"O-dai-ba! O-dai-ba!"
Taki stared at the back of his aunt's head, bemused, as she practically skipped across the foot bridge, singing (chanting?) as she went. Aunt Ethne was easily the most excited of the group, and, according to her husband, had been awake since some obscene hour in the morning to make sure that she was absolutely, 100% ready to go. Her short brown hair was pulled back into two bouncy pigtails, not dissimilar to Aunt Zoya's (though hers were much longer and straighter), and her head was covered with a large sunhat. Taki did not think that she had done anything particularly special with her appearance, otherwise, but he eyed her very large bag with suspicion. Already he had determined that she was carrying a full-size bottle of sunscreen, a camera, her wallet, her IC card, and a plushie in there, and he did not doubt that there was more where that came from.
Aunt Taeko was not far behind, visibly buzzing with excitement, pointing things out to Mirai whenever they came into view. Taki fought a twitch of annoyance when Mirai started jumping to see what her mother was pointing at.
"I still don't see what the big deal is with these buildings," Taki complained, folding his hands behind his head. First it was Big Sight, and now the Fuji TV building. Sure, they were weird looking buildings, and Mirai, Taeko and Ethne had gone into exhaustive detail about the fights that happened at Big Sight in the show, but he just could not see the appeal. As far as he was concerned, the convention center was just a giant reflective thing designed to give him a headache.
"I can't speak for the events in the show," his mother ventured from his left, "but I do know that Ethne and Taeko make an effort to go to that huge festival held here twice a year."
"Comiket," Aunt Zoya clarified. "I used to go to that fairly often, myself. These days I just send the other two with my shopping list so I can stay at home with Chassy."
"Will you be going this year, then, Mom?" Chassy asked. "I'm old enough to stay at home by myself and watch Mirai if need be."
"I'll pass. It's far too crowded for my tastes. I must be getting old."
"Don't say that!"
"Nah, she's right, Chassy," Uncle Kouta piped up from the rear of the group. He bore a striking resemblance to Taki, although in the bright late morning sun, it was easier to see that his hair was a few shades lighter. He leaned forward and poked Zoya in the small of her back, just below the waistband of her skirt. "None of us are spring chickens at this point."
Zoya tensed. It was the same way Chassy would tense at school whenever someone refused to go away. It was the same way Hana tensed whenever she realized she would have to tolerate Taki's presence for more than a few seconds. The tension of 'I could react but then there would be witnesses.' Taki shivered. He had only seen that tension snap once, and it led to Fugamon getting slammed into the ground.
"Touch me again and your hand is forfeit," she said darkly.
"I have a question," Chassy said a little too loudly. The adults turned their attention to her, even as Uncle Kouta took a few very strategic steps backward. "Why was Auntie so eager to take our photo under that bridge a little while ago? It... was just an underpass, right?"
"Oh yeah, that location doesn't pop up until Tri," Zoya mused. "It's nothing major, but the characters gather there multiple times as an out-of-the-way meeting spot where their Digimon can be out with them. I think other people use it for cosplay shoots fairly often, too."
At the mention of the Digimon, Taki caught Chassy's eye. A silent sigh passed between them. It had required some gate-hopping the night before, but the three of them had managed to transfer their partners over to stay with Jonah for the day. The storage function only worked in Digivice mode, and there was no way they could go the entire trip without at least one adult seeing their transformed phones. Taki really would have rather had Kudamon's company than Aunt Ethne's, but it was what it was.
"I take it we're headed to the Fuji TV station, next?" Taki asked.
"Nope! Next is the beach!" Ethne said, turning around and grinning. "There's some cool historical fort stuff out there, you can see Vamdemon's hideout, and the beach itself is where Hikari got transported to the Dark Ocean in 02. If we're lucky, we might even get to see the Leiji Matsumoto boat! I figure then we can head over to the station, then Diver City to see the Big Gundam, we can go on the Ferris wheel at some point, and then we finish the day at the onsen. Any objections?"
"I thought this was a Digimon trip," Zoya drawled, hand on her hip as she fixed her sister with a flat stare. "Why are we going to the Gundam?"
"Why not? It's there, it's impressive. There are some character-themed drinks I want to try from the café. It's not that deep."
"Doesn't it move?" Mirai asked, looking up from where she was taking a picture of the bay. "I want to see it move."
