Act 2: Secrets of the Skies
Segment 1: Frosh Days
Chapter 1-5: A Rough Welcome
Ryuta got in the cafeteria lines. Orchard Commons was busier than a normal Sunday. Thanksgiving would be the day after, but they were giving out turkey dinners early anyway. It was something that his parents said they simply could not do in Japan, and he had come to miss it. To think that one would actually have particular cravings for canned cranberry sauce.
Chris slid a tray along in front of him and tonged multiple slices of turkey breast onto a plate. There was hardly any room left between the meat, the massive pile of stuffing, and a cloud of mashed potatoes. "You a breast or a thigh guy, Ryuta?" he asked as he drenched his plate with gravy.
Ryuta eyed the increasing gravy levels. His roommate appeared to be doing his best imitation of the consequences of glacial ice melt. "I don't have a preference." Ryuta laid down cuts of roast turkey into a compostable box and ladled some gravy into a takeout cup.
Chris smirked. "A whole-body man, I like ya style." The scoops of mashed potato and stuffing were like islands in a vast brown ocean.
Ryuta shot daggers at him with his eyes. "Chris…"
Chris giggled. "Joking!"
"Obviously, you are." Ryuta picked up a small scoop of mashed tubers and went for multiple spoons of stuffing instead. It had been several years since he'd last laid eyes on anything like this, and he wanted to show Amedramon as well.
"By the way, takeout boxes? You goin' somewhere again?"
"Just heading upstairs. I'm a bit busy."
"Man… you keep saying that."
"But I am." Ryuta shrugged as Chris pursed his lips at him and scowled. "Sorry."
"Not even time for anime club? Laura told 'em about you, ya know. We convinced some other Japanese people to come too."
"I… I'll consider it." Ryuta folded his box of food shut.
Chris walked over to an open table with his tray. "And I know exactly what you mean when you say that," he sighed. "Fine. Guess you'll have to make Laura sad then."
"Hey – what's this about Laura being sad?!"
"No, nothing. You'll have to find out yourself. By coming to anime club." Chris smirked at Ryuta.
"God – ah… I guess I'll try to find some time. Not this week, though. Be seeing you." Ryuta escaped before Chris could needle him anymore and made his way up the elevator to the eighth floor, with hot box and cutlery in hand.
Amedramon hopped out of his phone and sniffed the box. "Ryuta, what is this? It's very fragrant."
"It's a turkey dinner. I don't think I've ever seen one over in Japan, because it's just not something they would do over there, so I wanted to show you." He laid the box down on his desk and opened it. Amedramon gazed at it, then poked its tongue at the brown gravy.
"It's delicious! Why don't they have this in Japan?"
"Turkey isn't easy to get over there, and this is just a North American thing." Ryuta settled into his chair and handed Amedramon a set of utensils. The box was filled as much as he could, along with another box of corn and other vegetables. He cut himself a piece of turkey and savoured the succulent meat dripping with sauce. It had been maybe ten years since he'd last tasted this. Amedramon was making little noises of happiness.
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Tokyo Verdy Beleza charges up WE League table in Week 6; INAC Kobe Leonessa still best
NNK Sports | Published 2021.10.18 09:45
Tokyo Verdy Beleza played a statement 2-4 game, achieving the away victory while visiting AC Nagano Parceiro, who must be disappointed that despite the quality of their side, they find themselves now in the bottom half of the table. Despite a relatively average defensive performance, goals have been sorely lacking in Nagano, and if they do come as they did last weekend, it seems to come at the expense of more goals the other way. The visitors drew first blood early on with a wonderful volley by German international Karin Elsa ZIMMERMAN (8'), though the response was quick from a header via Nagano's SHIBATA Kiho (10'). The teams would be deadlocked for the rest of the first half. Tokyo Verdy Beleza, however, would find better offensive action after an unusual double-substitution at half time and making a clear tactical adjustment which overwhelmed the host side. Verdy Beleza's MATSUI Himiko (48'), Annabelle-Margerite OUTREMONT (52'), and WATANABE Shizuru (59') would all score to seal the game, with assists from Zimmerman, INAOKA Asami, and FUJITA Yoshimi. After a defensive realignment, Niigata would settle their nerves and score their consolation goal from the penalty spot, taken by captain TAKEUCHI Saori (76').
