masaru remembered those... pumas... though he was still unfazed about it.
Yoshino sighed internally. Most guys would've reacted differently, she would think...
"How was the restaurant? I've heard about it and always wondered what it's like."
"Wasn't bad," Masaru answered simply. "Food portions could've been bigger, and it felt weird waiting for them to serve everything plate by plate. Everything tasted great though, sure."
"Haven't done a course meal before?" Yoshino asked, as if she had done one herself before...
"Naw, it's always been me picking the places where we go to eat. He always likes how fast the food gets served up at the places I go to, says it helps him with his busy schedule or whatever. That was the first time Tohma picked, since he said he had the whole night available for once."
From the corner of her eye, she swore she saw Kurosaki and Shirakawa's ears perk up, even though they would probably be a little hard of hearing the conversation over the computer noise going around the room.
"But I guess I had a good time with the live music and all. Jazz is pretty cool with me."
"I thought you'd be more into hard rock or something with your personality."
"Maybe. Can't say I have a personal preference... too busy fighting."
"And how was Tohma?"
"Uh... he was fine? He wants me to go out on New Year's with him, too..."
"Oh wow... So are you going with him?"
"I guess so? I think he's just trying to catch up with traditions he's missed out on since he was so busy with being a genius all his life."
"I think it might be a little more than that..."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Yoshino just hummed her way back to her desk. This wasn't for her to answer right there and then, even if Masaru had to give her a super confused look as a result.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The day before Christmas, Yoshino had taken one of her coffee jelly desserts to go on a stroll around Yokohama's Minato Mirai. The streets were lit with holiday spirits even during the daytime and filled with people from all walks of life... But mostly couples spending their time together.
It wasn't just any regular stroll though... Masaru was with her. He had asked for her help in finding a Christmas gift for Tohma.
The first thing she did was scold him for waiting so last minute to start looking.
"Hey, I've got my reasons! I'm not used to this kind of thing... My family doesn't normally do gifts for Christmas. Usually, Mom just buys a cake and cooks up fried chicken or something and we call it a night. Chika and I never believed in that Santa Claus stuff or even put up decorations..."
"Still, it took you this long to think of it after Tohma got you a present?"
"W-Well, not exactly..."
He had had the choker since the start of the month, though he wasn't currently wearing it. Instead, he had an actual winter coat and a scarf. His punk factor was barely there this time, and he blended in with the folk around him much more because of it.
Anybody else looking upon them in the streets and not listening to their conversation probably would've assumed they were yet another couple, but they couldn't be any more wrong with that assumption...
"Nevermind... Let's just hope we can find something that isn't outrageously expensive but would still be a good present for him... Coming from you."
"Thanks, Yoshino..."
"Remember to bring those red bean buns for me next time, got it?"
"Roger dodger!"
"Have you at least narrowed down what kind of gift you're looking to get? Like maybe an accessory like he got for you?"
"Naw, he doesn't seem the type to wear them. It's gotta be something to go with his... uh... vibe, you know what I mean?"
"Yeah, sure... In other words..."
"In other words... Maybe something in here might work."
It was a general houseware shop. Yoshino looked at Masaru with a doubtful stare, but he went in anyway. Yoshino finished up her dessert and followed.
They went through a few sections until Masaru stopped at a section full of picture frames.
"I noticed him looking at our family pictures when he last visited my place... Figured maybe he could frame up some memory he wants to keep around for himself, and he just hasn't gotten around to doing it... Any idea what kind of frame it should be?"
Once again, Yoshino was caught surprised at Masaru's consideration. Just like how much he cared for Agumon despite having just met the Digimon, she didn't expect Masaru to so casually bring up something that was probably very personal for Tohma. Yoshino herself had no idea what went on with Tohma's family, but for some reason, the first thought that came to her mind was the memories he was making with Masaru in the recent days...
"Maybe you could invite him to your place for Christmas and get a picture taken there for the frame. That sounds like it'd be a good memory for him."
"Yeah, I already invited him and made sure he's bringing his nice, schmanchy camera. You wanna come too? No pressure or anything. Lalamon too, of course."
A Christmas party at the Daimon residence... She didn't have any other plans, to be honest...
"I could stop by for food, at least."
Masaru grinned.