"Hmm... that happens shortly after dusk, usually," Taeko muttered, looking over at Ethne. "We might have to see how fast we're moving or else move the onsen up. I know everything seems really close together, but you might find yourself looking forward to a relaxing soak sooner than you think."
"Anyway, beach!" Ethne insisted as they entered the central promenade. She then fished a small spray bottle out of her bag. "And bug spray. There are a lot of mosquitoes out there and I always seem to get bit."
"Yes, you do attract quite a few bloodsuckers," Uncle Kouta said, sliding up beside her, a flirtatious grin plastered on his face. Taki almost choked on air as his ears steamed in embarrassment. He did not care to see his uncle awkwardly flirt, nor did he care to see the way his aunt pulled him down into her space to murmur something in his ear.
"PDA!" he yelled at them; a sentiment echoed by Mirai.
"Just ignore them," his mother said gently to the kids. She ushered them forward, twirling her parasol with each step she took. As they walked past the two lovebirds, her tone shifted. "Please get a room, you two."
Taki, for his part, did not end up seeing any mosquitoes, nor did he get what was so interesting about a few scattered ruins of an old fort. The canon wasn't even there anymore, so what was the point? At best some of the tree clusters seemed like a fun place to make a kids' hideout, but otherwise it was just a bunch of knee-high grass. At least Mirai looked like she was enjoying herself, until she swatted a bug that tried to land on her arm.
Chassy waited with his mother up on the walkway, looking down at the group of explorers like they were crazy for venturing into such conditions. Taki couldn't blame them, especially once Ethne started going on about portals into Narnia or some such nonsense as she pointed almost reverently to some picturesque bits of foliage. Wasn't it embarrassing for an adult to act like that?
"Ethne, that is the fifth bite you've gotten, and this is after coating yourself in foul smelling chemicals," Aunt Zoya complained to her sister. "Let's get out of here before you swell up like a balloon."
"Spoilsport."
"No, she's right," Uncle Kouta said, pushing his wife up the hill. "You only brought the travel size tube of allergy cream. You're going to complain all the rest of the day if you get any worse."
"She's going to complain plenty as it is," Zoya grumbled, gathering the kids up and making sure that everyone was accounted for. "Don't follow your aunt's example. Actually, take the preparedness to heart but ignore the part where she willfully causes herself pain and suffering by virtue of being stubborn."
"Okay...?" Taki answered. "I don't really get it, but okay?"
"Ignore Aunt Ethne, got it," Mirai said. Zoya nodded, her face drawn in the perfect portrait of sage wisdom born of long suffering. That, at least, Taki was pretty sure he understood.
About halfway back down the length of the beach, the kids' phones all let out an identical chime that sent them scrambling to their pockets.
DigiDestined,
We have received reports of a large-scale incident in the forests east of Imbria. There is a high likelihood that the culprit or culprits are infected, so we request your assistance. The coordinates are attached.
Dianamon
Taki looked between Mirai, Chassy, and the adults, panic barely concealed on his face. Mirai met his gaze with panic of her own. Only Chassy seemed composed, but Taki could see the gears churning in her brain as she glanced between him and the adults, trying to think of a way to get away and to the Digital World. Another chime came through, showing that Dianamon had somehow started a group conversation.
Roger. On my way. -Hana
Chassy, Taki and I are out with our parents in Odaiba. I don't think we can slip away any time soon. -Mirai
I can go. Lmk which partners I'm bringing along. -Jonah
What do you mean you can't slip away? -Hana
We have a duty to protect the Digital World. This isn't the time for a vacation. -Hana
"What the hell does she expect us to do?" Mirai whispered. She stopped walking, staring at her phone in exasperation.
"Don't ask me," Taki grumbled, stopping as well. "I didn't even want to come on this weird trip."
What about Haruki and Cutemon? -Chastity
Haruki's a non-combatant -Hana
Leave Haruki out of this! -Taki
The two messages came through at nearly the same moment, which caused Taki to turn an interesting shade of red, almost bordering on purple. He hated agreeing with Hana on anything, but, well. Haruki came first.
Guys, I can help... -Haruki
"Everything okay back there?" Aunt Taeko called to them. It seemed that Zoya had noticed them fall behind and got the others' attention.