Surprise contenders for the championship title Nojima Stella Kanagawa continued to make their claim for the cup with a gritty 1-0 victory over Omiya Ardija Ventus, who put on a brilliant defensive showing. The back line of the visitors combined for 21 clearances and countless interceptions, yielding 9 corners and only allowing the goal from the spot, nestled into the right corner by centre forward KOJIMA Toko (38'), who was filling in for injured German international Carlota BRIETZKE. The Omiya coach had only kind words for her side following the match, saying that despite injuries of their own and an unfortunate start to the season, she is confident that their fortunes will soon turn as some key players, including captain centre-back KIKUCHI Kurumi and midfielders ARAI Yui and NOBORISAKA Natsuki, are nearing the end of their recovery time.
Despite the result by Kanagawa, INAC Kobe Leonessa continue to reign at the top of the table, as they made quick work while visiting MyNavi Sendai. The hosts now plumb the bottom of the table, only one point above current wooden-spoon holder Chifure AS Elfen Saitama, who completed their WAD last weekend. The hosts mustered only a singular shot on target and only six in total, all from outside of the box, and will be disappointed that they will also be without veteran right-back AKASAKA Mina due to a straight ejection in the 60'. Kobe found both goals after the red card, with tall Dutch international Sophie DE VRIES climbing high in the 71' on a free kick and heading to the far post, while the game was sealed in the 84' by Canadian international Lily WONG HeHeiHei-Fook. Both goals were assisted by right midfielder WATANABE Tamao.
JEF United Chiba visited Urawa Red Diamonds, with both teams hoping that a victory would help break the deadlock near the middle of the table. The 2-2 draw will deny that possibility this week. Defending was optional on the night as both Chiba goalkeeper HASHIUCHI Nonoka and Urawa keeper SASAKI Sumie were forced into an incredible eight saves apiece. Urawa striker ENDOH Harue would be discovered wide open on a cross by left-midfielder OKUHARA Mana (28'), though the exact same goal would then be discovered by Chiba left-midfielder LEE Ji-min, whose pinpoint early cross skimmed perfectly off the forehead of striker NAKANO Kanna and past a flailing Urawa goalkeeper (42'). Chiba would take the lead next from an own goal by Urawa left back HARUKAWA Hibiki (71') as she attempted to make an emergency clearance, although she would later go on to redeem herself by finishing off a beautiful display of team passing and coordination with a right-footed curler into the far corner (84'), assisted by FUJIWARA Nanami. With the draw, the two sides continue to be locked at eight points, though Chiba lead on better goal differential.
Finally, Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina would continue the streak of feast-and-famine in this table as they picked up another victory, this time away at Albirex Niigata, where questions are being raised about the team's position in the standings despite the quality of individual signings. The 0-1 loss means Niigata is still looking for some consistency, while Hiroshima will escape after a tight defensive performance where they held 61% possession and held the home crew to three shots on target. Notably, they continue to post such incredible defensive records that they have yet to be scored upon, a testament to their defensive rigour and offensive efficiency. The sole goal came well into the second half by substitute forward HIGASHINO Mie, scoring with a first-time touch off driven cross from teammate MIYAZAKI Eriko.
Unfortunately, Hiroshima will also be leaving Niigata with an injury to American-born defender Rachael KNOWLES, who sustained a shoulder injury following a tough landing. A status on return is not known yet.
With six weeks behind us, the pool of candidates for league champion is rapidly shrinking. It remains to be seen when, perhaps if, any of INAC Kobe Leonessa, Nojima Stella Kanagawa, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina will be defeated. However, Tokyo Verdy Beleza fans are sure to be reminding the rest of the league that, now with their squad coming into form, they are also in the race for the crown.
LEO: 13 (4-1-0) | +9 (10-1)
STE: 12 (3-3-0) | +4 (8-4)
REG: 11 (3-2-0) | +5 (5-0)
BEL: 10 (3-1-2) | +2 (13-11)
JEF: 8 (2-2-1) | +3 (7-4)
RED: 8 (1-5-0) | +1 (7-6)
PAR: 6 (1-3-2) | -2 (6-8)
ALB: 4 (1-1-3) | -3 (4-7)
VEN: 3 (0-3-3) | -7 (3-10)
MYN: 2 (0-2-3) | -5 (4-9)
ELF: 1 (0-1-4) | -7 (3-10)
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Satsuki sighed and continued jotting down molecular orbitals. The lecture was dragging on, and somehow it felt like she had covered all of this before.
