Act 1: Beating Heart
Segment 4: Breakup
Chapter 4-3: Japantown
Fujie and Hideji were singing for a reason Monodramon didn't quite understand, but Kazuhiko seemed to be embarrassed about it. Also, there were little candles on the cake, and it was cute. Kazuhiko blew them out. "Technically it was yesterday, guys, but I guess it doesn't matter."
"It's just one day," replied Hideji. He cut a slice out. "Oh! Look at these clean layers!"
"Yuuka, this is so well-constructed!" Fujie exclaimed.
"Aw, thanks. I wasn't as sure when I was putting it together, to be honest," she admitted. The Shimizu apartment was very neatly designed. A bit too straight-edged, polished, and streamlined, but she supposed some people preferred it that way. She would have rather there been more plants. Tokyo needed as much green as it could get. "I guess I see all the cracks up close when I'm assembling it."
Monodramon poked Kazuhiko. "Hey Kazu?"
"Hm?"
"Why were your parents singing?"
Kazuhiko facepalmed. "Monodramon, has nobody told you what a birthday is?"
"I dunno, nobody ever celebrated my birth day."
"That's unfortunate." Kazuhiko passed a slice of cake to Falcomon, and then another to Yuuka.
"Speaking of unfortunate," Yuuka said, "too bad Ryuta couldn't be here."
Kazuhiko shrugged. "Hey, he's spending time with his family, right? That's a good thing, I think." His phone vibrated twice as Hideji and Fujie passed on another two slices to Satsuki and Gabumon. "Ah, it's the raccoon guy, one sec." He pulled up his messages. It was a recorded video.
"Hey Kazuhiko!" Takaharu waved at the camera. "Happy birthday! Hope you're doing well."
Lomamon jumped into the frame. "Monodramon, hey!"
"Things have ramped up fast here, so I wanted to come but I couldn't. We'll catch up over the summer! I have to see you one more time before you fly, right?" Takaharu waved his deck of cards. "And we gotta settle this one more time before you go too!"
"Monodramon, say hi to the others for me!"
"This guy nearly ran off on campus once, can you believe that? Nearly scared the crap out of a bunch of people."
"I was hungry! Delivery was taking too long!"
"Man, you're always hungry. Anyway, Kazu, Monodramon, I'll see you both soon! Take care!"
"How is he?" asked Fujie.
"Seems alright."
"You don't text?"
Kazuhiko dug into the chestnut cream and raspberry jam cake. "We do, but it's not the same as seeing each other face to face."
"Especially not for me!" exclaimed Monodramon.
Kazuhiko shoved the bite of cake into his mouth. "Hey, wait a minute, Satsuki-". He swallowed the bite of cake. "-couldn't we just give the Digimon their own devices?"
"Kazuhiko," replied Satsuki, "I already thought of that. Where are they going to put it?"
"I dunno, we could just keep it on hand for them."
"Plus I don't have the money for that right now," she continued.
Kazuhiko blinked. "Ah… I forgot." Satsuki brushed her hair aside. He would. It was moments like that when she was reminded that her family wasn't nearly as well off as the others. She tried not to think about it as much as possible.
"Though, I should also say that it's not a bad idea. I just… I don't like handling things for Gabumon."
"Really? Why not?"
Satsuki looked over at the horned Digimon, who was busy discussing how smooth the chestnut cream was with Falcomon. "I don't want to treat Gabumon like a kid, you know? If I had to keep handing it a phone to use, I'd start feeling like its parent, and neither of us want that."
Kazuhiko glanced at Monodramon, who was already eyeing the cake for another slice. A parent? Sometimes he did try to keep Monodramon in line, but that was more because it kept running off or fiddling with things it shouldn't. But he understood Satsuki's point; Monodramon was only doing that because it genuinely was bored in his room. They had already tried to solve it by letting it play with his game console, but… it wasn't a good solution. Monodramon just wasn't the kind of mon to sit still.
