Chapter Text
Budget was tight — tighter than before thanks to those scummy pirates, but work was at least abundant. With just her and Makoto, there weren't many high-paying jobs available for them, and with competition and cuts they have to make, the low-paying jobs they could snag would only be enough to feed them for the day. But with three members now — all of who have Digimon capable of Adult forms — the grind of to-not-starve was a lot less hopeless.
Except they were back to two members again.
Reina sighed, putting away the list Maki-san sent her, and made her way to the common room. "Mako-chan?"
Makoto and Chiropmon looked up from the zine they were reading. "Yes? Ah, are you wondering about Tomoro-san?"
"Yeah… Is he…?"
Makoto smiled sympathetically. "He's in the hospital again…"
"Again?" Of course, she already knew that. Reina sighed again, dragging her hand down her face. She wasn't angry. She could understand his anxiety after — yet again — finding trouble near his brother but they really could use a extra hand right now.
"Is it for a job?" squeaked Chiropmon.
"I'm sure Tomoro-san would come if we asked," said Makoto.
Reina was conflicted. "Yeah, I know... We've been asking him every single time. He doesn't complain, and he's kept his focus while with us. Then once it's over, he's off — It's been a while since I've seen him sit down and eat."
Kyo stepped down from a stool, having finished stowing a box. "Is it the Punkmon one?"
"Yeah. There were two of them, but they had a big fight and one Punkmon won over the other."
"Hmm. The Punkmon might be on the brink of evolving if it took down its rival. Shall I fill in for Tomoro?"
"You sure?"
Makoto closed his book. "Aren't you heading to Nirinso, Kyo-san?"
"I can go tomorrow. It would just be a visit anyway."
Reina considered. It should be a breeze with Kyo around. Worst-case scenario and Punkmon does evolve, they'd have Murasamemon to bring them into the Mirror World. Punkmon was enough of a headache to hide, given their love for being loud and obnoxious. Reina shudder to think what kind of Digimon that would evolve into.
"Actually, Kyo," said Reina, deciding against it. "You mentioned that you and Tomoro's brother are friends. If you have time today, how about you talk to him?"
"Tomoro?"
"I'm not as good as you when it comes to emotional talk. I'm worried Tomoro's getting sick of me asking how he is."
Kyo laughed. Reina smiled, finding what she said just as amusing. "And you think I'm any better? You're fine. I'm sure Tomoro appreciates you taking the time to check on him. But sure, I'll check up on him. I am a little worried too, to be honest. Are you and Makoto still taking the job?"
Reina glanced at Makoto.
"We can catch Punkmon unaware, so we wouldn't have to worry about it evolving," said Makoto, standing up.
"Punkmon likes to show off," said Chiropmon, analyzing their database. "In its desire to prove its strength, it would even let enemies attack it first."
Reina grinned. "Oh, that sounds way more straightforward. I like it!"
"I think I know how the other Punkmon lost," remarked Pristimon, taking one last delighted sniff of their Jasmine tea.
Tomoro observed security act as it always used to: monotone motions, familiar routines. The medical staff shuffled through hallways, occassionally greeting colleagues and visitors with a welcomed friendliness. The air was as solemn as always, the dull buzz of the airconditioning punctuated by mundane conversations and ordinary emotions. Even here, where patients would never wake up, there would be tenacious laughters working through the drawn out misery.
They didn't know all of this were almost gone. The last bastion of families and loved ones hoping for a miracle, close to disappearing into a violent blaze.
Something strange always happened in the hospital. If he could, Tomoro would have had his brother moved somewhere closer. Somewhere warmer. But he couldn't. He couldn't provide the care the hospital was already doing reliably. He could only watch his brother's empty gaze, and sulk in his uselessness.
"Tomoro," alerted Gekkomon. Tomoro, not having caught the edge in his Digimon's voice yet, looked up distractedly.
A shadow by the window fell onto him and Gekkomon. He would have thought it was a cloud passing by, or a really big bird swooping in if Gekkomon hadn't called his attention to it. Because — why the eff would a person be hanging outside the window?
"Tomoro?" came a muffled voice, the child's wide, gold eyes peering at him.
Tomoro's jaw dropped, struggling in how to react. They were several stories high! Tomoro bolted to open the window.
"What are you doing? That's dangerous— Hey!"
Gekkomon's arm shot out to block him. Damn, and the kid could see Gekkmon, too. Whatever! They needed to get him inside!
"Gekkmon, now's not the time!"
"Tomoro," said Gekkmon again. This time, Tomoro could note how strained his voice was, and the uncharacteristic nervousness wrapped on his lizard face. "Danger. Super danger."