The professor kept going on. "As a result, the p-z orbitals will fuse into a ring above and below the plane, resulting in resonance of the electrons throughout the benzene ring. This is why such rings are so much less prone to reaction than bent rings like cyclohexane or cyclopentane, as their bent structure prevents them from forming such orbitals as the p orbitals are out of shape with each other."
She did already know this. She sighed. Her eyes were half closed. The lecture hall was getting stuffier by the second.
"Our lecture time is up. Any questions?" Satsuki hoped dearly nobody was willing to ask anything.
"Professor, what about d-orbitals?" Fuck. She glared at the person down five rows. Do people not read the syllabus? The professor will get there when they get there. Just wait a fucking minu-
"We'll cover that in a few days, but yes, d-orbitals and all orbitals can hybridize as well. The resulting shapes are very complex. Any more questions?"
Please don't. "No? Okay, we'll be covering these in detail in tutorial today, so please attend."
"Thank fuck," Satsuki uttered. The lecture hall burst into activity and chatter as students packed their notebooks away and discussed the day.
Satsuki picked up her bag. "Sorry, behind you," she muttered as she squeezed past students who were too busy talking about a streamed show last night to move. It sounded rather bothersome as a show concept anyway. She picked her way down the stairs and escaped the crowded lecture room. As she walked off to trudge back to her dorm, she was struck by a sense of how much she didn't get along with these people. They talked about completely different things, in different ways, and had different ideas about what was entertaining or amusing.
She wondered – did Ryuta feel the same way when he moved from Canada to Japan? The thought weighed on her mind. Perhaps that was the reason for the way that he was. Was it? She considered the thought. No, maybe not. He seemed very par for the course when it came to the shows he watched, at least relative to the other guys in high school.
The October California afternoon sun continued to bathe the city in warmth. Despite the changing of season, Los Angeles was still a pleasant temperature. Gabumon seemed to be okay with it, but having lived somewhere cold for so long, even it was prone to complaining about the heat.
And yet, the warm carefree summer days back in Tokyo and the mirage of palm beaches out on the California coastline seemed so distant and so idyllic. She had hardly much time to go visit on the weekends. She needed to make sure her grades were up to par, or this whole venture wouldn't have been worth it in the slightest, even if she already had other plans – plans to not continue.
Gabumon appeared and walked alongside her. "Are you going to tutorials?"
"No. I've already seen this content before, in high school." She continued walking west to the dorms. The nice thing about the lack of air conditioning in her dorm was that her roommates were often away at the library or somewhere else during the day and rarely came to the dorms for any reason other than sleep. It gave Gabumon some time to not have to be stuck in her phone.
But it wasn't all safe and secure just yet. A smattering of voices alerted Gabumon to jump back into Satsuki's phone. She sighed and put her earbuds back in and held her phone in her hands.
"Are you going to tell them tonight?"
"About switching out? Yeah." She had a video call scheduled with them for today before they went off for work. "I'm not sure how to say it, though." She had been mulling it over for a few weeks now. Every time she came up with a way to say it, her mind came up with anxious thought after anxious thought. Maybe they wouldn't take it well. Maybe they'd ask her to stay the course and do it later. Maybe they'd just ask her to return home and take up something there instead. They could always just have her train under them if so.
Then again… they did want someone with American experience. She was overthinking it.
A voice and a rough hand on her shoulder interrupted her thoughts. "Hey, lady." She whirled around to see three men, all of whom looked like they were on an American football team. She took a step back. "Aw, don't run."
This was not good. Her eyes flicked from one face to the other. All three of them seemed to have unkind intentions.
"You look a little lonely, girl."
"Piss off." Gabumon could hear the venom in that. This was bad. Satsuki was holding her phone down at her hips. All it could see from inside her phone was a bunch of legs.
The tallest of the three of them rubbed his hands together. She was tall, but they were taller and much more muscular. "A feisty one, guys. Hey, don't worry, we're not going to do anything you don't want us to do. We just want to show you a good time, that's all."
She didn't want to see anything. "I said piss off."
Gabumon stood at attention in her phone. It could just hop out now and scare them off, but she was in clear view of one of the dorms. People could see from here. But if it didn't…
"Hey, you hear that?" one of the athletes said to his friends. "She doesn't sound like she's from here." He leaned in close enough that Satsuki could feel his breath. She backed up two more steps, but they took two steps closer. The overused deodorant slammed into her nostrils and made her cringe. It was about as unbearable as the people wearing it. "Where you from, babe?"