His phone buzzed. The sports app had sent a notification.
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Pre-season friendlies continue as WE League prepares for kickoff
NNK Sports | Published 2021.05.22 17:07
Pre-season tuneups continued this month as Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza ventured west to take on INAC Kobe Leonessa. Despite a flurry of changes, both in personnel and in tactics, the game failed to produce any goals, as a staunch showing by defensive midfielders and back lines on both sides shut down any offensive output. NTV Beleza was held to only three shots on target, while Kobe came closest with a saved penalty kick. Goalkeeper EGAWA Yuzuki is credited with keeping the clean sheet for the Tokyo-based side.
In Chiba, JEF United Chiba Ladies held Albirex Niigata Ladies to a 2-2 draw at Fukuda Denshi Arena. Niigata scored early in the 13' off a long-range laser and 25' from a free header. SATOU Yoshika is credited for the brace, with both assists coming from left winger IWAMURA Kurumi. The Lady Dogs held on to prevent more bleeding in the first half with a desperate scramble in the box on multiple occasions. Heavy rotation from both sides provided the hosts with a needed boost of speed and energy. Half-time substitute HAMAMOTO Erika would score in the 67', assisted by fellow substitute and recent high school graduate NAGATOMO Asuka. The continued high press and aggressive marking would pay off in the end for her, as Asuka herself would get on the end of a long diagonal pass from the midfield and complete a successful run to the box, scoring with a quick flick to the near post, in the 88'. Despite their continued attempts for a game winner, Niigata fended off any more offensive action.
The Dogs' coach FUKAO Ami was quick to applaud the turn-around at half-time, saying the mentality of the group is strong and cohesive even in the face of adversity, and reminded the press that the early showing was merely due to an experimental defensive tactic that was later addressed, and is not a reflection of her players' capabilities. She was also in praise for the young players who made an impact in the second half, singling out Asuka for her key observations and decision-making.
Finally, previous season's Nadeshiko League champions Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies travelled up the east coast to visit Mynavi Sendai Ladies, where they blew out the home side in a 1-4 affair. The sole Sendai goal, scored by winger AMANO Yuu, came just before halftime, sparking faint hope for a comeback. Strong defending by Urawa prevented any further goals by the home side while the reigning champions found a goal of their own partway through the second half to put the game out of doubt. Urawa striker ENDOH Harue scored a brace in the 4' and 67', with additional goals provided by midfielder FUJIWARA Nanami in the 32' and centre-back URABE Tomiko in the 38'.
The Yogibo WE League 2021-22 season begins 12 September.
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"Oh! Nice!" he exclaimed.
"Hm?" Hideji turned his head.
Kazuhiko turned his phone to his father. After scanning over the article for a while, he replied, "Isn't Asuka one of your friends?"
"She is!"
Satsuki leaned forward. "What about Asuka?" Kazuhiko passed her his phone. "Hey, look at her! Go, girl!" She passed the phone back. "I should be paying more attention now that she might be playing more often."
"You should!"
Ryuta lifted the box's lid and set it aside, then pulled out a drawer and took out a small kit. He examined the nipper blades. Still good. The WarGreymon model kit that Takaharu had gifted him for Christmas last year had been calling his name for a while, but he hadn't gotten around to it because his parents were constantly trying to take his time.
He knew better than to complain. He legitimately enjoyed these kinds of events – whether that was spending a weekend out shopping with them or finding new restaurants or taking park walks, the little things were adding up.
All because a little white dragon walked into his life. And Yuuka, obviously. He tried to find her as much as he could as well, but since she was often only available on the weekends when his parents wanted him, he wasn't quite able to see her as much. Still, he sent her photos of his family when he could. Yuuka was already warming up to Haru. Hopefully, she would be a good pseudo-sister for her when he was away.