A Digimon?
Tomoro looked at the "kid" properly. "His" frame was smaller than Tomoro's, black, sleeves shirt and worn jeans. One of his bare feet pressed on the window frame. His gold eyes looked unreal — ethereal, standing out even more so than the diadem of solid gold behind his brown locks. His messy, short hair reminded him of Haruomi when he first found him collapsed from hunger.
Looking at him made him think of another human. Tomoro still couldn't believe it. But then again, he hadn't been a Cleaner for long. Were there Digimon that could easily be mistaken as a human?
Then, Tomoro finally noticed. One of their arms stuck out of the window. Small beads of cracked cement dripped from its corner.
They did not held onto the window. Their hand had struck the wall and gripped it through sheer strength. There was nothing human about that.
"Hey, Tomoro," the creature called again. Innocent. Familiar, as if they were old friends. They touched the glass pane with a free hand glinting with sharp nails. "Where's Asuka?"
Nii-san? Why? What did they want from him? Why? Who are they? Who's their Sapowner?
Tomoro glued his feet to the floor. If he made one step, they'd know his brother was right behind him, vulnerable and immobile.
"Tomoro?" called the Digimon.
Tomoro clenched his teeth. That damn fake concern—
"Quit it!" he snapped. "You're not going anywhere near my brother. Tell me what you want, or we'll make you spill it!"
The Digimon was taken aback. "Um — " They forced a servile smile. A smile in tremendous pain that Tomoro consciously ignored. "Did I do somethin' wrong? Well — obviously I did — I don't actually know —"
The Digimon's body stiffened, half of their face disappearing behind the curtain of their unkept hair. Their mouth shook, muttering words Tomoro couldn't hear.
"Can I…really not see him?"
"No. I won't allow it."
Their mouth slackened. It closed tightly, swallowing any more words that dared to spill out.
Tomoro and Gekkomon jumped as chunks of concrete drop from the Digimon's grip. The Digimon was about to drop their act.
The door burst open. Tomoro and Gekkomon literally jumped but their worries quickly melded with relief.
"Kyo-san!"
Kyo and Murasamemon stepped inside and strode between the window and Tomoro and Gekkomon.
"We checked the surroundings. No potential Sapowner, nor another Digimon nearby."
Tomoro nodded faintly, still catching up to what's happening all of a sudden.
"Though we should conduct a more thorough search once Makoto and Chiropmon are available."
Even Gekkomon was thrown off by Kyo's suggestion. "You're not gonna—"
"That's…" Reckless, he wanted to say. But this was Kyo, and his proposal was already safer than trying to fight a Digimon right by his brother's room. Still, even if there were nothing suspicious they could find, why should they give a random Digimon a chance?
It was ridiculous, but Kyo would never take the safety of others lightly. His gaze, cold and intense, would not forgive himself for any mistake paid by someone else.
His heartless eyes now on the window, he reached with his hand for the Digimon's across the glass.
"We're not ready to meet you, and we can't have you staying here. Please — could you hold on for a bit longer?"
The Digimon had been completely still. Slowly, they raised their head. "What…What should I do?"
"Could we meet in the rooftop?"
The Digimon nodded numbly. "Okay." Their eyes looked further down away. "…'nd sorry."
With one jump up, the Digimon was gone.
"Tomoro," said Kyo suddenly, turning around. "I already contacted Reina and Makoto. Truthfully, the situation is more dangerous."
"Gekkomon, you felt it, too, didn't you?" prompted Mursamemon.
Gekkomon nodded, looking the most troubled and confused Tomoro had seen him.
"Their smell…Everything in my skin's telling me they're dangerous, but also… They don't smell anything like a Digimon, ya know?"
Tomoro gasped. "There's no way they're human."
Kyo gave it a brief thought. "We're all in agreement with that. Unfortunately, that's not the pressing issue right now."
"I was able to sense that Digimon's presence immediately from afar," said Murasamemon. "Without a doubt, other Digimon would have been alerted, too."
"The Ministry could already be on its way for an investigation."
Tomoro didn't like this development and the grave look on Kyo's face even more. "Then, are we bringing them to our home?"
Kyo looked like he knew this was coming up, and didn't seem happy with his own conclusion. "No, we're staying put. I'm not comfortable leaving your brother alone."
"Why?" Tomoro felt the world crash for one entire moment, all the dread he'd stowed in him springing up. "What does he have anything to do with this? They can't possibly — look at him! What are they going to do to someone who's been Cold Hearted?"