"It doesn't matter to you."
"Oh, it'll matter to me when you're squirming in my bed," he whispered, and reached out a hand to grab her. She had enough practice on the basketball team and from fending off Plasmids to block his arm and slap it away. "Ahh! Damn, she's fast."
Her head snapped left. It was a diversion! The other two men had just walked around her while she was distracted. Her breath came out ragged and heavy as her jaw knotted. If it was just one man, she could have taken him on without question. Three, though?
One of them grabbed her by the other shoulder she wasn't checking. "Let go!" she screamed, hoping that someone would see and help. Nobody did. She wiggled and squirmed, but the grip was tight. It must have been all that football practice. Another athlete grabbed her phone that she was still holding and waved it in front of her face.
"If you want this back, you gotta come with us," he taunted.
"Give that back, creep!" she yelled. A hand wrenched her by her hair. "Oww!" She yelped and tumbled back into the chest of the person who had done that.
"Hey, boys, she's mine now," he said with glee as he gripped her by the waist. It was a very unwelcome sensation.
"Wait, wait, wait, what the fuck is this?" The man holding her phone passed it to the third footballer. "Some kind of little animal. You have a virtual pet, babe? So cute. You must be straight from Asia. Hey, Rick here digs the Asian chicks." He put a finger under her chin and lifted it up. She gritted her teeth and resisted the urge to kick him in the nuts. It would be satisfying, but the other guy holding her would have just crushed her. "I hear last week he got a Korean girl to squirt."
She had heard enough. "Gabumon!" she yelled. It wasn't Gabumon that came out.
The man apparently named Rick jumped back and tossed her phone into the air. "Aaron, what the fuck is tha-" The distraction was enough for Satsuki to punch the man holding her square in the nose. The fluid she felt spill onto her fist was either saliva or blood, and she didn't care what at this point. The footballer holding her finally released his grip as he yelled in pain.
"Fox Fire!"
Aaron let out a stream of curse words and stumbled down the sidewalk as blue spikes of ice speared the ground behind him, followed by Rick, who cast Satsuki a frightened glance, and the third man, holding a clearly bleeding nose. Satsuki gave them a rude gesture as they ran off, still screaming something about a blue wolf.
Satsuki reached down and picked up her phone. There was a nasty crack across the screen, but other than that it seemed to be working. "Just great. Now I need to get that replaced, too." She grunted and put it back in her pocket. "Thanks for scaring them off, Garurumon."
"I should have done it earlier," it apologized. It devolved and looked around. There still seemed to have been nobody who had noticed. Gabumon hopped into her phone to avoid being seen. "What did they even want with you?"
Of course, Gabumon wouldn't have a single idea. "It's … I don't know how to describe it. Just that they were going to do criminal things." She didn't trust them a single bit to respect any kind of consent, if that was how they went about it. Her chest heaved and fell. She wished she had reconsidered their place of study so that they wouldn't all be dispersed, especially for herself. For the other two guys, it wasn't such a big deal. For her, though…
The loneliness was setting in. She was starting to understand how Yuuka felt, even though she'd never left home. Not that changing schools was going to fix it, but at this point, just being happy with her studies would be a nice change. She resumed walking back to the dorm. At least there was some safety from creeps like these there – her whole floor was women-only.
That didn't stop someone from catcalling her in the lobby. "Maybe I will be going home in time for winter break," she commented as she approached the dorm doors.
A few people stared at her right hand as she passed by them on the way to the elevator. One of them asked, "Are you good? What happened to your hand?"
Satsuki snorted, still riding a bit of adrenaline from the event. "I'll be fine."
"Uh… okay." She disappeared into the elevator and smashed the button for her floor. She looked down at her right hand. The man's blood had dried and turned into a crust. As long as her own skin was intact, it should be fine. She rushed to a washroom to scrub it off. It peeled away, revealing intact skin underneath.
"What a relief." She grabbed a paper towel and dried her hands off and tossed the used paper into a waste basket, then returned to her dorm room. Lindsay and Alexandra were, for some reason, in there, chatting each other up about something.
"Hey, Sats!" That nickname again. Satsuki ignored them and slid her backpack off and tossed it onto her mattress, then grabbed her pens and a workbook, and retrieved an English textbook from her desk. "Okay, then."
