Digital Balance (Sweet and Amanda)

[SweetSerenade]

Mei was quiet as she watched him, but she knew that their situation wasn't going to get any better. He seemed to be lost to himself, even and she realized there wasn't much she could do here. She tucked a piece of dark hair behind her ear, and then turned away fro a moment. A sigh left her as she realized that there was literally nothing that could be done to help him at the moment. "Alright, go ahead and get dressed completely, and get your bag over towards the front door. I'll get the 'mons ready." She said as she gathered up the food she had made for him.

The woman was quiet, strangely so - after her outburst earlier. She was still finding it hard to figure out what her place in this group would be. Balance? What was Balance? She couldn't even keep herself in check - how was she supposed to help them in their task.

"We really should get going. Sora and TK will probably be worried. I need to get us on to base, and then help us get the rest of the stuff for the trip." She said as she left the room and then gathered the mons. The food was packed, and everything was neat and ready by the time he would eventually come out.

[Amandashow]

Yamato watched her go and watched longer still once the door (or what was left of it anyway) was closed. He studied the deep fissures in the wood, trying to find patterns or faces in the splinters like clouds in the sky but couldn't make anything out. It was just lines that failed to run together, reminding him only of how very close he and Mei had come to making the biggest mistake of their lives. He was thankful the mon's had interrupted them in retrospective. Aching as he was to feel her body against his, Yamato knew it was for the best if they kept their attention on the mission and not on each other's private parts.

He lifted the cigarette to his lips, taking another soothing drag of smoke, willing the toxins to help him believe this wasn't another mistake in a long series of mistakes. It was doing wonders for his nerves but absolutely useless for a bad conscience. Still, it helped him collect his scattered thoughts and refocus his mind on what was to come. The Digital World lay ahead, no doubt warped to meet some new masters means if that rogue Kuwagamon was any prelude...

He conjured up their arrival in his mind's eye: the dense foliage, the cloudless blue sky, the shared anxiety of what was to come matched only by the exhilaration of adventure in a land where no human had ever traversed. He tried to twist it, maybe warp those strange cable-less phone booths into tombstones or the cable car they spent the night in the belly of some Lovecraftian beast but came up wanting. Frightening as those first few hours and days were, he had nothing but good memories associated with their adventures into the Digital World. Without realizing it, Yamato had secreted his childhood self-there, locked away and thrown away the key. This young Yamato was still a boy with the oversized gloves and sleeveless top that showed off adolescent muscles without full appreciating why he did so. The boy would exist agelessly, never knowing the pinch of needle or sting of cocaine at his nose.

Without meaning to, he flashed back to being 19, falling down drunk backstage somewhere in Hokkaido, slurring that he couldn't play today, he was too sick.

Yoshi materialized, shaking his head. He was crouched before the lad like a mammoth toad in a cheaper suit but the same amount of hair on top. "My best boy has got to be on stage tonight," he cooed, pushing up the sleeve of Yamato's shirt.
"What are you doing?" he looked so young then, so damn young.

"Just giving you something to pick you up. My best boy has got to be on stage tonight. That's you, baby. That's you Yamato-baby!" The man slapped Yamato's arm, conjuring up a vein and they both watched in amazement as the syringe filled with blood.
Yamato was crying without realizing it and gave a start when his trashed apartment bedroom came into sharp contrast before his eyes. He went to take a fresh drag from the cigarette and found he had smoked it down to the filter. It burned listlessly.

Stamping it out, he rose from the bed and groped uselessly for his Digivice, finding only empty air. He wiped at his eyes with his sleeve, getting composed before he dared venture out into the living room. The last thing he wanted was to give them the idea he was falling apart before they even left. That gave him a bitter chuckle. Some Friend you are huh, Yamato? Already keeping thing from them...

He dutifully ignored that niggling voice in his head, massaging the heels of his palms into his face as if to physically rub the thoughts out. He wondered instead if he would find that boy again. Deep in the jungles of the Digital World, could he still exist?
Yamato started for the door.

