"Almost Home Free"
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Everyone was trying to figure out a way to get back to their homes after the revelations that was made earlier.
Daisuke was honestly shocked to learn that her family had lived in Highton View with the original eight DigiDestineds when that Parrotmon and Greymon battled.
Her first memory of the Digimon was when Myotismon had his Bakemon and Phantomon kidnap children and DemiDevimon tormented them.
How was it that Daisuke suppressed the incident?
Was it really that traumatizing that she blocked the memory from her mind?
"Can we get a snack before we go looking?" Mimi asked, her voice snapping Daisuke out of her thoughts.
Blinking her eyes, Daisuke noticed that TK was holding onto one of her hands while Matt had a hand on her back, both of them leading her down the steps to the subway.
They had taken notice of how Daisuke was lost in her thoughts and decided to watch over her until she woke up.
DemiVeemon was sitting on Daisuke's shoulder while Matt and TK were holding Tsunomon and Patamon in their free arms.
"There's no time. We've got to get to Odaiba and find that ninth kid before somebody else does." Tai stated.
"How will we get there? Do you think there are any fast food places on the way?" Mimi mused.
"Ooh, I want a cheese burger!" DemiVeemon perked up.
"DemiVeemon!" Daisuke scolded.
"But I'm hungry!" He cutely whined.
"We're all hungry." Daisuke sighed making Mimi nod in agreement.
"Would you knock it off about the food? Anyway, we've only got enough money for our subway tickets." Tai reminded.
"Subway? Oh, well, my parents won't let me ride the subway by myself." Joe spoke up.
"You're not by yourself. Now, come on." Tai said as everyone grabbed their Digimon and began to walk.
They made their way down into the station and walked over to the map to see which train they needed to take.
"Are subways like normal trains? I mean, do they have snack carts?" Mimi questioned.
"Nope. They're really uncomfortable. With all the people smooshed together inside, it really makes you feel claustrophobic." Daisuke reported.
"What does claus-claustriphoba mean?" TK asked, struggling with the word.
"Claustrophobic or claustrophobia is a fear of being in tight, enclosed spaces." Izzy stated.
"That's what subways are like. Lots of bodies all gathered together in one space, unable to move properly or even breathe right. Not to mention being close enough to smell people's sweat or feel them breathing on you. I honestly hate it. Oh, sorry, Joe. Didn't mean to trigger anything." Daisuke apologized when she noticed how green the older boy looked.
"I'm fine." Joe waved off her concern.
"Ugh, the subway sounds gross!" Mimi whined.
"They're worst in New York." Daisuke muttered making DemiVeemon scrunch up his face at the reminder.
"When were you in New York?" Matt asked.
DemiVeemon and Daisuke both froze at this question which made Tai and Koromon stare at them.
They must have been in America dealing with future Digimon issues.
"Uh, I was…visiting a friend." Daisuke answered.
It wasn't a lie.
There were various DigiDestineds that lived in America.
Mimi would eventually move to New York with her parents and meet a boy named Michael Barton.
"What friend? Is he cute?" Mimi asked making Daisuke sigh in annoyance while Matt seemed to bristle.
"Just drop it and stick together everybody, it's kinda confusing around here." Tai said as the group walked into the Hikarigaoka Station.
"I just hope Myotismon is having as much trouble reading this map as I am." Joe said.
"Okay, what do we do now, besides starve to death?" Mimi complained.
"I'm just figuring it out." Izzy informed.
He had taken out his laptop and was checking out the train routes on it.
"Okay, that'll work. Now, the fastest route to Odaiba is to take the umber 12 train to Nagano and transfer to the Maranouchi line, then transfer to the Gingsa line and then Shinbashi." The redheaded boy reported.
"Huh?" Mimi questioned as she looked at the lines on the map that Izzy was pointing at.
"Sounds simple enough. Now we just have to figure out the right fare." Tai said.
Everyone then walked over to the machine where they could purchase tickets and the Digimon stared at it in confusion.
"What's that Tai? What are you getting?" Koromon asked as he hopped up on the counter to watch.
"A ticket. We can't ride the train without one." The child of Courage explained as he held up two orange tickets, handing on to Daisuke.
