Ben10 & Digimon Tamers

Heroes and Humanity

Part 02: Humanity and Heroes

A Dream Deferred – Chapter 112

Originally Written: Wednesday, September 6, 2023 343PM to 502PM

. . . . .

Albedo blinked. Kirito looked much different than how he was expecting under their plumber uniform. They stood in the doorway of his new room wearing a plain clothes outfit of all black. The only thing that stood out was their pale skin, a black trench coat, and a deck of digimon playing cards held in a pouch strapped onto their hip. A pair of dark sunglasses hid their eyes, taking the place of the helmet they usually wore. Black hair cut into a short bob hung around their face. A series of plain studded earrings lined their left earlobe.

Beezlemon waited behind them. He let Ai and Mako swing from his arms. They did so with glee and laughter as he held his arms up high enough for them. "Getting Kirito here was a bitch, ya know?"

"I can surmise that well enough." He replied. He didn't dare try to do anything other than stand. "Can you three wait outside while I speak to Kirito?"

"Sure thing. C'mon ya two." Beezlemon stepped back.

"Bye Albedo!" Mako said, waving with a cheeky smile.

"We're coming back, silly." Ai giggled.

Albedo waved a hand in response as the door in front of them slid closed. Kirito stepped forward. Slowly, they removed the dark sunglasses hiding their eyes.

"Should you do that?" Albedo asked. Kirito's eyes were a striking shade of green not usually found in Japan. He was no longer surprised they hid their appearance as a plumber.

"Not according to protocol." They looked down at the glasses. "I can't stay long. I'm already clocked out. Beelzemon could maybe explain why I am an extra thirty minutes late leaving max."

"Then I won't waste any more time." He smiled a wry smile. "I have a question for you, that I hope isn't too uncomfortable. And maybe a request. You can take a seat if you like. I can't use them."

Kirito sat in one of the many chairs in the room. It almost seemed cozy, except as Albedo said, he couldn't yet interact well with solid objects. They focused on the containment vat nestled in the corner of the room. Albedo agreed that it looked out of place, no matter how necessary it was.

Albedo looked at his hands, his mind racing, as he worked to formulate words.

"Your mana, Mr. Lowenthal." Kirito warned him.

'Mana depletion detected.' Juggernaut warned him as well.

Albedo looked up. He sighed softly, and focused. "Thank you." His blue violet mana swirled around him. "I suppose I will have to be crude with this. I cannot think of a way to say it, while focusing on my mana. I can only hope I'm not overstepping my boundaries."

"I have tough skin." Kirito replied. "This job demands it. I'm sure you know."

Albedo nodded. His vision blurred as he focused on the wisps of mana swirling around him. "When under Eon's assault, I saw things I don't think I was meant to see. And things started to make sense that I didn't think I was supposed to know or understand. When you were a child, I think you traveled with Ryo Akiyama?" He blinked, willing his eyes to focus properly.

Kirito stared at him, as though their mind had crashed. The only sign that they were listening was that their fingers tensed around their glasses.

He waited patiently for them to reply. He almost regretted asking. It wasn't even necessary to ask. It wasn't necessary for what he really wanted to ask them.

"What did Eon show you?" Kirito looked at him.

"I don't know how much I can tell you, truthfully. I know you supported Cyberdramon, and that he did not scare you as much as your kidnappers expected." Albedo stared at his hands.

"I did…On both accounts. Why do you want to know?" They looked at the vat in front of them. It seemed Kirito just did not yell, or show much of a sign of wanting to yell either. Their voice remained just as calm as it was every other time they spoke to him. He wondered how much of that was plumber training, and how much was just general interaction with the plumbers.

"I hope you are allowed to properly see Ryo outside of Hypnos. You…and Haiphen…" As he spoke, his voice trailed off to a whisper.

They gave him a blank look.

"...Then I hope, one day you will be." As far as Albedo was concerned, Kirito hid their surprise quite well.

"...Is this all you needed?" Kirito asked, to the point, as though they were still on duty.

He shook his head. "I shouldn't have asked. My curiosity got the better of me again."