Their earpieces crackled with Makoto's voice.
"Tomoro-san, Kyo-san. I searched through the security feeds in the area — there's no trace of an anomaly so far. These are only from cameras we could access remotely though."
"Did it appear out of thin air? Right here?" askedTomoro.
"We can't say for certain. It's possible that it's a Digimon with stealth capabilities similar to Commandramon."
Kyo opened the window and stuck his head out. "Flight doesn't seem to be an ability of theirs." Above, the walls were scarred with forceful intrusions unlike the view below, clean and unmarked. "Yet, they didn't seem to have come from the ground either."
"…I want to stay here with Nii-san," declared Tomoro, though only half-convinced himself.
"As you should," said Kyo, smiling once more, reassuring him with a hand on his shoulder.
Tomoro searched for trouble in Kyo's eyes, a hint that meant Tomoro was wrong. That he and Gekkomon should be with them.
"Will you and Murasamemon be okay?"
Kyo chuckled softly. "You seemed to have forgotten about the Mirror World. If something happens, we could keep the hospital from becoming a battlefield."
"No — that's not it! Gekkomon and Murasamemon both said it: this Digimon is dangerous. I'm—" Tomoro swallowed the word. "Aren't you…?"
"That Digimon may just be the most dangerous Murasamemon and I have encountered. But they also looked incredibly pitiful."
In Kyo's icy stance, the sternness thawed away. The iron regard bolted on his joints loosened. Tomoro saw Kyo's eyes searching for a blessing. From whom, he couldn't tell. But Reina, who knew him the most out of the Glowing Dawn, had probably wondered about it, too.
"They were looking for Nii-san, and they know my name, too, acting like we knew each other or something."
Kyo nodded. "If any Ministry officials arrive, keep those details to yourself."
"Yeah. For sure."
On their way to the rooftop, the silence between Kyo and Murasamemon was only broken once.
"I thought Asuka trusted us. He was adamant about not having a partner," said Murasamemon.
"I don't think he lied. Asuka wouldn't have told us about Tomoro if he didn't."
"True."
"Knowing him, he must have tried keeping his burdens to himself. Rather than him lacking in trust, perhaps it was I who should have trusted him more. Had I told him I used to go by Kyo the Golden, he might have been more willing to share his burdens with me."
"Or lose his trust completely."
Kyo chuckled.
"At least he'd hear me out first."
"I see it, and yet, I find it hard to believe. It truly does exist."
Gokuwmon stared at the glowing Sapotama they presented to their master, its light a clear, azure sky on their dimly-lit luxurious room. They felt the pangs of phantom hunger clawing, and dared not to indulge the greedy illussions. Still, for once and perhaps the very last, they almost understood what their master felt.
"12:31? The world changed at noon, with the sun at its peak. How unbelievably boring."
Genjo idly opened the French brand of hair oil Rose Woodville had gifted to him. A punch of rosy fragrance. Strong, bold — all for show. He instructed a drone to dispose it, though he changed his mind and kept the box. It was marble carved in black and dusty gold, its craftsmanship evident on its intricate, rising borders. His fingers brushed through its hollow rings.
"Let's see… how may I hide this from Chairman Wong?"
The door to the rooftop opened to a clean and empty scenery, radiating with the fullness of the midday sun. On the side of the door, Kyo found the mysterious Digimon hugging their knees with a glum look.
Kyo closed the door behind them and moved to the other side of the Digimon. Murasamemon stayed in place.
"The rooftop might not have been a good idea. It's hot, isn't it?"
The Digimon hummed noncommittally.
"I prefer the cold over the heat. But I noticed I'm becoming more sensitive to the cold every year I get older," continued Kyo.
"It has nothing to do with your age," interrupted Murasamemon. "It means you haven't been taking care of your body."
Kyo sat down.
"Murasamemon here prefers the heat."
"I don't like th' cold," said the Digimon quietly. "I don't like it when it's so hot either, though."
"I like the rain," said Kyo.
The Digimon nodded.
"Rain is nice. It's harder to hear with th' rain."
Kyo looked at him inquisitively.
"I have a really good hearin'. Not as good as my nose, though, which is 'nother thin' why I like the rain. It smells nice."
Fingers and toes fidgeting, the Digimon turned their head to meet Kyo's eyes. They were warm and gentle. They figured Kyo was a nice person.
Sadness swept them like the push and pull of the tides.
"Is Tomoro okay?"
"I'm not sure… But that's only for the time being. He's a really strong kid."
Curiously, the Digimon bobbed their head repeatedly in agreement. As if they were confirming the obvious.