After all, he doubted she could use her money since it was from the future.
"What's a ticket?" Palmon asked sitting up on the counter.
"What's a train?" Patamon asked as Joe shushed him.
"Come on guys. Not another word out of you from now on, okay? We don't want anybody seeing you and then asking a bunch of questions that we don't wanna explain the answers to." Joe told them.
"Yeah, while we're here, you're got to pretend to be toys or stuffed animals. Remember to keep still and no fidgeting." Sora instructed.
"Here's an idea. I'll be one of those dolls you told me about. The kind where you squeeze them and they go 'Whaa! Whaa! Ooh!'" Yokomon suggested.
"Be a doll that doesn't talk." Sora told her knowing the noises would draw too much attention.
Once everyone paid for their tickets, the group made their way over to the tracks to wait for the train.
The Digimon were all curious and looking around at the unfamiliar area while DemiVeemon was content to remain still and quiet in Daisuke's arms.
"It's some kind of cave." Koromon said as he looked at the tunnel where the train was meant to come from.
"I don't like being underground." Tsunomon stated as he looked around.
"Hey, put a lid on it." Matt scolded.
Soon enough, the train was approaching and the lights were shining from the tunnel.
"Attention, attention. Number 12 train now arriving at platform 7." A male voice announced on the speaker system.
"What? Where'd that voice come from?" Koromon asked in shock.
"You heard it? Then it's not just inside my head." Tsunomon said.
The train was getting closer and made an even louder noise which made the Digimon nervous at the unfamiliar sound.
"Something's coming!" Koromon warned.
"Look at those glowing eyes. It's one of Myotismon's goons." Tsunomon cried as he saw the lights of the train.
Koromon and Tsunomon then jumped out of Tai and Matt's arms, making their way down onto the tracks, ready to fight what they assumed to be a dangerous Digimon.
"Hey!" Tai yelped.
"Watch out!" Matt cried.
The train then appeared and DemiVeemon was quick to jump out of Daisuke's arms, transforming into Veemon as he did so.
Quickly making his way to Koromon and Tsunomon, Veemon snatched them up into his arms and jumped back over to where their friends were waiting on them.
"You two are really dumb, you know that?" Veemon frowned at the two frightened Digimon.
Everyone was relieved that Veemon had acted so quickly and saved the two In-Training Digimon before they got hurt.
Daisuke placed the sweater and hat Mimi gave her on Veemon and took his hand, allowing him to pretend he was a small child as she led him onto the train.
The others all followed Daisuke and found seats to sit on and relax during the ride.
"We can't take you anywhere." Tai whispered in annoyance to Koromon and bopped him on the head.
"Ow." Koromon yelped.
Just then, a woman with a fusing baby walked over to the group.
There were no available seats left and the woman was having no luck calming her wailing child.
"Here, take my seat." Sora offered and stood up.
"Oh, thank you. Wasn't that nice of the girl? We've been on our feet all day, haven't we?" The woman cooed at her child as she sat down.
The baby stopped crying when it saw Yokomon.
Then, it reached out and grabbed onto Yokomon's red stem which made the DigiDestineds tense up in horror as the baby started to yank.
"Uh, excuse me?" Sora called politely.
Content that her baby had stopped crying, the woman then took notice of what had caused her child to calm down.
"Huh? Oh, what are you doing now? No." The mother scolded her baby as she tried to make it let go of Yokomon's stem.
Nervously, Daisuke was chewing on her lip as she watched as the baby started to whine and pulled harder on Yokomon's stem which made the pink Digimon grit her teeth in pain and anger.
"No, no, honey. Let go now. That's the girl's toy. Come on, honey." The mother said.
"Ow, that's gotta hurt." Motimon commented.
Veemon whined as he hid his face in the collar of the sweater.
"Oh, come on, honey. Let go of the girl's toy before you break it." The mother softly scolded.
But the baby was viciously pulling on Yokomon's stem and Sora was sweater in worry.
Finally, Yokomon had enough with the torment and opened her mouth.
"HEY! WILL YOU LET GO OF ME?" She shouted.
Everyone on the train went deathly silent as they turned to stare a Yokomon in shock.