"Lindsay, I swear to god, I'm not kidding, that Aaron guy is such a dreamer. You ever see his eyes? Oh my god. Those muscles too. Everyone on the football team. Oh…" Satsuki pulled a face. They were talking about him?
"Lexi, he's, like, a junior. I think. Wait, maybe he's a senior. There's no way!"
"You think I care about a relationship with that guy? Ha!"
"Didn't you say-"
"I don't care about dating him, I just want to know what his abs look like!"
Satsuki wanted to throw up so badly. What a disgusting topic.
"Oh shit, Lexi, was the party today or tomorrow?"
"Today, dumbass," Alexandra laughed. "Why do you think I changed clothes?"
"Fuck, give me, like, thirty minutes. I gotta put my face on." Lindsay hurriedly grabbed her cosmetics kit and cracked it open.
Alexandra walked the four steps over to Satsuki's bedframe and sat down. "You alright? You look disturbed." Satsuki paused mid-sentence reading. She had passed her English entrance exams, of course, but they gave her the option of selecting an advanced second-language course anyway. There had been a few Japanese people in there too, but all of them seemed to be men. A few of them made her just as uncomfortable as the jocks.
"I'm fine." What she truly wanted was for Alexandra to get off her case.
"You sure?"
Satsuki put her pen down. Did she say something about it? She should, shouldn't she? It would possibly save Alexandra from a rough time. Who knew what Aaron would do with her? "That Aaron person is not somebody you want to spend time with."
"Wait, you met him already?" Lindsay whirled around in her chair, eyeliner half drawn. "I'm so jealous."
"Don't be. He's not worth your time."
"You're just saying that, Sats," Alexandra insisted.
"I'm serious, the man is a-"
Before Satsuki could continue, the floor's don knocked on their door. "Satsuki? I got a call from the Browns' football coach just now." Alexandra went over to open the door. The don wasn't much older than they were – just a senior on the verge of graduating – but she had the appearance of a young professional. "Do you mind explaining how you gave Jake a bloody nose today?"
Satsuki was defiant. "He and two other guys tried to coerce me into sex," she stated matter-of-factly. "I gave them what they deserved."
A faint smile curved the tips of the don's lips up. "It was Rick and Aaron with him, wasn't it?"
"You knew."
"Ha! I didn't know for sure, but I can assume. They're jerks. This isn't the first time a frosh has complained about them, either. I'm glad you're okay, Satsuki. Let me know if you need any support. I'm sure we can arrange for travel pairs so that you don't have to walk alone." The don walked off and disappeared down the hall.
Alexandra closed the door and gave Satsuki a look of awe. "Sats, you gave him a bloody nose?"
Satsuki shrugged. "I have some practice." That stunned her roommates into silence. "If you'll excuse me, I have to work on some assignments." She returned to her textbook. Her call wasn't scheduled for another few hours, when it was about seven in the morning in Tokyo.
"Shit, I had no idea he was such a prick," Alexandra muttered as she sat down. "Glad I found out today."
"What if he shows up tonight?" asked Lindsay as she patted blush on her cheeks.
"I dunno. I might just leave if he turns up, since he's a womanizer." Alexandra turned to sneak a look at Satsuki, who was busy typing on her tablet. "Satsuki…"
"Hmm?"
"Did they… did they touch you somewhere?"
"Not like that, I made sure they didn't. I had some help." At least Alexandra was a decent enough person to care about her security.
"What a relief. Oh god, Lindsay, no, not that! Ew. No! Better." It seemed Lindsay had a weird sense of fashion, as she was going through some of her clothes for the party, whatever party it was. Satsuki had no idea what it was about, nor did she care.
The two hours passed slowly. After those events, and with what she was about to tell her parents, she was having a hard time focusing on her assignments. Satsuki sighed and traced a thumb along the cracks in the phone screen. Gabumon had said nothing was particularly off in the virtual space inside, but Satsuki still felt bothered by it. Maybe Makoto had an old phone lying around she could use instead.
Etsuko rang for a video call. "Hey, Satsuki!"
"Good morning, mom."
"You sound worn out," Etsuko guessed.
"I am worn out. I had to chase off some guys today."
Gaku could hear it on speakerphone. "Did you give them what they deserved?" he called out. Etsuko shot him a look of disdain.
Satsuki cracked a laugh. That was her father, alright. "I sure did."
"What about Gabumon?"