"Sweet. Now help me pick a frame? I don't know the first thing about printing photos or anything either..."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Despite the father being missing, Masaru's family was the most tight-knit of the DATS trio.
Yoshino would give her mother a call to say happy holidays on a day like this, and her sisters would leave messages in their text chats, but otherwise she rarely spent time with them anymore... It'd been like that since she left the house to join DATS. Instead of dealing with a long daily commute, DATS offered housing assistance for her to move from her hometown to Yokohama, and so she started living on her own before she even started high school. She had already been somewhat independent before she even moved out, with how estranged she had become with her family...
Honestly, she didn't really have anything to miss about them, but they were still family. So she kept their ties, as loose as they were. As long as they all kept busy like her, all was fine and peaceful among them.
Yoshino knew that Tohma had family circumstances of his own, but since he had never spoken of them, she could only assume so much without asking directly. If his mother was Japanese, and likely not around anymore, and his father was still in Austria...
Once in a while, she'd consider how she could get more details, if it was going to matter in the long run as they worked together. But for now, he too was at the Daimon residence for Christmas that evening, there just for a joyful night of celebration.
Sayuri and Chika were dressed in matching white Christmas outfits, complete with fluffy pompoms and other cute fluffs, the two dears... "We don't normally dress up like this for Christmas, but since we're having all these extra guests this time, we decided to put a little more effort into it~"
Masaru had the choker on once again, along with a few other accessories to go with his red outfit motif. When Yoshino pointed out the punk look in front of the family, Sayuri just giggled and complimented her son on getting into the Christmas spirit. A... punk Christmas spirit?
Yoshino had briefly thought to get an ugly sweater to wear for the occasion, but then reconsidered after remembering that there would be photos later on... So instead, she just put on one of her favorite pink sweaters with a long white underlayer to keep her warm.
And then there was Tohma, in a simple v-neck long-sleeve... At least she wasn't the only one going modest.
Together, with all their Digimon, they got to stuff themselves with Sayuri's home-cooked fried chicken and a fancy Christmas cake. The household was full of noise during their meal, as Masaru and Agumon fought over chicken pieces, even though Sayuri was still in the midst of a mountain-tall pile of chicken left to fry.
Yoshino had nothing but happiness to express her contentment with the food and celebration. Chika asked her a bunch of questions about how she dealt with having a Digimon partner for so long (having pried out that info from her to begin with). Masaru's little sister was definitely more nosey than usual, but it was likely the atmosphere with all the Digimon that had her going that way, and Yoshino didn't mind at all.
As they finished up the last of the cake, she noticed Tohma in the corner of the dining area with Masaru. It looked like they were trying to take pair selfies with the camera Tohma brought, and not doing a very good job at it...
"You need some help over there?" she said, practically taking the camera out of Tohma's hands. She went through the camera roll and couldn't help but laugh a bit at how blurry most of the pictures were. "You can try your hand at selfies again later, but at least get some normal pics in first."
"See? This is what happens when you don't just let the auto settings do their thing. But nooo, you wanted to get everything manually done..."
"I don't want someone as inept with machines as you telling me that..."
"Haa? What's the point of getting a smart camera if you're just gonna try to do everything yourself anyway?" Masaru went on to pinch Tohma's cheeks for the remark, to which Tohma had to bat the brunet's hands away hastily.
These boys...
"Okay guys, can it for now. Go take a seat on the couch in the living room. I'll take the pictures for you."
It ended up becoming quite the feisty photo session, with the Digimon coming in afterwards (not within the photos themselves, but just enjoying the process), and Chika and Sayuri stepping in too. Sayuri offered to trade places with Yoshino so that she could be in some of the pictures, and eventually everyone ended up having their time in the photo spotlight. Tohma's camera was soon filled with plenty of pictures.
"I must say, with Agu-chan and everyone else here, this has been the most lively Christmas we've ever had," Sayuri observed as she moved on to cleaning up the dinner table. Yoshino and Lalamon offered to help out, along with Chika, leaving the boys to continue their selfie attempts in the living room.
When the cleanup finished, Yoshino overheard Masaru in the other room.
"Here you go, Tohma. Merry Christmas."
She went to the doorway just in time to see Masaru handing Tohma a large shopping bag.