[SweetSerenade]

Tai and Sora's morning was apparently going way better than the other pair of the digidestined on this mission. The couple had slept well after their interactions with each other, and moved on to getting breakfast. The newly engaged couple was practically glowing, even though they knew they were about to enter into a world of chaos. Tai took out his phone the moment that they were leaving the house to get ready to meet up with the others. Yamato, haven't heard anything for a bit, doing ok buddy? News is going insane with stuff from last night. Do you guys want a pick up? The male asked as he was working on brushing his teeth.

Breakfast had happened, and it had been amazing, and honestly, the newly engaged couple was having an awesome morning. Sure the 'mons had been annoying for a bit, but it was quite like having kids. They had to get this situation handled, and then they'd be able to look towards the future. Their future was based on surviving this upcoming situation, and that was just the meat of the matter. Tai was a bit worried at the way things had seemed to be going - and he was partially to blame in all that.

Mei was an unknown, and new factor, and he was trying to adapt to having her in the group. There was something unsettling about her, and he wasn't sure exactly what. He hadn't really had much time around her, but his younger system seemed to really like her - and really enjoyed her company. It was the least he could do to try to work with her. She was a Digidestined, albeit a forgotten one - and one that had been hidden for too long.

----------------------

Yamato was facing his own internal battle, just as Mei was. What even was balance? How could she be the Digidestined of it, when she honestly had no idea how to even be balanced? Her lashing out recently was proof of that, and she was ashamed at her lack of control. She pulled herself away from Yamato and worked on getting herself ready. The demons in her own mind were tormenting her, and that was all there was to it.  The memories, the torments, all sliding through her as she went about finishing things up. She was trying to figure out what her place in all this would be.

Neither she or Nyamon had really had experience in the Digital world, this was a whole new frontier for them. She was really trying to find herself, and this journey might be what she needed. She had always felt like there was something missing from her life, from Nyamon's life, and this might very well be what they needed. That voice in the back of her head was making it hard, though, to really feel like part of the team. Nyamon couldn't digivolve, not without a tag and crest - apparently. Mei half wondered how they could even be a benefit to the team, but the digimon said there was a prophecy that demanded 'Balance'.

When the mons had finished eating she did the dishes and found herself stamping out a smoke. She stared at her phone - pressing it to her forehead with a sigh. It wasn't like anyone really spoke to her, that much was certain. Then again, a small part of her wanted to contact her dad's friends and let them know someone was trying to cause her trouble. Instead, she settled with giving them a sit-rep of the current situation of things. One of which was still stationed at the local base and told her to let him know the details of the vehicle she was coming in on so that he could get them shipped up.

He had been part of operations in the US when the digital world had last caused trouble, he was now part of a special military operation that worked Worldwide on things that could be done in the situations if they came again. He had always suspected her Digimon, but now he really knew because of what was on the news. She also let him know that someone might try to slander her name and got a simple text response of 'don't worry, I'll handle it'.

She looked up as she heard the door to his room opening. "Yamato, we should look at heading out soon. Have Tai and Sora contacted you?"

[Amandashow]

Sora puttered around the kitchen, unable to keep still her nerves were frayed so. Even during breakfast, she kept rising from her seat between bites and busy herself with more preparations. There were so many things to consider! They would need someone to collect their mail while they were away, water house plants, see that utilities and rent were on automatic payment. How embarrassing would it be to return from the Digital World, triumphant and full of hope...only to come home to an eviction notice and debt?

"Shit," she murmured, scooping a few more mouthfuls of rice into her mouth before rushing into the next room to retrieve her phone from the charger. She plucked it free from the cord and had to swipe through two dozen missed calls and messages before getting to the home screen. "I have to cancel my yoga classes and gym membership before we go," she shouted as means of explanation for her sudden departure. She dialed the number from memory and pressed the phone to her ear. "Any word from Yamato and Mei-? Yes, hello, my name is Sora Takenouchi, I need to cancel my membership. I'm going on a-err...trip out of the country." No use in explaining herself to the front desk and risk getting roped into a big conversation. News of the attack traveled far and wide in the night. It was no coincidence that a lot of the messages and calls she had received in the ensuing hours were from people she had not spoken to in some time.
Typically, none of them were from Yamato or Mei. At this point, she would have taken a text from Gabumon if it meant they were on the way to the rendezvous point.

