Archive of Our Own ^beta

  “Mannaggia!” The heavy cardboard box full of clothing Zoe had tried to lift up into the attic slipped out of her hands and tumbled to the ground; the flaps burst open and its contents spilled out all over the carpet. In situations like this, Italian still came easier to her than her native Japanese even though she hadn’t touched Italian soil for what felt like an eternity. She sighed and put the box upright before she knelt down to pack it all in again. Back in her room she had stuffed them in there blindly, not caring about folding the clothes neatly up because they would probably live up in the attic for god knows how long before her mother would have one of her cleaning rages and would throw everything out.

   Picking up the first garment in front of her, a purplish mini skirt about two or three sizes too small for her now, she was hit by the thing she had avoided at all costs when filling the box: memories. So many unexplainable and life-altering events were woven into the thinning fabric. She had worn the skirt so many times until the back was almost see-through and her mother had insisted on discarding it but Zoe couldn’t bring herself to it. So she had hidden it in her room but now she needed the space for all the fabric she had accumulated and the clothing she was making with said fabric since she had taken up sewing as a hobby.

   Before folding it up she shook the skirt out, accidentally upside down, and blinked when a crumpled paper napkin fell out of a pocket. She picked it up, her nose scrunched, and smoothed it out. A number was crawled on it, digits wide and sprawling. It looked like a phone number but there was no name to it. She inspected it more closely and found the faded logo of her favourite Italian restaurant here in Tokyo. It must have been at least three years old by now, since the place had closed down about half a year after she had returned from the Digital World. She hadn’t known that that visit would be the last one.

   And now she remembered. She hadn’t been alone on that visit! How could she forget the two lively girls she had spent the afternoon with?! One of them, the one she had bumped into on the train, had a peculiar hair colour. Had it been blue? No, of course not, it had been purple and pink, her favourite colours back then. (She still liked them but had pivoted towards navy and other dark blues as she got older, and one chubby teenager with a knack for magic tricks had only marginally to do with that.)

   Sitting on her heels, the spilled clothing long forgotten, she wondered what had happened to them since then. Yolei and Sora were their names, if she remembered correctly. Her hand hovered over the pocket of her sweatpants were her phone rested. Should she?

   A dozen objections churned through her mind: The number probably was no longer active. Wouldn’t it be weird if she received a call from a girl she had met three years ago and then never heard from again? Yolei most likely didn’t remember her anymore.

   Doubts like this still haunted her sometimes, especially in social situations she had never been in before. But as she focused on that afternoon in late summer, carefree laughter pearling through her memory, she didn’t see any reason why she at least shouldn’t try. After all, the way their spontaneous meeting had come to be had been more than unorthodox. So why shouldn’t the reunion be as well?

   She hesitated one more moment before she took out her phone and punched in the number. Holding her breath while it rang, she absentmindedly folded some shirts with one hand. She was about to hang up when the dial tone disappeared and a harried voice breathed: “Inoue?”

   Had that been Yolei’s surname? Zoe had no time to think about that, she just plunged headfirst into the conversation. “Uhm, is that Yolei? Hi, here is Zoe. We met, like, three years ago on the train and then you dragg-, I mean you invited me to a meeting with a girl named Sora in the Italian pastry shop that I had wanted to go to anyway.” It came out fast and breathless, and only at the end did she realize that it also sounded a tad reproachful.

   There was silence at the end, quite a long one, before the voice squealed: “Oh my god, YES!! I so remember! That was so cool, right, that I accidentally knocked into you on the train and then you still came to sit with us. You were an Italian expat, right?”

   Zoe smiled. “No, I am Japanese, I had just returned from a longer period of living in Italy.”

   “Eh, all the same. I hope you still speak Italian, though.”

   “Ovviamente.”

   “Uh, that sounds so nice, so delicious, you know? Now I’m craving some genuine gelato. You know what, we should totally meet at that pastry place again. How about right now? I’m gonna text Sora.”

   “The only problem is that that place closed shortly after we’ve been there.”

   “No way! Heck.” Yolei hummed to herself while in the background a faint voice called. “I’ll be right there, Chizuru”, she yelled with her face turned away from the phone. “Sorry, that was my sister. We have, like, millions of customers in the konbini right now. Anyway, where was I?”