Kirito shrugged their shoulders. "I've read enough of your file. What matters is what you will do with the information you've learned. Being curious is irrelevant."

Albedo chuckled softly. "Then…can you look after Swamps for me, until I am able to again? Fridge has Frigga and Rika, and I'm not sure how, but I think Hugh has Jenrya and Suzie…And they all have each other. And with them brings the other Tamers in, but…Swamps has always drifted on his own. He will…if you let him." Albedo looked away, his vision blurring as his mana swirled in front of his eyes. He blinked quickly, trying not to think too much about it.

"I will do my best…" Kirito breathed lightly, as though they were sighing, but not quite.

"But…?" Albedo stared at his feet. Gwendolyn didn't like it, but he took off his sneakers a few days ago. They just felt weird on his feet as an anodite. Especially after living in Japan for so long, wearing sneakers in a room was just strange now. Unfortunately, he couldn't maintain wearing a pair of slippers either. She heavily suggested he keep the rest of his clothes, despite how uncomfortable they felt as well. Including the red jacket he was starting to hate once more…

"I believe I will be removed from my post soon."

Albedo looked at them in confusion, "What for?"

Kirito smiled a small smile, and shook their head, "I am…breaking protocol. The Plumbers of Japan are not as lax with mixing duty and interpersonal relations as the ones in America."

"I see. You could probably do the task better that way." Albedo looked off to the side. His eyes caught his 'room' within his room and focused on it. "If you ever need assistance, I would suggest taking a closer look at Kevin E. Levin's file. I do not get along with him, but when he is not on a rampage, he tends to support the...hm…little guy."

Kirito looked at their lap, focused on their glasses. "When we traveled with Ryo…I was tenth place in the Grand Tournament. I lost to Rika Nonaka. Not many know this, but Ryo wasn't alone. He taught us, and filled the tournament with as many of us that could play. No one wanted to disappoint him. He had done so much for us…We split our winnings, including selling any cards we had won as consolation prizes." They put their sunglasses back on, and stood. "Thank you. I will look after Swamps for you."

"You're welcome." He stared at the containment vat. "For us."

Kirito smiled a small smile. "By the way, since you know so much already, you can address me as a female," and left, walking quickly. Shortly afterward Beelzemon appeared in the doorway.

"I'll be right back. Do not jump 'im." Beezlemon pushed Ai and Mako into the room. He followed Kirito, feet stomping loudly against the tile as he walked, racing to catch up.

Ai and Mako immediately rushed to hug Albedo. He only noticed when Ai phased right through him. Mako partially phased through him only because he was holding Ai's hand trying to stop her. His mana went haywire, swirling all around him. Juggernaut warned him that single action depleted his mana by twenty percent.

"Beelzemon said not to do that, Ai." Mako frowned as he barely held his sister upright.

"I forgot…" She turned around and stared at Albedo in surprise. Her frame trembled. "We can't hug you…?"

"I'm okay." Albedo looked at her as he focused on pulling himself back together. "You can hug me. Just…not right now, alright?" He ignored the woozy, airy feeling engulfing him. If he didn't, Gwendolyn would come, and Ai would get in trouble. As would Beelzemon, for not staying with Ai and Mako to begin with.

She nodded, bravely holding back her lips from trembling and her eyes from tearing up.

"Whoa! Y-you're floating!" Mako jumped up as if trying to catch him. "Wow! You're so high!"

Albedo looked up at the encroaching ceiling. He raised his other hand, creating a barrier of blue violet mana to smack into. His head bonked into the mana, and he pressed his free hand against it. It took him longer than he liked, but eventually he managed to contain most of his mana once more. Envy towards Gwen Tennyson filled him. He laughed in amusement, unsurprised when Ai and Mako joined him.

"Watch your head!" Ai called, waving her hands.

"I will." He floated back down, and knelt on a mana platform. "I hope I didn't scare you too badly."

"Nu uh!" Ai and Mako sat next to him, completing the small circle. They fell into a quiet conversation full of giggles. Eventually both twins forgot their fears and waved their hands between and through the wisps of mana like one would in a field of blown bubbles. Albedo watched with glowing blue violet eyes and a smile.