She cradled the cell between her cheek and shoulder and filled a plastic spray bottle from the bathroom tap. While on hold, she sprayed down the plants in every room, willing Honda-San, their upstairs elderly neighbor to get back in touch with her about seeing to the apartment while they were away.

"What? No, I was holding for a manager to cancel my next appointment and membership-, yes I can hold again." Muzak filled her ear so suddenly she jerked her head away from the receiver. It was a bad cover of a Teen-Age Wolves tune. "You have got to be kidding me..."

She poked her head back into the kitchen long enough to gobble down a few more bites of cooling rice and pickles, not bothering to sit this time.

Her phone buzzed in her hand with a new notification, but it wasn't Yamato or even Honda-San. It was an update from one of her social media apps and the headline told her everything she needed to know without reading the article: Yamato Ishida of the Teen-Age Wolves (and others) had beaten a giant monster at the climax of their concert. Was it real? A stunt? A product of hallucinogens in the drinking water? Either way, a media circus was gathering like storm clouds on the horizon. Whatever they did, the Digidestined would need to depart asap.

Sora turned to voice this thought to Tai but the words caught in her throat. He was the picture of calm and collected, casually munching away on his breakfast without a care in the world. As if they were taking a trip to the country for a long weekend and not a world where they would have no way of anticipating what would come next...

Yet, she broke into a smile then a wide grin when she spied the goggles in the ticket of his hair. A trick of the accessory and her own nostalgia regressed him, and he looked so much younger. Could they really find that innocence and strength again? The question made her heart ache. Yet, she smiled all the wider.

"I love you so much," she shook her head, starting to lean in for a kiss...then quickly straightened up, speaking into the phone again.

"No! Not YOU! Are you a manager? Oh, for crying out loud!"



Yamato hefted the duffel into the middle of the floor with the rest of the baggage. Would they really be able to lug all of this through the chaos of the Digital World? If things were really as bad as he feared, would it be wise to weigh themselves down with so much gear? He wondered briefly about repacking the bag and throwing a few things out. How many pairs of pants did he really need over there? He had worn the same jeans and shirt for ages during their first visit. Then again, he had been a prepubescent boy in those days and sweat glands had been kinder.

Still mulling the decision over, he stuffed his cigarettes and lighter into the breast pocket of his jacket and patted around for his phone. Mei's urging had sparked the search and when he came up empty, he glanced around the room, hunting for his missing phone until realization broke on his face like the dawn.

"Oh shit..." He bent down to scoop up the fragments of his cell phone from the floor and held them out to Mei sheepishly. "Um...can I borrow your...?" He spied the promotional phone still in its box on the coffee table. "Never mind." He fished his sim and memory card free from the wreckage and binned the rest. After jamming the slivers of plastic into the appropriate slots and turned the device on, he was surprised to find it fully charged.

While waiting for the device to complete its activation process, he internally scolded himself. They were wasting time now, all because he had turned into a petulant five-year-old and threw one of his toys. Had he ever been that immature, even as a kid? He honestly couldn't remember. Most of his life pre-junior high was a bit of a haze now, like glimpsing distant figures across a foggy street. He could only conjure up vague shapes of memories, malformed and possibly not even his own.

Yoshi was prevalent in most, usually grinning at him from behind the business end of a syringe.

"My Golden Boy has to be on stage tonight...I need you to be perfect..."

The crest bearer of Friendship...and this is the company I kept? That was my best friend?

It took a long moment for him to realize he was starring at the home screen of his new phone and a steady flood of new messages, emails, missed calls and updates all muscled their way onto the tiny screen at once, fighting to be next in line. Shaking himself out of the past, he thumbed his way through the index of contacts, finding Tai's number and hammered out a quick text message with trembling thumbs.

Shit, brother, sorry. Rough night and rougher morning. We're leaving now.

At least it wasn't a lie this time. Yamato gave himself a few brownie points for that one. Perhaps it was even a sign of things turning around. Did he dare hope? He looked to Mei, untested Digidestined of Balance (whatever THAT meant) and her tagless and crestless Digimon.

His head was crying out for a drink and it would only get louder and more belligerent as the day went on.

No, Yamato...you're crest definitely was not Hope...