   “Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt you while at work. I’m gonna call back later”, Zoe offered, her cheeks turning pink. She hated to be a nuisance to people.

   “No, no it’s fine. So, the place is closed, right? Well, if I remember correctly we did want to take you to the restaurant that makes the best pierogi in Tokyo, so why not do that now?”

   “Yolei!”, her sister called again, more sternly this time.

   “Just a second”, she answered before getting back to Zoe. “Sorry, but I gotta hang up soon. So here’s the plan: I’ll text Sora that you’ve reached out and ask her when she’s available. Then I’ll text you if that suits you and if not, I’m gonna call you both again tonight and we make a conference call to figure things out. How does that sound?”

   “Molto perfetto, if I dare say so.”

   “Fantastic! I’ll definitely get back to you. Thanks for calling!” With that she hung up.

   Zoe stared at her phone screen until it turned black, and smiled widely to herself. Apparently, calling mysterious numbers on faded napkins wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

~ o ~

   She looked at herself in the mirror and frowned. Something was bothering her about her appearance. She felt like she wasn’t cute enough which was odd since she wasn’t going on a date with JP, just meeting with two girls she still pretty much hardly knew. Still, she wanted to look her best. Maybe a flower hair clip would help? She scrounged around in her drawer until she found a purple one. It clashed with the otherwise more nautical inspired outfit but it was a nice callback to their first meeting and Yolei’s purple hair, she thought. Then she caught a glimpse of the clock on the shelf above and realized she didn’t have much time left if she wanted to be punctual. She pushed the drawer shut, grabbed her purse, and hurried out of her room.

   The address Yolei had texted her hadn’t rung a bell but as she stepped off the train she faintly recognized Shibasaki as a place close to the Jindaiji Temple where her parents had taken her for a day trip a few years ago. The restaurant was only a couple of minutes walk away. She almost missed it since it was so small. The shop front was about three meters wide, entirely made up of windows in battered-looking wooden frames, with the door set in and curtains concealing the inside. Only a small Polish flag beside the door disclosed that something else than Japanese cuisine was served here. She checked the address again – it was correct – and was relieved to see a small (and slightly beaten-up) “open” sign beside the door.

   The inside was not much bigger, and it looked a bit odd. The walls had all been painted a darker pink colour while the counter and floor were raw concrete. Some mismatched antique-looking chairs and tables were scattered around, and off to the side were a wooden shelf and some metal rods mounted to the wall displaying colourful earthenware. Zoe wandered over to look at the mugs, bowls, and plates, the first things she actually liked in here. Since they were for sale, she contemplated if she shouldn’t get one of the pretty blue mugs.

   A bell chimed above and a draft of wind swept around her bare legs, and then she heard a squeal: “There you are!”

   She turned around to two girls entering the restaurant. Both had changed a lot and not at all since they had seen each other the last time. Yolei was still sporting her huge rotund glasses and her purple hair, wearing it just past her shoulder, while Sora’s maroon hair was still cut at around chin length and a bit spiky. Yet Zoe could immediately see that they had had some life-altering experiences, something was etched into their faces that made them look more mature than their actual age.

   “Hi!” Zoe crossed over to them and immediately was pulled into a bone-crushing hug by Yolei.

   “It’s so nice to see you again”, Sora said. “I admit I hadn’t thought about our encounter in the last years but when Yolei mentioned your name I immediately remembered. It’s such a bummer we cannot try more from the Italian pastries, though.”

   “But we did promise Zoe to treat her to pierogi and borscht, remember? You’re gonna love this stuff, it’s such a nice change from rice and ramen.” Yolei pulled her towards one of the small tables hardly seating two, but that didn’t stop her from dragging another chair over.

   By now the owner, an elderly man with a distinct Eastern European face, had come out from a curtained-off area behind the counter. “Ah, Yolei, Zora, glad to see you back!”, he said with a thick accent.

   “Andrzej, hello! We thought we check back in with you and we’re also craving some good Polish food”, Sora said while greeting him with a wide smile. “And we brought a friend. This is Zoe.”

   “Powitanie! Have you ever had Polish cuisine?” Zoe shook her head which caused the owner to beam. “Nothing better than to discover delicious food for the first time! Here are your menus.” He handed them a single sheet of paper, crumpled and a little greasy, which troubled Zoe a bit but the other two didn’t seem to mind. They gladly accepted after they had sat down.