"They were looking for Nii-san, and they know my name, too, acting like we knew each other or something."
"I don't know yer name," they brought up rather shyly.
"Oh, you're right! Sorry. My name is Sawashiro Kyo. You can just call me Kyo. And that's—"
"Mura…Mura-sa?"
"-memon," finished Kyo for them.
Concentrating, they practiced the syllables wordlessly before saying the name out loud.
"Mura-sa-me-mon. Kyo and Murasa-memon." They looked at them. "Kyo, Murasa-memon, I'm Goku."
Murasamemon smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Goku."
Goku didn't expect Murasamemon's response but quickly reciprocated it with a hopeful smile. "Mm!"
This positive reception was enoug to push them for questions of their own.
"Are ya friends of Tomoro?"
"Mm. We're part of the same family."
"Ehh? You're his… Papa? Asuka's, too?" Goku kept looking at him up and down, their eyes bulging out.
Murasamemon laughed out loud.
"No, that's not — The age doesn't match up, first of all. Asuka's older than me."
"Oh. Okay."
"Secondly, our family isn't tied by blood, but by our bonds. We'll do everything in our power to keep each other safe."
"Is Asuka part…" Goku cut themselves short. This was the line of question they didn't dare cross. The line where they feared the contents of truth.
"Goku, are you feeling lost?"
Goku didn't answer. Kyo shifted his gaze to the sky.
"If you are, would you consider coming with us? Take the chance to rest your mind and body until you're ready."
"By 'us' do you mean your family?"
"That's right."
Goku shifted uncomfortably.
"But, Tomoro…"
"Do you have ill intentions toward Tomoro?"
"No!" Goku stared at Kyo, aghast and offended. "Tomoro's my friend!"
"You care about him?"
Goku glared at him.
"Damn right I do!"
"Then, there's no problem. As long as you don't try to hurt anyone, you can stay with us. Tomoro knows this."
"He's mad at me."
"That happens all the time with family," pointed out Murasamemon. "What's important is we hear each other out."
"I'm — I'm not part of your family," said Goku, despairingly. They know how good it sounded. They know how warm inside it must be to belong with them.
Which is exactly why they desperately pushed the thought away. It had to stay a fantasy. If they dared to dream now, they might never want to dream again.
"You don't have to make the decision now," said Kyo tenderly, "Not tomorrow nor next week. As long as you have a safe place to think. Even months, years."
Goku wiped their eyes with their arms. "I don't need it. As long as I'm with Asuka, I don't need anythin'."
Kyo nodded. "Then, you can wait for him with us."
Goku nodded wordlessly as they sniffled.
"Kyo, they're here," came Reina's voice in the earpiece. "Pristimon said they could still sense the Digimon. Isn't this really bad?"
Kyo grimaced. "Hiding them is impossible. We'll have to use the Mirror World and wait things out. Goku—"
Goku stood up, looking the most confident Kyo have seen them. "I could hear all of it. I don't really get what's goin' on, but I decided I'm gonna meet Asuka no matter what anyone says."
"Murasamemon will take you to the Mirror World. It's not what I promised you, but it will keep you off the radar of some unsavory people."
"It's only a temporary solution," assured Murasamemon. "Let Kyo deal with the situation with the humans first."
"Okay," said Goku, though the mention of 'humans' clearly made them confused.
"I'll see you soon," promised Kyo.
Goku smiled.
"Yeah!"
Murasamemon motioned to Goku to step forward. With a swing of their great sword, they ripped a gash through reality into the other dimension. Goku swallowed. It was clearly the first time they'd seen it.
"It's safe, don't worry. It's neither too hot, nor too cold. Not a lot of rain though," said Murasamemon jokingly.
Goku grinned. They looked over their shoulder one last time. "Thanks, Kyo…"
Water sprayed to their arm. It seeped into their clothes, warm to their skin.
"Agh…arghk!"
Murasamemon struggled to speak with blood pooling in their mouth, a comically large spearhead wedged through their stomach. A giant crimson pincer squeezed out of the portal, from which the spearhead was connected from. A blue, muscular arm pulled itself out first, dragging Murasamemon unceremoniously with its spear, followed by the ivory fangs of a tri-horned beast. Almost blinding against the sun was its thick, white mane. At its base, white tentacles swayed independently. The rest of its aquatic slender body slithered out, whipping a tail of coiled, red tentacles that sent winds enough to topple Goku down.
On its back was Honoka the Abyssal, the Star of Water, bearing down on Kyo with disinterest.
"'Thanks. Kyo.'"