"Go ahead and open it up."
Inside the bag was not just one, but two items.
Yoshino blinked as she walked inside the room to get a closer look. She only remembered helping Masaru choose a normal picture frame. What was the other item?
Tohma picked up the other item, turning it around to read the box label. It was a digital picture frame, the kind that displayed images off an SD card or thumbnail drive. Since when did Masaru get something like that on top of the other frame? Maybe it really wasn't a last-minute gift after all... Even that self-proclaimed fighting banchou had something like this up his sleeve.
"Wow... thanks, Masaru."
"Now you can show off just about any number of photos you want with the digital frame."
"And a traditional one too? You got me both?"
"Digital things are cool and all, but sometimes you still can't beat the old fashioned way. I mean... What if the power goes out? Can't rely on electricity all the time..."
"True."
"All that's left is to decide what photo you want on the frame. We can go and get it printed out later. The photo doesn't have to be from today too, of course..."
Tohma set aside the frames and picked up his camera, going through the photos once again (he had spent a lot of time on the camera right after they had finished their photoshoot already...).
"I'm thinking... maybe this one..."
Yoshino couldn't see what the photo was from the far end of the room, as curious as she was about it. So she got closer, much to Masaru's... embarrassment?
"That one, really? That was one of the in-between shots, Tohma... The one in the end turned out really nice if you ask me. You look all surprised and stuff in this one... and I look a little weird too."
It seemed to be one of the pair selfies they had just taken while she was in the other room cleaning... and a bit of a strange one. Their hair was disheveled and Tohma looked to be surprised about something... that something probably being the fact that they had fallen onto the couch when the selfie was taken, as Gaomon and Agumon's noses could be seen above their heads at an otherwise unexplainable angle.
What in the world had happened while she was in the other room cleaning? It was a silly looking picture at first, but the more she looked at it, the more she realized why Tohma wanted that specific photo printed...
The look on Masaru's face in the photo as he was leaning back on Tohma's arm... As Masaru pointed out, it was just an in-between shot, but somehow, it caught him at just the exact moment when he was looking in Tohma's direction instead of the camera, and smiling so purely...
Uwahh, she was getting embarrassed just looking at it even though she wasn't involved whatsoever.
"It's fine. This is the one I'd like printed."
"Is it even okay to get that printed? It's against DATS protocol for any of us Digimon to be shown on any form of media," Lalamon interjected, peering over Yoshino's shoulders to look at the photo herself.
"It's just our noses. I'm sure it's fine!" Agumon chimed in.
"Other humans seeing it would probably assume that we were stuffed animals at this angle," Gaomon reasoned.
"It seems like only yesterday when you'd take offense at the thought of being called a stuffed animal, Gaomon," Lalamon noted.
"I-It's a matter of context! If Master is satisfied with it, then that's all that matters here..."
"I bet you're just that happy to be in the picture."
"I could say the same about you, Agumon!"
Masaru scratched his head a bit before shrugging his shoulders.
"Fine with me too? Just goes to show my selfie skills are better than yours, Tohma. Those are the only shots I've taken today, after all. Heheh!"
Tohma just smiled, letting Masaru have his victory.
If it were up to Yoshino, that victory easily applied to the both of them, and even more so for Tohma, however...
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Yoshino had a few old school friends she would hang around for just a quick boba drink outing once in a while before the end of the year. But when it came to New Year's, she had a self-established tradition of hunkering down in her room and hanging out solely with Lalamon. She had a beautiful view of the city fireworks from her room, in comfortable sight while she relaxed under her heated table of a kotatsu.
"Ah~~ the only way this could be any better would be if I had an awesome significant other here with me too~" Yoshino said somewhat loudly as Lalamon floated down to her side at the kotatsu.
"Uh huh, I've heard this before," Lalamon replied. "Whoever you have your sights set on, they still need my approval, remember."
"Well, I don't have my sights set on anyone at all right now, that's the thing. And the one person I did is..." She trailed off, not completing her thought.
Lalamon knew not to ask further about it.
The countdown started on the live TV feed she had on. Looking at the mass of crowds on TV, mostly young couples and families, she wondered what it'd be like to be among those crowds with a loved one instead of just chilling with her Digimon.