"Yeah, uh, just drama in the group chat," Chastity nervously answered. It was a good lie, Taki thought, since it wasn't really lying at all, just so long as no one asked for details. Uncle Kouta looked off into the distance, scowling, and Taki was pretty sure he muttered "teenagers." As good a sign as any.
Chastity looked past the adults, visually mapping their path between the beach and the television station. She paused on one building in particular, a large mall wrapped in pier-like decks that was swarming with shoppers. Turning to Taki, she gave him a good once-over and quickly pinched his cheeks, ignoring his confused "ow" as she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to where the adults were waiting for them. Mirai followed close on their heels.
"Could we maybe take a break inside the mall for a bit?" Chastity asked. She turned her not-quite-doe-eyes on her mothers. "Taki is getting a little warm, and we need to pick up some souvenirs for our other friends, anyway."
Catching on, Taki did his best to look miserable, which was not all that hard when every structure in Odaiba was conspiring to redirect the sun at him. It was times like these that he envied his mother's parasol.
"Fine by me. I was thinking of getting some Kukuruza popcorn for my coworkers anyway," Zoya piped up. Ethne needed to be bribed with ice cream, but everyone else readily agreed to detour to the mall. Inside, it was blessedly cool and dark, and Taki almost forgot the real reason Chastity had steered them in here as they gathered around a directory by one of the entrances.
"Well, since I'm sure you kids don't want your parents around to be embarrassments, how about we meet back here in an hour, and we can all get lunch together?" Taeko suggested. "I hope that's enough time."
Barely, but they could make it work. Mirai said as much, with Chastity assuring that they would say something if they were running late with their "shopping."
"Who's gonna go?" Taki asked once they were alone. "All of us?"
"At least one person needs to stay behind," Mirai said. "Our parents know us pretty well, so it would be weird if they never saw any of us for the whole hour."
We bought some time but not everyone can go. Any preferences for who goes? -Chastity
"I'll stay," Taki said, surprising the girls. "Coredramon and Darcmon can both fly – Reppamon can't. Besides, the sun really was giving me a headache."
Send Mirai. She's closest to a ranged attacker. -Jonah
"Chassy? What about you?"
"I should stay, too. Mama will be suspicious if I don't have any new clothes after an hour of shopping." The older girl looked resigned, like she would really rather not buy new clothes at a time like this. She sent a quick roster confirmation to Jonah. "Let's go find you a bathroom or something to gate out of."
"Not the bathroom," Mirai insisted. "It's Golden Week, so it's bound to be crowded and I'll need to gate back, remember? I'm not about to gate back into some random stall when a stranger is probably using it."
"If the light from the gate wasn't so bright, we could pass it off as a camera flash," Taki mused. The girls leered at him, causing a bead of sweat to drip down his back. Really? Really!? But he was so bad at... "...fine."
They slipped back outside onto the deck and found a relatively quiet, shadowy corner away from anyone enjoying their lunch. Mirai crowded as far into the corner as she could, while Taki and Chassy positioned themselves in front and just far enough out to not get caught in the gate. Chassy held up her phone and made sure to position it so that the flash was facing them. Pitching her voice to carry, she said, "Alright, three, two, one! Cheese!"
One flash of light later, and Mirai was gone.
Mirai met Jonah, Haruki, and Hana at the foot of a tall waterfall. Dracomon scurried over to her side.
"I have an hour. What's the situation?" she asked, not in the mood to waste time. She set a five-minute warning on her phone, just to be sure she would be back in time.
"Ongoing attack at a nearby mine." Jonah tilted his head as a signal to walk and talk. "Enemy unknown. The call for backup said that the guards were being pushed back but was cut-off before they could elaborate."
"A young guard passed by here escorting evacuees. She gave us directions," Kotemon said. Mirai was surprised.
"They didn't have a description of their attacker?"
"More like they couldn't agree." Hana frowned. "Some said it was a giant skeleton, others that it was a kind of cyborg. Although most accounts agreed that it was a monstrous lizard."
"Just great," Mirai muttered. She hoped that meant it was more dino than dragon, for whatever it was worth. She was not in the mood to deal with an evil dragon Digimon besmirching the good name of dragons everywhere. A glance down at Dracomon told her he shared the sentiment.
