Act 1: Beating Heart

Segment 2: New Year, New Life

Chapter 2-8: Cast Iron Teapot

Amedramon curled up next to Falcomon and laid its head down. Falcomon sat next to it. "Amedramon," it said, "have you noticed that when Yuuka is with Ryuta, he seems much gentler?"

"Hm? He seems rather gentle all the time."

"Maybe that's the case with you, but he's coarse with everyone else. Especially Takaharu."

Amedramon yawned. "I guess. I don't know much about humans, still." Its head perked up at the smell of Haru, who bounced over to the two of them and sat next to them. "Haru? I thought you had language tutoring today."

"Nope! It's a break from school for everyone, including me!" She poked at Falcomon's vest feathers. "Hey, Falcomon, are you a ninja?"

"I… I guess?"

"Hee hee, you have throwing stars on your chest. Yaa!" she cried, making a throwing motion. Falcomon snickered. Amedramon watched Ryuta and Yuuka intently. They were sitting next to each other at the dinner table, across from Ryuta's parents. If it had to intervene on his behalf, it would.

"Yuuka," purred Kanae, "please take our deepest thanks for visiting." Her head dipped.

"Ah… you're welcome. I hope I'm not intruding too much." The lengths that his parents went to for her whenever she visited still bothered her. It felt too formal. She cupped the tea mug. Cast iron pot? Goodness. This wasn't a tea tasting ceremony. She had been around a few times before, so it wasn't like she was a stranger to them. What did they need to impress her for?

"Of course not," Hideaki replied, "our family welcomes everyone. So, Yuuka, our son said you had something to ask of us."

She nodded. "I did." She took a sip. Was Kanae practiced at this? Perhaps she was. Things were starting to make a bit more sense. "I was informed he was born and raised in Vancouver."

"Burnaby, really, but Vancouver is easier for people to understand," Hideaki replied. "And I believe you know, then, that Ryuta is going there in September."

"I do. Honestly, I'm happy for him."

"You are?" asked Hideaki.

Yuuka couldn't tell if his facial expression was mild surprise, a scowl, or disapproval. He was a very controlled person, it seemed. "Well, he'd been saying how much he wanted to return for himself, since it's been a long time, and…" she trailed off. Ryuta wasn't kidding. It did feel a bit suffocating in here. The two pairs of watchful eyes did not help. Ryuta, for his part, had one leg off the side of the chair and was looking out the window. He seemed the most relaxed out of all four of them. "In some ways, I can see why he might still feel like that place is home."

His parents were silent for a while. Yuuka's foot twitched. What was she saying? She was born here – literally in Sumida – and had never really known much else besides Tokyo. Heck, she barely even wandered anywhere past the wards. She'd been to Kyoto once and Mount Fuji, of course, but everyone did that. Of all the six Tamers, she was probably the least travelled. How could she say anything about longing for a place on the other side of the planet?

"Yuuka," started Kanae, "do you have siblings?"

"N-No, I don't."

Kanae laid her hands on the table, palms down, as if preparing to meditate. Yuuka figured she might actually be. There was a long and uncomfortable pause. The only noise was Haru fiddling with Amedramon's tail and singing along to a song she'd learned in elementary school.

Kanae finally spoke. "Have you ever wanted to?"

"I… I suppose I have." She had always felt like she'd missed out on something whenever she visited some of the other Tamers' family for many years.

"I'm sure you know, though, that being the elder sibling is a very great responsibility." There was a faint smile.

"I can imagine." Yuuka knew what she was getting at, but she already knew this. "But, Kanae, even if Ryuta stayed here to study, he would have a lot of schoolwork, more than he already has. University is not any easier than high school, after all."

"And how would you know this?"

Yuuka's finger twitched. So this was what Ryuta had to deal with. The few times she'd been here before were casual affairs, so serious conversations like this never happened. This was brutal. She felt like she was a politician being interviewed after a press release, and she was supposed to be the one asking questions. "Asuka and Satsuki both have elder siblings, and we've been keeping in touch with them very frequently as of late, so I've heard and seen from them exactly what the experience is like."

Kanae nodded. "We're well aware that Ryuta would have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. But we're sure he can handle it. He is a very mature boy, after all."

Ryuta finally moved, if only to put his elbow on the table and prop his head in his open hand. He clearly wanted to say something but had figured better of it. He likely had already said his part before and it had come to nothing.

Hideaki spoke, finally. "Yuuka, we appreciate that you show a lot of concern for Ryuta, but perhaps you should trust that he can handle himself."

Yuuka would not be discouraged so easily. "Mr. and Mrs. Koyama," she replied carefully, making sure to express her respect for them, "truthfully, I may have only gotten to know Ryuta well since September, but my impression of him is that he is still trying hard to figure out who he wants to be in this life, and that he needs solitude for that."

Another uncomfortable silence. Kanae and Hideaki were impressively good at showing little reaction. Yuuka's shoulders rose and fell. Did she play too hard of a hand?

"Amedramon, come back!" complained Haru. Amedramon didn't care. It padded over to the kitchen table and climbed its front paws up on Ryuta's leg. His shoulders relaxed as he and Amedramon nuzzled. Yuuka watched them intently with a bit of jealousy. They seemed to be much, much closer than any other Tamer and Partner.