"It helped."
"Good!" She could hear his throaty laugh come through the phone. He had stopped smoking a few years ago, but it had permanently messed up his voice. "They didn't shake you up too much, I hope?"
"My scalp is sore from getting pulled around, but other than that, I'll survive."
"Mmh. Los Angeles seems like a rough place, Satsuki," her mother disagreed. "Are you travelling with someone else now?"
"I will. I just… I wish it wasn't necessary." In truth, she wasn't planning on it. Gabumon was good enough for that purpose. And if anyone spotted it or its evolved form… then the consequences were the consequences. America could handle it. Maybe.
"That's good to hear. How are your classes?"
"Slow."
"Slow? Ah, I guess the Japanese curriculum is ahead of the American one."
"I guess." Satsuki breathed deeply. Now was the time. "Mom, Dad, I'm planning on switching out of chemistry."
"Oh, okay," stated Etsuko. She seemed taken aback. "To what?"
"Culinary school."
That was enough to get Gaku to get up and peer into Etsuko's phone camera. "Satsuki, are you sure?"
"I'm sure. Do you remember that place that your general manager mentioned?"
"Oh, that place." Etsuko and Gaku glanced at each other. Gaku smiled and shrugged. "Hey, if she wants to do it, I think she can do it. Satsuki, how much does it cost?"
"The whole thing costs less than a year of UCLA, so that's nice." It was true – the fees were apparently the same for domestic and international students, unlike UCLA, which charged multiple hundreds of percent more for internationals. It would cut their loan expenses down. They might not even need it at all if she changed out.
Etsuko smiled at Gaku. "That's a relief. For all of us."
"Assuming she gets in," he replied. "Not that I don't think she will. Just that, Satsuki, the institute is out in the middle of nowhere. Napa Valley. I'm not sure if you've heard of it."
"At this point," Satsuki remarked, "the middle of nowhere sounds a lot nicer than Los Angeles."
Etsuko nodded. "In that case, I'll ask our GM to write up something for you. He should know you well enough from earlier this year." She glanced up at a clock. "Satsuki, our time is up, but take care, okay? Stay safe."
"I will, mom. Call you next week." Satsuki hung up and exhaled with relief. "That went better than I expected." She glanced over at her bed, where Gabumon was flipping through her course notes. Although she was feeling less excited about the prospect of studying chemistry any further, it seemed Gabumon was engrossed with it. It had been studying alongside her, almost, during high school, and it seemed it hadn't stopped. "Gabumon, you really seem to like this subject."
"It's interesting. I feel like I'm finally understanding how the Human World works. I never got a chance to see anything in this detail in the Digital World, despite going to school."
Satsuki folded her arms on her desk. "Tell me, what is school in the Digital World like? You mentioned, once, that you had done it before."
"We study basic math and language, as well as skills for survival. Most Digimon go out on their own after that." Gabumon set her notebooks down and put them away neatly in her bag. "But some of us don't even bother, like Lomamon. It told me it learned all it needed to know in its family."
Satsuki remarked, "That sounds like the way humans used to live, a long time ago."
Gabumon nodded. "Most of us don't need much knowledge to survive, and for many of us Digimon, that's good enough. We get by. There's not much of a reason to learn more except if one wanted to."
"Did you?"
"I spent a few more years in school after that and learned some more interesting things like how the planet, the sun, and the moons work, and some of the basics as to why Digimon are the way that they are, but then I learned all that they could teach, and that was it."
"Oh. Your school just… ended?"
"It's hard to find advanced material when nobody cares about it." Gabumon picked a stray hair from its pelt that wasn't its own. Probably one of the other two girls. "The next nearest advanced school was a whole Sector away, and there was work to be done, so I started working instead. But I always wanted to keep learning."
Satsuki sighed. Her switching out would mean they would no longer get a chance to study these subjects in such detail. Her time in culinary school would mean a lot of time in the kitchens as well as in the lecture rooms, and Gabumon couldn't be seen there.
"But if you switch schools, I guess that means you won't be studying these subjects anymore," Gabumon remarked.
Satsuki's head poked up. Was Gabumon reading her mind? She smiled. "There's always something online."
"Huh?" Gabumon tilted its head.
"When I'm in the kitchens, you can use my tablet. There's bound to be tons of information online. We could even buy e-textbooks or something like that if you want them."
"Cool! Thanks, Satsuki!"