Lizard, it turned out, was maybe as accurate as they were going to get. In the center of the mine, a Godzilla-like Digimon was ripping the structure and equipment to shreds, using the two extra heads on its arms to do so – one skeletal, the other a terrifying mix of cybertronics and flesh. These heads must have been what caused the confusion. The DigiDestined ducked behind some stray boulders to avoid being spotted.
"We ought to have brought the others," Pandamon said, with the slightest edge of "I told you so." He and Jonah must have argued about it before gating. "Then we could have called in back-up."
"Too late now," Mirai sighed. "Besides, their partners are busy holding together my paper-thin cover story."
"Which you wouldn't need if you weren't gallivanting around Tokyo," Hana muttered. She obviously had intended to not be overheard, as she flinched when Mirai glared at her.
"It was my mom's idea," Mirai said. "It's not like we planned to be busy the day of a big attack like this. And I don't know about you, but we've been keeping all this a secret from our parents."
Hana looked... Mirai was not sure how Hana looked, there were too many emotions flitting through her eyes, but maybe a bit like she had sucked on an especially sour lemon. Haruki looked like he wanted to say something, maybe run some kind of damage control, but Hana spoke first.
"No, I haven't told mine, either," Hana finally admitted. "I suppose I was the one insisting for you all to keep a low profile. My apologies."
"Tell that to the two who aren't here," Mirai growled.
"I'm not apologizing to that idiot."
"This isn't even his fault!"
"Will you two focus? We have a three-headed lizard to deal with," Haruki begged.
"And a time limit," Jonah reminded them. The two girls looked appropriately chastised, neither missing the irony of arguing over their perceived sense of duty instead of actually performing said duty. "Dracomon, you're our only flier, so you should take the head. Cutemon, if you can use that sonic attack again, it should be enough of a distraction to give us an opening to attack, but then you and Haruki need to fall back and focus on helping any stragglers to safety."
"Kotemon and I can take the bone head, if you and Pandamon do not mind the cybernetic," Hana said.
"No objections here," Pandamon said after a quick glance at Jonah. With everyone in agreement, Dracomon and Musyamon Digivolved and the pairs split off to ready their attacks. Cutemon unleashed his Ultrasonic Wave attack, easily drawing their opponent's attention. Rather than let him notice Haruki's hasty retreat, Coredramon took to the sky, aiming to sear his target with his flames in a dive-bomb attack.
All three heads turned to him, charging up a beam attack from all three mouths. With a shout of "Triplex Force," the beams fired. Coredramon's Blue Flare Breath was not strong enough to counter it, and he was flying too fast to completely dodge. His left side was injured badly, and the force of the impact sent him spinning into the side of the mine. He de-Digivolved as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"Dracomon!" Mirai cried, clambering down after him without a second thought. He was a sitting duck. She had to get to her partner, he was in danger, they were supposed to protect each other, she couldn't lose him—
Someone shouted her name, and it was only then that she noticed the skull lunging at her, teeth bared. Dracomon was still a short distance away, so with that tiny reassurance, she braced for the attack she knew she had no time to dodge. Instead, Musyamon pushed her out of the way, taking the brunt of the attack himself. Injured though he was, he still managed to knock a few teeth loose. The skull clamped its jaw shut in pain, acting instead as a more traditional fist to smack Musyamon into the same cliff Dracomon had hit moments earlier.
Now de-Digivolved into Kotemon, he struggled to get up, using his bokken as a support. Mirai looked back and forth between him and the three-headed lizard, trying to find an opening.
Pandamon's firecrackers coupled with another Ultrasonic Wave was her saving grace. Mirai ran and picked the two Child Digimon up, one under each arm, and pulled a tight U-turn when she heard Hana calling from behind. The other girl was climbing up to where Haruki was waving just inside one of the tunnels, hopefully out of sight of all three angry heads. She stopped at the top of the ladder, reaching around to take Kotemon from Mirai. She was furious, but her concern for Kotemon had her holding her tongue.
Cutemon led them deep into one of the tunnels, assuring them that the tunnel was stable. Once they were far enough from the entrance, the little Digimon set to work healing Dracomon and Kotemon.
All the while, Hana had been muttering a mantra of "reckless, stupid, reckless."
"You can't just run in like that," she finally said to Mirai. "What would you have done if Musyamon hadn't protected you? Now he's hurt in your place!"
