[OPEN] And I know you're shining down on me

[givesalittlewhistle]

Who: Hikari givesalittlewhistle & OPEN
When: 5/11 OOC | 7/5 ICly (late morning)
Where: A small, but open area in the Gardens
What: Hikari comes up with a way to make amends with the whole robot situation.
Rating/Warning: Possible talk of Death

---

Tailmon was starting to worry.

...though starting might have been a bit of a delayed assessment; even that morning, when she opened the door, she found her faithful companion sitting right by the door. Her eyes full of questions she didn't expect answers to. Just like the day before. Unlike the day before, however, Hikari finally had one to offer:

"I have something I want to do."

She explained along the way, and for once, Tailmon was in full agreement. The tradition was more of one from Hikari's world, but she'd seen it before. The little mounds made for each of their digimon friends lost. Even though most of them would be returned to The Village of Beginnings and reborn.

But their robots wouldn't be. And so, she felt it was more important than ever to honor their memory. The mound was a little bigger than the ones she made the last time, and she took extra care to find the two nicest sticks along the ground, fashioning them into a small marker.

Once she was done, she knelt in front of it, placed her hands in front of her, and closed her eyes. Tailmon took a moment to recall her partner's traditions before doing the same.

"I'm sorry," she heard Hikari murmur. "I'm sorry all this happened. I'm sorry...we couldn't be friends. That I couldn't make you happy."
 

Comments

[encourageous]

[Taichi had not been doing so well in the aftermath of the robot ordeal himself. Even with his new older perspective, he had still hoped that the robots could truly be their friends. In the end, it had failed, and Agunon was still recuperating back at the apartment as Koromon, after a forced evolution to Skullgreymon.

Taichi went to see look for Hikari at some point in the day, and it really seems like the gardens is the best place to check for her these days.

So he comes across that scene and pauses for a moment. It's not hard to guess the purpose of the most mounds. He feels not only grief for their lost friends, but also admiration for his sister and all of the compassion that flowed so freely into those grave mounds.

These feelings settle into a sentimental smile as he approaches his sister and stands gently at her side, before hugging an arm over her shoulder.]

Hikari...

[givesalittlewhistle]

[She wasn't crying. Her smile was sad, but it was still a smile.]

[Glancing up, she leaned a little into Taichi's hold and gave him a silent nod. I'm okay, Oniichan. It was important that he knew that. They had been through far worse. The both of them. Just as she'd made it through the last time they'd lost friends...she would make it through again. Because that's what she did.]

Did you want to make one too?

[encourageous]

[Taichi is certainly glad for a lack of sister tears. It was far from their darkest hour, but he'll worry for his sister even in the lesser tragedies.

Her smile smile and nod help to soften his expression, and soon he is nodding in turn.]

You know what? I do. ...I want to honor Props, too. [When the robot had asked for a named, he simply called it Property of Taichi. The robot immediately accepted it as a name, and so he ended up calling him Props for short.]

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Props. She tried to remember if there was much she'd known about Taichi's robotic double. But she'd been so (selfishly) preoccupied with her own. Thinking there would be time later to spend time with the others.]

I can help.

[There was more to it than just that, though, and the longer silence prevailed as she set to work gathering some more dirt...the harder the urge to finally ask grew to resist:]

Did she...hurt you?

[Her robot. She'd heard about the attack from its own lips, but only in vague statements.]

[encourageous]

A- a little. [He rubs at his head with a slight frown. It's definitely not a pleasant memory.]

But that's over now. ...Thanks for the offer, Hikari. I bet I can use your help!

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Her eyes stung at the thought. She knew Taichi would never blame her, but it was impossible not to tie all this back to being her fault. She was the one who activated the robot in the first place. She was the one who had insisted they could be friends. She...she must have misinterpreted the emotions she'd felt radiating from her robot.]

[Maybe if she'd been started about it...]

She tried to hurt me too. But....we stopped her.

[Obviously.]

What happened to yours?

[encourageous]

[He gives her shoulder an attempt at a gentle, comforting squeeze. It must have been horrible to be attacked by her own robot. Remembering the unsettling things that her robot had said to him, he first makes sure to tell her gently:]

...I'm glad you're alright, Hikari.

My robot... [He frowns as he thinks it over.] He took Agumon and tried to fight Yamato. And... and he got broken. [That's the closest to a child friendly account of it that he can think of.]

[notsosolo]

Hikari's a sweet kid. All of them are, even the quarrelsome older boys. They really do want to help, and to help others find happiness. And Han for one would hate to see any of them lose that.

"None of this was your fault." And she probably knows that. But it's important for people to hear it.

[givesalittlewhistle]

She did know. In her mind, she agreed with him, but aloud...

"Why did this happen?" She looked up at him, eyes filled with questions. "Why did they turn on us like that?"

[notsosolo]

"It was probably CERES's plan from the start. Making the programming trigger before we could have found it." He'd spent time tinkering with the robots but never managed to uncover any specifics. And he'd been looking. CERES was always to be suspected.

[givesalittlewhistle]

"So they...want to destroy us? Why? We wouldn't even be here if they hadn't brought us here in the first place."

In other words, it couldn't have been because they were getting in the way; even the Dark Masters, for all their awful acts, had only gone after the Chosen Children because they'd returned to the Digital World. If they'd stayed in the Real World, then there might not have been any battles at all.

(Or maybe there would have. Considering Vamdemon. Who could say?)