The countdown finished, and all the noise erupted across the city, which she could hear from her apartment window. The fireworks show started from her window view.
"I'm just glad you're still here with me this year too, Lalamon. Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year, Yoshino! This marks our fourteenth time doing this."
"Fourteen, huh... Wow, thinking that that's as old as Masaru and Tohma are right now makes ME feel old."
"You aren't getting any younger, that's for sure."
Yoshino sighed as she watched the bright fireworks display outside her window. "None of us are..." She shook her head. "Oh, I'm not THAT much older than them though."
"You ARE the single actual adult of the trio, though."
"True, but those two... Sometimes they really just show their age, but other times... I feel like they're really ahead of me in terms of knowing what they want to be satisfied with themselves. Meanwhile, I'm still just trying to figure out things day-to-day..."
"Oh, Yoshino..." Lalamon made a bit of a pout (not that it changed her mouth much) and a concerned pose. "It's the start of a new year! This is your chance to whip yourself into shape and find what makes you happy!"
"Yeah!" she quickly agreed. "But hey, I'm already in good shape!"
"I mean with your housekeeping habits! Maybe this year it'd be nice if I didn't have to clean up such a huge mess every other week from your sloppiness around here! How long have you been living 'independently' with me as your cleaning maid, eh?"
"Ahh, geez! I'm working on it, okay?!"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Sometime after New Year's, Tohma and Gaomon were in the break room once again. This time however, something quite different was going on. They had finished a mission in the morning, and he had spent his entire afternoon there...
Yoshino crossed her arms as she approached Tohma on the usual tall chair, meeting him nearly on equal level.
"Tohma, out with it."
The blond jerked his head up from his DigiWindow to look at Yoshino with boggled eyes. "Pardon?"
SOMETHING had changed with Masaru over the winter break, and it showed itself in plain sight as the fighter never showed up at DATS for the next few days, even when he was requested to join the one mission that happened earlier that day, involving a pack of Tokomon gone loose near a confections factory.
Tohma wasn't his usual self either, seemingly distracted with something constantly since the New Year's. But Yoshino had a clear feeling of what it was...
"Did something happen between you and Masaru? Why hasn't he shown up all week?"
Tohma paused before answering. "Nothing happened between us..."
What a feign of cluelessness.
"I find that extremely hard to believe. You've both been acting weird. It's one thing for Masaru to skip out on a fight... even if it was just a bunch of tiny, sharp-toothed Tokomon... but I even had to cover for all the holes in your plan for that mission. Nothing in that plan was as thought out as you usually have it... to the point that even little ol' me had to pull through for the both of us in the end instead."
Tohma hung his head noticeably. "My apologies, Yoshino-san..."
"Since Masaru skipped out on a whole mission, Captain Satsuma is having me visit the Daimon residence later on to pass on the discipline... and basically get Masaru's ass back in gear."
Tohma kept his head lowered, and even Gaomon showed some concern in his expression for his master's behavior.
Yoshino didn't like being the one having to chew people out, but she had to get this one off her chest. The boy in front of her had a far more advanced education, developed literal out-of-world technology, and no doubt had the wealth to not even have to bother working a day in his life, yet here he was, head bowed to the woman who was just trying to get through her day at work.
Carrot and stick, candy and whip...
She sat down at the other end of the small, but tall table.
"Instead of apologizing, could you at least tell me what's going on with you two? I'm pretty sure I have a good idea already, but I need to hear it from you directly."
Another pause followed, during which Tohma scanned Yoshino's serious expression. Afterwards, he took a deep breath, sat his elbows on the table, held his hands together, and leaned his forehead onto his thumbs.
"I asked if he'd come with me to Austria the next time I went."
"Uh..."
"It slipped out of my mind before I could think it through. I didn't consider that he was still in school, or that he'd never left the country before, or anything similar to that matter..."
"...That's it?" Yoshino kept on with a doubtful look. That sounded like an awkward invitation, yes, but certainly not a reason to go MIA for days.
"..." He remained unmoved, his eyes mostly covered by his palms.
"Tohma..."
"I kissed him."
Ah... there it was.
"After we went out to the shrine for New Year's... Right before dropping him off back home. I haven't seen or gotten a response from him since then."