"I know, and I'm sorry. I..." Mirai wanted to say that she could have taken the attack, but who was she kidding? She probably would have just gotten knocked out like the Digimon. "I didn't mean for anyone else to get hurt."
"You were completely reckless!" Hana nearly shouted. Jonah nodded his agreement, and Mirai couldn't help but feel a little bit ganged up on. "You have to think these things through!"
"It's not like I have all the time in the world to think through a perfect strategy," Mirai scowled. "I didn't mean to run in without a plan. It's just that when I see someone I care about in danger, my body starts moving before my mind has caught up. It's stupid. I know it's stupid and reckless, but...!"
Mirai took a deep breath, trying not to choke on unshed tears. Her stupid impulses always seemed to get her into trouble. She even tried to save Haruki from the boulder the other day, hadn't she? And what would she have accomplished? Getting herself crushed instead? Kotemon had saved her, then, too, she realized.
"Kotemon, I'm sorry. It's my fault you got hurt."
"No, I understand," he said, voice quiet but steady. He turned to her as he otherwise sat patiently as Cutemon tended his wounds. "You are a protector. There is no shame in that. After all, am I not much the same?"
"Kotemon," Hana said, like she wanted to protest, but she held her tongue at his inscrutable look.
"What do we do now?" Haruki asked.
Jonah pulled out his Digivice and poked at it.
"Our enemy is called Deltamon," he said, reading from the information application. "His special attack is that Triplex Force laser beam we saw. From how it took out Coredramon, I would say it's our biggest threat in this fight."
"Coulda figured that out without the Digivice," Dracomon grunted. He tried to sit up, but Cutemon pushed him back down with a stern frown. The poor little guy looked exhausted, and he wasn't even done treating Dracomon yet. Mirai mentally crossed Ultrasonic Wave off their list of options.
"So we have to keep the three heads from working together, right?" Haruki asked.
"Right. Either we attack all three heads simultaneously – truly simultaneously this time – or we focus on one head so it can't join the others." Jonah looked first at Mirai, then at Hana. "Either way we have to work together carefully."
"We stick together on one head," Mirai said, her tone brokering no room for argument. "Coredramon is our heaviest hitter and couldn't directly counter Triplex Force. If we split up and someone gets hit, we're screwed. At least if we're together we have backup."
After a tense silence, Hana finally nodded.
"Fine by me. It's not like we have much choice right now. Just so long as the humans hang back out of the immediate line of fire."
Mirai rankled at the way Hana stared at her when she made her stipulation. Not that she disagreed. She did her best to ignore it.
"Great. Now speaking of not having the time to make the perfect plan, I am on a time limit. We move as soon as Dracomon is ready to go."
"Is this really okay?" Taki asked as Chastity pulled a shirt off a nearby clothes rack. She turned it this way and that before holding it up to her chest and examining herself in the mirror. She nodded to herself and draped it over her arm to try on. "Shopping while Mirai and the others are doing who knows what? It feels like we should be helping somehow."
"This is helping," Chastity told him, sparing him a brief glance before turning back to a display of dresses. "We're reinforcing our cover story. The best lies have a grain of truth to them, or at least that's what Mama says about acting."
"Isn't she a stunt actor?" Taki asked, eyebrow quirked.
"She is. And what is important right now is that if someone saw us, they would believe we are shopping."
"Because we are."
"Exactly. We aren't pretending to shop. We are actually shopping, even if our conversation is a little incongruous. And it beats loitering around a random corner suspiciously waiting for Mirai to get back," Chastity said, shooting Taki a grin.
"It does beat that," he agreed with a laugh. "People would definitely start to notice." He scowled, even as he picked up on Chastity's cue that she wanted him to at least pretend to give an opinion of the dress she had pulled out. He leaned in as if to examine it, but his thoughts were miles away. "I can't believe you two had me do that earlier. Mirai's the one always going on and on about not letting people see and then she goes and does that right next to a crowded plaza."
"In her defense, it was an emergency," Chastity pointed out. She gave the dress another look over, before shrugging and putting it back on the rack. "Not to be nosy, but is everything okay on that front? I know you two talked the other day, but Mirai has seemed kind of down. I hope you gave her a chance to talk, too."
Taki blinked at her, mentally catching up to her meaning. For all that he was the one to change the topic, he had not really meant for it to go anywhere. He also had not expected Chassy to be so out of the loop. Geez.
