Act 1: Beating Heart
Segment 3: A Glorious Arms Race
Chapter 3-2: Mothers Know Best
"Hm? Segawa Aki?" Bunzo looked up from his phone.
"I think it's Takaharu's mother. Why is she calling?" Sora picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes, I am. You're Takaharu's mother, right?" She frowned. "No, Asuka went off on her own as well. Did she tell us? She did. He never told you? Oh dear. Yes, of course. Okay, see you soon." She hung up. "Aki is coming in person."
"Why? What happened?"
"She seemed in a huff. I think she doesn't know anything that Asuka told us earlier."
Bunzo sighed. "I understand why the kids are keeping this a secret, you know." He set his phone down and took a sip of tea. "It's not exactly easy for us parents to digest."
"I know, I just wish that they did. I think, if their parents understood what was happening, they wouldn't stop them either. Right, Rei?"
Rei was typing in her laptop. "Yeah, of course not." She continued typing. "Well… maybe one of them might."
"Really? You've met them?"
"Only Yuuka has."
Sora blinked. "Koyama Hideaki and Kanae?"
"Mmhm."
"Really? They seemed like intelligent people when I bumped into them over the winter holiday."
"Intelligent? Sure. But I don't think I would trust them to give Ryuta room if they found out what he was up to."
Bunzo looked curiously at Rei. "Truly? Aren't all the kids eighteen now? He's basically an adult. He's certainly more of an adult than Asuka is." Rei sputtered in mirth.
"Bunzo…" complained Sora.
"It's true!"
"This is your own daughter you're talking about!"
"She's not very mature, you know."
"That means she'll be young a lot longer than anyone else! That's good!"
"Eh…"
Rei giggled. Asuka and Hawkmon really did get on like the two of them. She drowned out the sound of the two of them lightly arguing. They liked to have loud discussions, but they always made up after. It was all in good fun, they said. Rei hoped Asuka could find a lady that she could get along with like that, because knowing Asuka, that was already a monumental task.
The doorbell rang. "Eep, it must be Aki." Sora shuffled over and peeped in the spyhole. It was. She opened the door. "Hello dear!"
"Hi! Thank you for inviting me!"
"It's good to see you, it's been a very long time," Sora replied.
"Oh, Bunzo!"
"I took today off," he explained. "It's been alright. How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Aki replied. "The novel is coming along."
"Mmm! Right, you write!" Sora exclaimed. "I recall now, I checked out your last book last year, it was delightful."
Aki grinned. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"Here, sit," Sora motioned to the table. There was a single empty chair left, between Bunzo, Rei, and herself.
"Thanks. So, Asuka really did have something important, eh?"
"Indeed she did," Bunzo replied. "I suppose Takaharu told you nothing?"
Aki shook her head. "It seemed to bother him a lot, but he said he had no time." She sighed and frowned. "They've been on edge lately, haven't they, the Tamers?" Bunzo nodded in response. "Despite their school ending. I guess maybe they're nervous about university, but… I don't think that's it." She graciously accepted a mug of tea from Sora. "Did Asuka say where she was going?"
"Rei? Wasn't she going to your university?" asked Sora.
"She was, yes."
"So… it is a university matter?" asked Aki, confused.
"Rei, maybe you should explain," replied Bunzo. "You know more than we do."
Rei sighed. She was aware this had potential to go poorly. "Where do I start?" She looked to the side for a moment. "You know about Lomamon?"
"Yes, I do."
Rei inhaled. "And you know what happened yesterday?"
"Oh… the Tamers had something to do with it."
"They stopped it from getting worse."
"What?" Aki was bewildered. Rei pulled out her phone and showed Aki, who screamed and covered her mouth, aware that the neighbours might hear. "W-what is that?"
Rei shrugged. "All we know is, these things are appearing in places and distorting the fabric of our world."
"And – and they have to go into these places?!"
"Only the Digimon seem to have the strength to deal with them."
"Why not the military? Isn't that what they're for?"
Rei laughed. "You think the military would believe a bunch of eighteen-year-olds talking about alien life forms? They probably couldn't even get the weirdos handing out flyers in Shinjuku to believe that!"
Aki buried her face in her hands. "No, you're right, they wouldn't. Nobody would." She shook her head. "Not until an accident happened. And if five people turned out unconscious just like that…"
"They got lost and beat up inside, is my guess."
Aki grimaced.
"Aki, how are you feeling?" asked Sora.
"I need a while to digest this," she remarked. "What of the other Tamers' parents? Do they know?"
Bunzo shrugged. "Probably not."
"They should know, if they haven't been told."
"That could go poorly, Aki!" Sora exclaimed.
"Not if we show them what they're up against. What we are all up against." She gave them a look. There was some heat in that look. "If they care about their children, and if they care about this world, then … I'm sure they know about the Digimon. They can appreciate how serious this is." Aki sipped her tea. "Rei, what about Makoto? He goes to the same university as you."
"He does, but I don't think Gaku and Etsuko know. They don't have a lot of time, and I'm not sure they mind. They're very hands-off people."
"And what about Fujie and Hideji?"
"Shimizu? I'm not sure, though I wouldn't be surprised if Kazuhiko confessed. He's bad at keeping secrets under pressure." Rei shifted in her chair and sat upright. "The Ishidas are probably too busy, but I'm sure Yuuka will find a way to tell them."
"And the Koyamas?"
Rei shook her head. "We can't tell them."
Aki tapped her cup with her nail, and then she nodded. "I had that feeling."
"A feeling?" asked Sora.
"They're all very secretive people, their whole family is," Aki commented. She shook her head. "I can tell, sometimes, when a kid isn't feeling comfortable. You know, I used to teach." She looked out the window. "It makes me a bit sad, really. Ever since they immigrated here, he's been that way."