Kanae finished her cup of tea and broke the silence. "Haru is only eight years old. She needs a role model."

This was going nowhere. Yuuka sighed. It seemed they would not be convinced so easily.

"But," Hideaki added, "I suppose you are right, Yuuka." He leaned forward. "I recall, at the same age as he is now, that was the time I also spent figuring out what I wanted to do in life." A faint smile graced his face. "It was also the time I seriously pursued living abroad for a while. Perhaps the urge to go abroad runs in the family."

Well, Yuuka thought, that was probably about as much admission that she was going to get from them. Job done for today. She couldn't help but slump in her chair a bit. It really was draining trying to navigate her way through these two.

Her phone rang. That was unusual – she usually asked people to text her, not call her. If it was a call… it was Takaharu. "Sorry, it's Takaharu. It might be urgent." She picked up the call. "Takaharu? Sorry, no, I was busy." Ryuta cast a glance over at her. This was out of the ordinary. What did Takaharu want? He looked at his own phone. They had missed a message from Takaharu stating that they had an urgent issue.

Yuuka suddenly raised her voice. Everyone looked at her with surprise – not that she was suddenly louder, but by what came out of her mouth. "You found a beating heart in there?!" She quickly realized she'd said that out loud and covered her mouth and continued to whisper. "Please tell me you got rid of it. What came out?"

"Yuuka? What's he talking about?" asked Falcomon. Haru had stuck a bunch of stickers to its feathers, though they didn't stick well. They dropped off as it fluttered onto the back of an armchair. "It sounds bad."

She did not respond for a while. "I'm at his family's apartment. You're already there? Ah… sorry, we must have both missed your message. Yeah, we'll be there as soon as we can. See you," she said, and hung up. "Ryuta, we have to go, now."

"What was it?"

"Things got worse. A lot worse. The others are at the bakery. Let's not keep them waiting."

"Of course not."

But before the two of them could exit the apartment, Kanae raised her voice. "Ryuta, what exactly have you been up to the last three months?"

"Don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? All I'm hearing right now is that you're doing something dangerous."

"I said don't worry about it."

"How can I not worry? I'm your mother, I'm supposed to worry about you!"

He ground his fist into the table. "There are things," he hissed, "that it is best you don't know."

"Not this again." She buried her head in her hands. "Ryuta, if I find out that these friends of yours have been doing illegal things this entire time, I'm going to rip your passports up."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence in Yuuka. I'm pleased to know that you believe I pick upstanding people to be around." He turned around and marched away to put on his shoes. "Amedramon, let's go." The dragon cast a sad glance between him, Yuuka, and Kanae. This couldn't continue, but it didn't know what to do. It turned tail and beamed into his phone. Falcomon did the same into Yuuka's phone. "Don't wait for me for dinner. I don't know how long we'll be out." He didn't even wait for them to respond before opening the door and turning the corner.

Yuuka's face twisted. He could really be incredibly self-destructive. "I'll calm him down," she offered to his parents, slipping out of the open doorway.

She hurried down the hall to catch up to him. "Ryuta, wait up!" He was already entering the elevator by then. He put a hand out to stop the door from closing. She stood next to him and heaved a breath.

"Did you enjoy that?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Now you know."

Yuuka nodded. "I felt like a criminal." She couldn't quite believe the reaction from Kanae. "Threatening to rip your passports up? She can't be serious."

"I'm glad we can share that experience now."

She stared at him. He was as stone-faced as usual. "How long? How long have you lived like this? Do they really question everything you do?"

"Truthfully," he replied, "I don't recall a time when they didn't ask for a justification for everything that I did."

"Asking for justification is one thing, but it seems like they want to make all your decisions for you."

He snorted. "You're saying they don't?" He turned to look her in the eyes. All of that suppressed anger was coming out. "I've been asked to confess at the suspect's stand so many times that I'm tired of it. That's why I'm walking away from them."

She shook her head. "For good?"

"I'm going to do my best to make that happen."

She held back her commentary. Haru deserved a brother. She needed a brother. But he also was right; it was suffocating in there. And she felt there was more to it than that; she recalled how Kanae had reacted. Not this again. What had happened before? Ryuta did not seem willing to talk any further about it, and she didn't want to risk him pulling away again. It would have to wait.

They walked out of the elevator and onto street level. It was louder down here, but so much more freeing. Now she knew why he wandered so often at night; this was about the only chance for peace he could get.

He seemed to be aware of that. "Peaceful out here, yeah?" The sun had set shortly before, and the weather was still quite chilly. The wind did not help.

"It's a nice change of atmosphere, for sure." The two walked in silence. After all, between Takaharu's urgent call and the tough conversation they just had, all they needed was some quiet.

"Ryuta?" asked Amedramon from his phone.

"People can hear you," he chided.

"What did your mother mean by again?" Yuuka cringed internally. Now wasn't the time to be asking that, but perhaps Ryuta would be willing to respond to Amedramon. With her here, though…

He took a while to answer. "I'll tell you about it later." He looked down as they continued to walk to the bakery. At an intersection, Yuuka took a careful look at him. He was holding back tears again. Whatever it was, it was serious.