"Of course, I did," he mumbled. "She's... it'll be fine. You don't need to worry. We shouldn't talk about that sort of thing here, anyway."
Chastity narrowed her eyes at him, seeing through his blatant dodging of the issue. At the very least, she seemed to take his reassurance seriously. She gave him a small smile before disappearing into the fitting rooms. She emerged a few minutes later looking rather cross. It seemed all the items were a bust.
"Oh, Chassy, Taki," Aunt Zoya said as she entered the boutique. Taki glanced over her shoulder and saw Taeko and Ethne enthusiastically cooing over something in the toy store across the way. He figured his mother had gone off to spend some time alone with her brother. Zoya looked around. "Where's Mirai?"
"She's in the bathroom," Chassy hurriedly answered.
"Good luck to her," Zoya said, throwing a look over in the direction of the bathrooms. It looked like she was having war flashbacks for a moment, before she shook herself. "Golden Week queues. I swear. Anyway, how's shopping?"
Taki shrugged. Chassy gave some vaguely positive answer, although she had not actually bought anything yet.
"That's good to hear. But if you do need more time, Chassy, just let me know, okay? I can talk the others into a later lunch if you three need. I don't want you to feel rushed."
Chastity blinked at her mother. While it was true that she took fashion seriously, and that her mothers supported her interest, this sort of earnestness was new. And somewhat nonsensical. She had never been one for impulse buying, after all. And normally Zoya was all about keeping to regular mealtimes – especially when out and about. She felt like she was missing something.
"A-alright. I'll let you know, Mom."
With that, Zoya returned to the others. Chastity shared a bewildered look with Taki.
"Don't look at me," he said. "Parents are weird."
Healing took longer than any of them would have liked, as they were now looking at a scant fifteen minutes before Mirai needed to book it back to Earth. Outside, Deltamon lumbered about, roaring and smashing into the mine seemingly at random. They waited until his left side was facing them, and, before it could spot them, the Digimon rushed out.
Pandamon and Musyamon led the charge, being smaller and harder to see, slashing at the already damaged skeleton head. Their job done, they dodged in opposite directions, Pandamon to Deltamon's front and Musyamon to the back. Before Deltamon could counterattack, Coredramon followed up with his Blue Flare Breath, scorching the bone and breaking apart its lower jaw. Deltamon roared in pain and tried to swing the head at Coredramon, but its movement was sluggish. Coredramon easily avoided the attack.
For a moment, the virus flickered along the length of the left arm, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It seemed that taking down one head would not be enough.
"Triplex Force is out!" Mirai called down to the Digimon. "Begin Phase Two!"
With one head down, Pandamon and Musyamon turned their focus onto the cybernetic arm while Coredramon once again took the main head. However, if Deltamon's attacks had been random before, they were now downright erratic. Their partners spent more time dodging than attacking. It only got worse after Coredramon's flames burned Deltamon's eyes, blinding him.
"There are still Digimon trapped over there!" Cutemon suddenly informed them, pointing at the opposite side of the mine. A small pack of Pagumon were huddling behind a lone Candmon, a collapsed tunnel at their backs. The attacks were getting closer and closer to the group.
"We have to help them," Mirai insisted, trying to track all the action while keeping an eye on the trapped Digimon. She was halfway out of the tunnel before she finished speaking.
"Not you," Hana immediately said. Before Mirai (or Haruki, that was a surprise) could spout a retort, she continued. "I'll go with Cutemon and Haruki. You two stick to the plan."
Jonah agreed, so Mirai reluctantly went along with it. She was unhappy with it, but it would be easier for Cutemon if he had fewer people to worry about, especially in his weakened condition.
She and Jonah watched them go, then slipped off themselves to get closer to the fight. By now, Deltamon had moved too far away to purify if they just stayed in the tunnel.
"I can't believe you just let her go like that," Mirai complained, because really, it seemed a little hypocritical of Hana to get mad at her for putting herself in danger to save someone and then to go do nearly the same thing only twenty minutes later.
"She's not running in without a plan," Jonah pointed out. "And besides, I suspect she's the sort of person who can't bring herself to really trust anyone except herself."
"We're supposed to be a team," Mirai muttered. Even if Dianamon did not seem to think they had to be. "We're all on the same side, at any rate. She should be able to trust us."