"Oh boy..."
She saw it coming before she even asked, and she had her suspicions since the start of the week, but honestly... Tohma had it in for Masaru just a wee bit further than Yoshino originally imagined. To the point that he was already thinking of taking Masaru overseas...
She didn't know most of the conversations or interactions that went down between the two that led to this, but she knew she'd only have to meddle even more once she visited Masaru later that day. And she also knew that Masaru wasn't the type to avoid confrontation this long unless he was actually thinking through it. So he WAS thinking through it...
Whether Tohma also realized this about Masaru or not, it probably wouldn't have changed the heavy anxiety that was marked all over his face as he finally stopped hiding behind his palms.
"Don't worry so much. I'll talk it out with him. I mean, I have to anyway or I'll be the one in trouble tomorrow. You should head home already," Yoshino said as she got up and gave him a small pat.
Tohma raised his head, looking a little bewildered. He looked like he was about to apologize again, but then he stopped himself. "I should really just reach out and settle things with him myself. I started this, after all."
"Well, I'm about to drive over soon, so if you have the guts to call him before I go, you're free to do that."
"He's not answering his communicator at all, and I don't know if he'd be willing to get on the phone with me..."
"Yep... and that's why I'm just physically going to his place. Heck... you wanna come with?"
"I'd only make your job more difficult if I went with you."
Yoshino shrugged and sighed. "Do whatever you feel is best. Just know that I'm looking out for you guys... You're gonna owe me a week's worth of Shiranui's strawberry parfaits after this, though."
Tohma looked at her with a bit of a renewed sense of hope glowing in his eyes. "Thanks again."
Yoshino thought of how this once-cold prodigy would likely never be making that kind of expression if he hadn't met Masaru. And Masaru would be yet a different kind of beast if not for Tohma...
Honestly, there was never a dull moment at work when these two were around.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Upon arriving at the Daimon residence, Daimon Sayuri answered the door only to inform Yoshino that Masaru had left the house a while back after Tohma had called. To where... even the mother didn't know.
Yoshino pulled out her communicator and tried to reach for Tohma, but she wasn't getting an answer. Not bothering to hide her irritation, she instead requested a tracing for Masaru's Digivice location. An automated system responded, since work hours were over. Eventually, she found out that he was heading towards the DATS building. Did Tohma actually call him, and Masaru actually answered?! Yoshino felt like she drove out for nothing...
But whatever was happening, she didn't feel comfortable letting it go just like that. She drove back to the DATS building.
Masaru wasn't in the building itself, but at the docks outside, where the sunset was prime in view on a rare clear evening. Tohma was also there, standing in front of him. Yoshino was still driving when she saw the two, so she pulled over. There was no other traffic around this time of day in the DATS area, with everyone having left to go home for the evening. Just as she got out of the car, she saw a fist fly in Tohma's direction and she froze...
Tohma caught the fist smoothly with his own hand.
"Tohma, what gives? You told me to punch you... are you trying to mock me or something?"
"No, you were always free to try. What I mean here is that I didn't do anything to deserve this punch."
"Haa?"
Tohma pulled in Masaru's fist to bring the two of them closer, and suddenly the fighter was locked in the nobleman's embrace.
Yoshino was still a good distance from the two, and they apparently hadn't noticed her, but she still turned her eyes away out of embarrassment.
...Maybe she shouldn't have gotten out of the car...
The moment only grew more embarrassing as there was nothing but silence and the sound of the distant waves at the docks for a good minute or so.
Finally, Masaru muttered something in Tohma's hold. Yoshino couldn't hear it, but she heard Tohma's response...
"Ever since you asked me to be a part of your family... even if only for a day. There hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about that since then. Only one day is much too short..."
...Yoshino remembered the day when that happened. And the look on Tohma's face when Masaru had made that awkward proposal.
And Masaru's face as well, putting his trust in the one who seemed so opposite of him. Knowing with a full heart that their trust in each other was there, and that was all that was needed back then.
Now, though...
Eventually, Masaru's hands made their way around Tohma's back to return the embrace. Yoshino slowly turned her view back to see that they had met eye-to-eye, and about to meet mouth-to-mouth too...
She closed her eyes. The two boys were so focused on each other at that point, Yoshino just quietly slipped back into the car without saying a word to them.
