1. The End of That Era
"And thus," Mirei says to herself with a sigh. "Fate reaches the end of its thread."
Well, to be precise, this fate was a rope and it had been tied. She chuckled to herself. It was still interesting, even this time around, to watch where destiny led, even though it was not her own. Even though her own was-
Yggdrasil would call it tragically cut short, as she had once upon a time. Mirei giggled again before she could stop herself. She would rather call it a change in direction nowadays. Perhaps she would get a new one and then, well-
She thought of her old friends and smiled at nothing, almost missing Rina's exuberant company. Well, she didn't even remember her age anymore. So things would be in doubt, such as if they were very old or she was just unlucky.
"How many times have we met by now?" she mused to the room at large, typing once more too rapidly for human hands.
"You still talk to yourself, I see." A small purple creature popped out of the portal. Mirei raised an eyebrow at the sight of them.
"Kyoko-san," she said, remaining outwardly unflappable. "Had to let go at last, mm?" And here she had thought the Digimon wouldn't find their way here.
"I'd say don't call me by that name," mumbled the beast. "Then again, I've grown accustomed to it, so I do not mind it." The Dorumon yawned. "It's a shame that it has to end this way."
"Does it?" Mirei smiled at the digimon. "You know as well as I do that fate doesn't always follow the standards we are familiar with." For instance, though the knot had been tied, the thread still continued. She was not being whisked away to a new world yet. That was a sign if she had ever seen one.
"Be careful with yourself, Mirei," chided the Digimon, picking up one of her cats by the scruff of their neck. The black cat mewed and squirmed with discomfort until they were in the air. Then they started to yowl. "You don't want to get caught up in much more, do you?"
"Shouldn't I?" Mirei shrugged, watching the facilities twist to the world around them. To the many worlds. Eventually, it would settle here. It always did. "I will always be caught up in something. That is just the nature of living, even in a half-life state such as this." She smiled. "I simply would rather take it on myself, rather than passively wait."
"You would, wouldn't you?"
Kyoko yawned and Mirei waved a lazy hand, forming a small pile of cushions. They snorted and settled in the pile without comment.
As the Digimon's breathing slowed, Mirei went back to her work. The strings of fate wound past her fingers, into her chest and out again. She reached and gently extracted them, following each crimson-dipped strand. Five were knotted together, one thrumming, taut.
Mirei smiled to herself. And here you are.
A/N: Oh look, the one Cyber Sleuth fic I'm writing that I'm actually positive has roots in canon. Because it's after canon. Haha. So let me know what you think. I'll be aiming to update this as often as possible but this job is ridiculous. Anyway, enjoy!
Challenges: Digimon Game/Manga Non Flash 473 - prompt: thank, Three Sided Box Challenge, Diversity Writing Challenge I41. Write in the mystery genre, Ultimate Sleuth 1.8 - write the first part of a story or series, Tale in Fragments, 30 prompts, easy list 6, prompt - relieved.