He looked over to his bed. Amedramon was crunching on another quartz crystal and watching him intently. He pulled out the instruction booklet and started looking through the plastic frames. "Amedramon," he asked as he organized the frames and began assembling a leg, "have you ever given any thought to what you want to see in Vancouver?"
"No, not yet."
"You should. September isn't that far away." He clipped out a piece. "Take my phone, I guess."
Amedramon reached out and grabbed the phone from the table and tapped at it. The sound of plastic being broken and popped into place continued as the dragon poked around. Its amethyst-spiked tail waved about as it crunched on the last of the quartz crystal and swallowed. "What's this big green blob?"
Ryuta leaned over. "Oh, that's Stanley Park. It's pretty big. Last I heard they fixed up the seawall, so people can go walk and bike on it more easily."
"That sounds nice. It looks like there's a lot of stuff inside the park, too."
"Yep. We could spend a morning there, or longer." He checked the instruction page for the next thing to do. Of course it was the upper leg. He scanned through the stack of plastic to find the next frame.
Amedramon moved its finger about. "Every time I look at this map, I always notice there's a lot less grey."
"Well, Vancouver and the surrounding area isn't nearly as urban as Tokyo." Clip. "There aren't nearly as many people living there. I don't even think it cracks a million." The joint piece needed a bit of trimming. He grabbed the file from the kit and wore off the stub, and brushed the dust off.
"Hey, what are these red lines?"
"Red lines?" Amedramon turned the phone to Ryuta. "Those are ski hills, and that's Grouse Mountain. You can see the city from up there."
"So it's like Tokyo Skytree!" The five of them had been up recently, and they had managed to get Amedramon out ever so briefly.
"I guess, but it's not a tower, just a mountain top. I think it's better that way, to be honest." He looked over the leg in progress. This wasn't taking too long.
"Really?" Amedramon asked with glittering eyes.
"It's more beautiful that way, I think. You know, we should see if we can get an opportunity to go out to Banff and Lake Louise in the summer." He paused. "Though maybe I should save that money for flying back here instead." He double-checked the instruction manual. "We can always go to Banff later."
"Why not both?" asked Amedramon.
"I'm not so sure about the funds to do it. Plus, I think the priority should be to visit here next summer." He sighed. "Yuuka is starting to seem agitated."
"I heard. Falcomon told me over the phone."
Ryuta squinted at the dragon. "So that's what you needed my phone for!" It nodded. "Maybe I should just get you one then."
"Where would I put it though?"
Ryuta blinked, then facepalmed. "Right, I forgot, you don't have a bag or pockets." He snorted. "And Satsuki said she had the same idea a few weeks ago. Silly me."
Amedramon returned to browsing through the map. "Japantown?"
"It's for historical reasons. Most people call the area Railtown now."
"Then why is it still called that?" Ryuta seemed a bit uncomfortable. "Did something happen there?"
He nodded. "It's… it's a bit hard to talk about, for a lot of people. Very few, if any people alive now, were directly involved with it. It happened a long time ago."
"Oh." Amedramon blinked. Ryuta looked away for a moment, then returned to his work.
Eventually he replied, "Just know that sometimes, for one reason or another, people aren't welcome where they live."
"Why wouldn't they be?" Amedramon was genuinely not aware, not even after the experience it had gone through with his parents the last several months.
Ryuta wished at times like these he could be as innocent as it was. "Hate doesn't have to be rational."
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Date: 2021-05-29 13:40
From: Brian Mackenzie
To: Makoto Tokuda
Subject: Admission to Graduate Studies
Hi Makoto,
I'm sure you've seen the email from the registrar, but if not yet, you've been admitted to graduate studies! Congratulations! I look forward to seeing you in the lab very soon. Course selection should be open now for you as well. You'll be joining a few students, including Rei Nagatomo, whom I think you know well.
By the way, I'd like to meet with you personally in the next week to discuss what your Masters' topic will be, as well as some other details. Any weekday, even the weekends, it's all okay with me. Just let me know.
Best,
Brian
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