In the car, she noted that Masaru and Tohma were wearing pretty much the same things she had seen them wearing when she came across them on that seaside date. Including the choker on Masaru's neck.
She wondered if Tohma realized the reason why Masaru wore that choker... and wore it specifically outside of DATS, only when Tohma was around for it, when the whole point of it being a choker in the first place was so that his Digivice wouldn't fly loose on a strap during missions...
Somewhere in Masaru's mind, that choker was only meant for the two of them, to connect him with Tohma.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Yoshino ended up getting deliveries every day at work the following week during lunchtime, each time for an order of Shiranui's strawberry parfait. When the first delivery came, she gave Tohma a questioning look. The deliveries came straight from his butler, after all...
"I'll take it since it's here already, but I didn't do anything to earn this, Tohma."
She didn't do anything for them... There was no understating that, as literally she didn't need to chew out Masaru after that scene he made yesterday. Those two went off on their own and fixed their own issues with each other, and all she did was literally show up on the sideline...
"No, Yoshino-san, you did your part just fine," Tohma shook his head at her and smiled gently. "Take this more like an extra apology for the work I put you through. I didn't expect him to actually leave the house right away like that, after all..."
"Ah? What'd your butler bring? It's for Yoshino?" Masaru butt in as he spotted the parfait Yoshino was holding.
"Come now, Masaru... We have lunch to attend to."
Tohma tugged Masaru's jacket sleeve, subtly not letting go, and off they went...
Kurosaki and Shirakawa instantly appeared behind Yoshino.
"A parfait from Tohma's butler? What's going on here, Yoshino?" the taller one, Kurosaki, asked as she stared with daggers in her eyes.
Yoshino needed to come up with a story, fast...
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The week went by almost like a surreal, wacky dream. Masaru and Tohma acted like they always did within the DATS HQ, but every now and then Tohma would show a little too much concern for the fighter, or Masaru would let himself get carried off his feet by the nobleman's charms without realizing it... And gradually, the others in the HQ were figuring out what was going on...
Yoshino knew she'd just have to get used to it.
Finally back in her room and relaxing in bed at the end of her work week, she invited Lalamon to come by her pillowside.
"Lalamon."
"What is it, Yoshino?"
"I'm thinking maybe I should give Hitoshi a call... "
"H-Hanamura Neon? But his memories of you were erased..."
In the public eye, the incident with Hanamura Neon was written off as an eccentric fan hacking into various media, and the damage done to his apartment was also written off as being part of the fan's plan to erase all evidence of their existence after the hacking stunt occurred... as indeed the source of the incident did stem from that apartment. When Hanamura Neon next regained consciousness, his apartment had been wiped clean of all of his equipment and the local police could only deduce that a destructive break-in and burglary had occurred while he was out on his 'schedule' that he didn't remember he faked.
"Only the memories of when he met with me after our school days. I... I think I'm willing to rebuild those memories from the ground up."
"Are you sure? I'm a little worried it might go against DATS protocol somewhere... and he's a lot more famous now, after that incident; who knows if he'll even make the time to see you..."
"It's fine if he's busy. And I'll figure out how to make things work in regards to DATS. It's just... whenever I see Masaru and Tohma now, I can't help but think I could work on connecting with someone like they do for each other..."
"Hmmmm..." Lalamon let out an extended, high-pitch expression of wonder through her perpetually open mouth. "That sounds so sappy, but I guess I get what you mean. You should go for it. I'll be rooting for you!"
"Thanks, Lalamon." Yoshino pulled Lalamon in for a hug, giving the pink plant Digimon a gentle squeeze.
Masaru and Tohma still had a lot to learn... but Yoshino did too. She felt this in earnest now, and it was up to her to make that difference happen. She squeezed Lalamon some more, letting her partner know how much she appreciated the support.
"If it motivates you to work on your cleaning habits, I have no complaints. You can't rely on me to clean up after you all the time!"
"That again...?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
END
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The restaurant:
Motion Blue {redacted by ff.n}
But uhhh yeah if we're going by the official ages, Budmon showed up in front of Yoshino years before DATS was even established? So really gotta wonder how that worked out...
Until next time! R&R appreciated as always~