3rd POV, Monday, January 9th 2023
Today was the first day of a new semester, a beginning for transfer students especially. The morning before the opening ceremonies were busy for everyone at the Belnades House, except for Yoko. Mina and Layla were preparing for the new semester at high school.
Mina went off first due to her opening ceremony starting early. Yoko just finished changing from her pj's to a magenta dress with a white belt, black sleeves, leggings and ankle length high heel boots. Now she's currently waiting for her niece downstairs with a silver suitcase.
"Layla, Are you ready for the first day of school?" Yoko asked loudly.
"I'm coming!" Layla answered from upstairs. Yoko smiled happily. It has been twenty years since Layla started living with Mina, Yoko and her sister Sayuri, these were the best times in their lives.
In the year 1999, Sayuri was moved out from Chamberlain along with her parents after the police came and arrested her deranged uncle, placing him in a mental institution. Starting with a huge turn of events, She and her family moved to Japan in order to make a fresh start and becoming the magician speaker known as the Sakura Mage and in the year 2001 on November 8th when Sayuri was on her way home from work, she heard a sound of a baby crying coming from an alleyway, that was when she found a little bundle lying on the ground wrapped in a light green blanket. That bundle turned out to be a Salamon and the Sakura Mage decided to give the Salamon a name due to the color of her eyes: Layla Esmeralda.
She took the newly named Layla home. Despite being a bit cautious at first, Sayuri noticed how quickly she accepted Layla in her life and family. Aside from a few embarrassing situations in the mornings, connected to cultural differences, especially teaching her how to avoid strangers, she quickly noticed that Layla followed every single rule. Not only that; Layla somehow had a unique talent of using all kinds of magical arts including light and dark magic, So Sayuri and Yoko teached Layla how to control and use magic wisely.
On Layla's 5th birthday when she digivolve from a salamon to blacktailmon, Sayuri gave her a pendant as a gift and she told her this pendant is made of a piece of a mystical mirror that had power to show the past and one's true fate. It's also the family's heirloom and it must be kept out of the wrong hands. The emerald eyed Digimon accepted it and wears it.
When Layla was at the age of seven, Sayuri became sick from a sudden illness. The next thing Yoko knew, she got a call from the Odaiba Hospital. She, Mina and Layla came to the hospital as quickly as possible. They have a long conversation with each other, Sayuri tells Layla that she's proud of her for using magic wisely and having so much empathy even compassion, referring to the emerald-eyed digimon helping those who couldn't protect themselves, being very kind to others and those who aren't human and doing all the amazing things.
She also tells Layla is that the thing she regrets is not being here to seeing her digivolve, even not seeing her finding happiness and true love. Layla said it's alright, she will pray in order to tell her everything when she digivolve and glad that she's being a part of the Belnades family and she loves her. Sayuri asks Yoko to look after Layla and Mina when she's gone and Yoko says yes? and protects them at all costs.
Sayuri then passed away an hour later, Layla Mina and Yoko were devastated but knew she's in a better place and at peace.
Juste Belnades; the head of the clan paid for a private funeral for Sayuri as Yoko requested, Layla's friends from Odaiba Elementary, Wisemon and everyone in the family also came to the funeral after learning of Layla's loss and to be emotional support for her.
After the funeral was over, Yoko decided to take Layla under her roof and keep her promise to Sayuri.