"Mirai," Jonah sighed. "Being guarded around others is a defense mechanism. One that kept me alive for years. You just need to give her time."
"Fine. I'll try." But Jonah's words had her checking the clock once again, wincing when she saw that she had less than ten minutes. If the virus did not show itself again before her warning alarm went off, they would be forced to use their backup plan. She ducked behind a boulder with Jonah and peeked out to check the fight. Coredramon zipped through the air, trying to dodge Deltamon's teeth and fizzling energy beams, unable to get close enough to land a solid attack. Musyamon and Pandamon were having a bit more luck but were hampered by the lack of power behind their attacks.
One more minute.
Mirai shifted her focus over to Hana, Haruki, and Cutemon. They were ducking in and out of sight, making surprisingly good time. Hiding behind equipment here, ducking in and out of tunnels over there. Cutemon's wayfinding abilities were nothing short of phenomenal. She wondered if all the noise from the fight was echoing through the environment and creating an echolocation map for Cutemon. She would have to ask him, later.
And then they just narrowly avoided a stray energy beam.
30 more seconds.
Screw it.
"Five-minute warning!" Mirai shouted. It was their agreed upon signal, and she figured no one would squabble over less than a minute. Especially since she was pretty sure the last thing Musyamon wanted was for Hana to be in immediate danger.
At the signal, Pandamon landed a strong punch on the cybernetic head, giving Musyamon an opening to get into position. Coredramon put more effort into drawing Deltamon's attention skyward. It was just the opening Musyamon needed.
He leapt into the air, and his sword began to glow.
"Kirisute Gomen."
Musyamon almost seemed to pass through Deltamon, the glowing swing of the sword the only thing clearly visible. Musyamon landed behind his opponent, expression solemn.
Just like that, Deltamon collapsed, unconscious, the virus practically spilling out of him. Jonah and Mirai wasted no time in purification. As the light faded, they could see that a trio of Digimon had taken Deltamon's place: Armadimon, Kokuwamon, and ToyAgumon. Mirai doubted they would be waking up any time soon.
They had won.
"Mirai, you're all dirty and sweaty!" Taki exclaimed when she gated back in. "How are we going to explain this to our parents?"
"It's not my fault I almost got smashed into a cliff!"
"Got you covered, sis," Chassy said, shoving a shopping bag at her with one hand, and dabbing her face with her hanky with the other. "I got you a new outfit, just in case something like this happened. I've already changed, so we can just say we were so excited about our new clothes that we couldn't wait to wear them."
"I'll let your mom know we're going to be a bit late," Taki interjected, remembering what Zoya had said about the bathroom lines. At Mirai's panicked look, he added, "She did say to let them know if we were going to be late. It's fine."
"Is everything taken care of?" Chassy asked, hurrying her sister to the nearest bathroom.
"We purified the infected Digimon. Jonah and Hana were going to stay and handle clean-up."
"And Haruki?" Taki asked.
"Cutemon was pretty beat, so they headed home to get some rest. I'll debrief you all tonight."
She would have to remember to make it very clear that Musyamon's Kirisute Gomen attack was not one he liked to use, feeling that its life-draining ability was dishonorable. She wondered how Taki would react to that.
"Right. Well, now that that's over, let's enjoy the rest of our trip. We've still got lots to do! Forward march!" Chassy said, jarring Mirai back into the present.
"Forward march to the bathroom? That's weird, Chassy," Taki teased. "And it makes you sound like Aunt Ethne."
"Oh, God, no. I take it back. I take it back!"
"Too late. Already texted Jonah!"
Mirai wanted to intervene, but she had just stepped up to the bathroom line and had no desire to already lose her spot. She may impulsively jump into danger to protect others, but this was one fight she was staying out of.
(Besides, she was pretty sure Jonah would find it endearing!)
A/N: We get to meet more of the Supernatural Research Club, a.k.a. The Parents! I hope you like them, as you will be seeing more of them in the future.
The little interlude with Chassy and Taki was unplanned, but I like how it turned out.
This whole excursion to Odaiba is based on my own trip in 2015, so quite a bit has changed - I recently heard that the Ferris Wheel is closing! I've left everything as-is here, even though this is taking place sometime in the future.
As always, let me know what you think!