[notsosolo]

"If we could figure that out, we could probably get a better idea of why anything happens here." That's the thing about getting snatched away by people with unknown motives. There had to be a way it all fit together, but without really knowing their goal, it was hard to get anywhere.

[givesalittlewhistle]

The first time...before Hikari had been discovered as the Eight Child...that's what the Digital World had seemed like. Mysteriously brought to an unfamiliar place with neither explanation nor any logical reason.

"Sometimes...I wish Gennai were here," she murmured sadly. Thinking of the aging guardian who had, albeit cryptically, offered many much-needed answers.

[heiwana]

[ As one of the many caretakers of said gardens it's hard not to notice Hikari and that familiar pose that he often takes as well. He stops a short distance away a fresh bundle of flowers tucked in his arms as he moves a bit closer. If she recognizes his attire she'll see that he's wearing Buddhist robes. ]

Who...are you praying to?

[givesalittlewhistle]

I'm talking to the spirit of the robots.

[Hikari was Japanese, but not...specifically affiliated with any one denomination or even religion. Hers were a cultural habit, with some buddhist elements, yes, learned from watching her friends and family growing up.]

Do you... [Here, she glanced up, and took note of the robes worn by the person who had approached. She might not have been buddhist, but she certainly recognized the outfit for what it was.] ...do you think they can hear me?

[heiwana]

...I see. [ He figured it was something like that. He'll kneel down and take a few flowers from his bundle to place at the front of that shrine. He'll then close his own eyes and lift a hand up in a short silent prayer, before opening them again. He knows that his own robot tried to harm people, but it was not of its own doing. He knows that much. He looks back at her with a glance before he nods his head. ]

I...would like to think so. Despite them passing on...I believe all things living, human or not, have remnants of being alive and therefore have a spirit.

[givesalittlewhistle]

[She watched his movements in a patient silence. They mirrored hers almost exactly. Even though she didn't know this person, there was always a small comfort in familiarity. He must have come from a place with traditions similar to hers.]

I believe that, too.

[Despite the moment, she allows herself a small smile.]

Back in the digital world...even the evil digimon always had a chance to be reborn in the Village of Beginnings. [Except for Piemon, probably, since he fell through HolyAngemon's Heaven's Gate.] They might not be human, but digimon are still just as alive as you and me. And...the robots were living too, weren't they? So maybe they'll be reborn too.

[heiwana]

Digital...world? You are speaking of something akin to...Vivid yes?

[ So another place aside from here had weird video worlds?! ]

We can...only hope that if they are that they are born into a better world than this. There is too much malevolence in this place, whether it is from Ceres or the spirits outside of this city.

[givesalittlewhistle]

It's kind of like Vivid, yes. But it's a real place.

[Just...digitized.]

And...yeah. There was a lot of fighting there, too. That's why we all had to go. To stop the evil digimon who wanted to hurt others.

[nostatus]

[ It's coincidentally that Shinpachi happens to spot Hikari again - he's just walking through the Gardens and passes by the area where he spots here there all by himself. At first he doesn't realise what she's doing, especially from a distance, but when he keeps staring and blinks, it gets at least a little more clear when she's kneeling there and praying..

But what for? Shinpachi sure didn't think of the robots in any way that she did, so his head doesn't naturally make the connection.. instead he just worries a little, stepping over before speaking up. At least he's making sure to not be too loud right off the bat out of fear he might startle her.. ]

Hey, you alright?

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Hikari looked up, and for a moment, it looked as if she were trying to remember his face and why it seemed familiar. But then a hand rose to wipe at her eyes. They'd just been too blurred from unshed tears to properly see him.]

Oh. It's you.

[Recognition set in, as well as the memories of their last conversation. He was nice. Somebody she felt okay talking to.]

I'm...I was making one for my robot. I know she did some bad things, but I still think she deserved to be remembered.

[nostatus]

Oh.. That thing?

[ It's a little surprising to him. He didn't think much of those robots - nothing positive, at least. They were annoying at best, and at worst another thing sent to try and kill them.. As weird as their methods were. He's still not sure just how those things were intended, but he knows they weren't good.

Then again, Hikari seemed like a kind-hearted girl last time around.. if anyone would do something like this, it'd be her, huh? ]

You're too nice, doing that for her.. [ Although he doesn't want to linger on the whole "doing that for a robot" part. It feels too awkward to him, and he can smile easier by focusing on Hikari herself. ] You didn't get hurt back then 'cause of those things, right?

[givesalittlewhistle]

[Physically, she didn't seem to have a scratch on her. Not that anyone could see. And yet--]

A little. [She nodded, eyes lowering.] Mine...the one who looked like me tried to attack me. She attacked Oniichan, and when I ran to Takeru-kun, she came after the both of us.

[nostatus]

[ He lets out a short breath. Shinpachi doesn't look too sad about it, he's still smiling for her sake, but there's something a little more subdued about it.

Slowly he reaches out, gently petting her head. ]

Sorry. You shouldn't have had to go through stuff like that. [ No one here should, but to do that stuff even to kids who can't protect themselves.. the people in charge of this place are pretty despicable, as far as he thinks. ] Is your big brother alright by now? Or did he take care of 'em for you?

[givesalittlewhistle]

[She allowed the pet. It was meant as a comforting gesture, and she knew that. And once she was sure her acceptance was noted, she pulled back just enough to shake her head.]

No.

I mean...yes, Oniichan's okay. Now. But...he's not the one who saved me. Takeru-kun did. He punched the robot so hard that we were able to run away.