The DigiDestineds and Digimon were staring in horror as they wondered what to do next.
"Maybe we should've taken a cab." Veemon muttered.
Daisuke shushed him while the rest of their friend group stared at Sora, wondering how she would handle the situation.
"I guess my toy didn't like when you pulled on her." Sora commented awkwardly.
A boy around TK's age then pointed at Yokomon.
"Did you hear that? That stuffed animal talked." The boy exclaimed.
A tense moment passed before Sora came up with an idea on how to explain the situation they were in.
"Ha! It worked. All that practise is paying off. Fooled them, didn't we?" Sora cried with a fake smile and patted Yokomon's head.
Noticing her partner's confusion, Sora leaned down to quietly speak to her.
"Hush. Just keep quiet and play along." The orangette whispered.
Putting a fake smile back on, Sora continued with her act.
"Come on. The baby pulled your hair because he likes you, that's all. "Oh, really?" There's no reason to bite the poor thing's had off. "Oh, I'm very sorry I shouted."" Sora said.
She spoke some parts with a high pitched voice, making people believe she was speaking for the "doll" in her arms.
The baby giggled at the act that Sora had put on and everyone began to relax as it seemed that the adults believed in the ventriloquist performance.
"See that, son? She's just making it look like the doll is talking. It's called ventriloquism. She's pretty good." The boy's father explained.
As the DigiDestneds relaxed in their seats, the people around them began to speak in awe of the act.
"I want one! Daddy, get me that toy! I want that doll. If I don't get one right now, I'll start screaming at the top of my lungs!" The boy demanded.
"Oh, come on!" Daisuke and Vemeon exclaimed in disbelief.
They were so close to moving on from the stressful situation and the bratty child just had to open his mouth.
Tai covered Veemon's mouth while Matt did the same to Daisuke, pulling the girl into his side to keep her quiet and not make the situation worse.
Apologetically, the boy's father stood up and approached Sora.
"Excuse me, young lady. Can I ask where you bought that doll? I need one right away." He said.
That made Daisuke gap in shock.
The father was complying with his child's demands?
If Daisuke or Jun had behaved that way in public, their parents would have scolded and grounded them for it.
They wouldn't have allowed their daughters to get away with such bratty behaviour.
"Uh, where I bought it?" Sora stuttered.
"It's not that hard a question is it? Come on. You'll be doing me a big favour. Where did you find it?" The father questioned.
It wasn't just him who was interested.
Sora was being stared at by the rest of the passengers in the car and the poor girl was sweating from the stress as she tried to think of an answer.
"This stop is Narima. Please watch your step. Again; this stop is Narima." A female voice on the speaker system announced.
The train began to slow down and Sora then came up with an idea.
"The Narima department store!" She exclaimed loudly.
"What? Narima? Thanks a lot. Come on, son." The father said as he and his child left the train.
Much to the DigiDestineds' shock, the rest of the passengers all eagerly got up and flowed the father and son duo, eager to find their own doll.
"Thanks again." The mother stood and left with her baby.
"Good-bye!" Yokomon sang cheerfully as the doors closed.
Once the train began to move, Sora sat back down in her seat.
Everyone took in deep breathes and released them at the same time.
"Wow, that was a close one." Sora sighed.
"Pretty weird how nuts that kid went over Yokomon." Tai mused.
"If we don't find the 9th child we could go into the…" Joe trailed off.
"Toy business?" Sora finished.
"How much longer?" TK asked tiredly.
"I don't know. Someone wake me when we get there." Mimi said.
"Yeah, me too." Matt said as he covered a yawn.
"We can't sleep now. We'll miss our stop." Daisuke said, but yawned.
Veemon was already asleep, using her lap as a pillow.
Everyone began to drift off, the soothing movements of the train lulling them to sleep.
"What the name of the stop where we're getting off again?" TK asked.
"We get off at Nagano." Izzy informed.
"Okay. Nagano." TK whispered.
With those final words, the children and Digimon all fell asleep.
When the train arrived at Nagano, Patamon was the only one awake and he tried to rouse the others, but Gabumon sleepily told him to continue resting.
Seeing that no one was waking up, Patamon shrugged and fell back to sleep.
To be continued…