   “Andrzej, would you be so kind to bring us a jug of compote and three glasses, please?” Sora requested.

   “Coming up!”

   “What is compote?”, Zoe asked, looking around, her eyes landing on the deep-fried buns behind a glass pane in the counter. Admittedly, they didn’t look that much different than the jelly filled doughnuts from that German bakery she had loved so much when living in Italy.

    “Fruits and a bit of sugar boiled in water. It’s wonderful on a hot summer day. There’s even a winter variety with dried fruits and spices”, Sora explained. “After we’ve tried everything on the menu, we agreed that this was our favourite, even better than Andrzej’s tea.”

    When she mentioned the menu, Zoe’s brows wrinkled. “There’s not much to try on that menu, anyway”, she mused more to herself, still Yolei had heard her.

   “But it’s all really, really good! You gotta try the pierogi with potato and cheese. They’re simply scrumdumptious!”

   “Is that even a word?” Sora laughed and pointed at something on the creased piece of paper. “My favourites are the sandwiches with kielbasa, lettuce, and tomato.”

   “You mean the, err, kanapki? And what’s kielbasa?”

   “A smoked kind of sausage. Very umami, you know?”

   Zoe nodded slowly, still doubting, then stopped herself. Hadn’t she come here for an adventure? After all, calling a random number three years after getting it was nothing if not adventurous. So why chicken out now? “Okay”, she said with a little more emphasis than necessary, just to hype herself up. “I’m gonna try the soup.” It just said “soup” on the menu so she figured that it changed daily. If she was getting adventurous, why not go all out and let herself be surprised by what kind.

   Yolei’s face fell, she had counted on Zoe taking her advice, but Sora smiled widely. “Also a wise choice. I haven’t had the sandwich in ages, so I’m gonna take one and we can share if you want to try it.”

   “Bingo!” Yolei chimed in. “That way you can also taste my beloved dumplings.”

   Zoe laughed, the tension in her shoulders finally dissipating. “Any boy or girl must be jealous of these dumplings then, that you give them your love so freely.”

   Yolei turned red and pretended to study the menu intently. Zoe feared that she had said something wrong but Sora just laughed. “Yolei has an abundance of love to give, there’s no need for jealousy. If anything, Ken can handle it when he looses to carbohydrates.”

   “I wonder if Matt would take it in a similar stride”, Yolei teased, putting the paper down, “competing with sausage.”

   “Just like you, I carry a lot of love, don’t I?” Sora tapped against a golden necklace peeking out under her flowy blouse. It had a red inset with a stylized heart inside it.

   Zoe’s eyes widened. “That’s gorgeous! Where did you get that?”

   Before Sora could reply, Andrzej approached the table with a big jug and three delicately blown glasses. “No i masz, there you go. Have you chosen yet?”

   After the girls had placed their orders, Zoe turned her attention back to the necklace Sora was wearing. Apparently, she was incredibly thirsty since she already chucked her third glass of compote. Zoe tasted it more tentatively but immediately liked it.

    Suddenly she had to sneeze. She was quick enough to put the glass down but not quick enough to cover her nose with her elbow. Instead, she turned far away from the two and sneezed into the air behind her. “I am so sorry”, she sniffed and fumbled for her purse. She pulled it up on her lap to rummage through it for a tissue.

   “Who is that?” Yolei exclaimed and reached for the keychain dangling from the ring holding the strap. She pulled it into the light to examine it better. It was a figure the size of her palm, with intricate golden wings on its back and smaller light-blue wings sprouting from its face that was half obscured by a mask. The toned body was clad in not much more than what looked like a bathing suit but it was no human since it had menacing claws on both hands and feet. “Striking! But, say, Sora, doesn’t that look like a digimon to you?”

   Zoe’s head whipped around to Sora who shrugged, almost sheepishly, Zoe thought. “Do you... do you know about digimon?”, she asked incredulously.

   “One might say we are experts on the manner”, Yolei boasted, pushing her glasses up her nose.

   “We do have encountered a few of them.” Sora looked a lot more abashed than her friend over this earth-shattering confession. She took off her necklace and placed it on the table. “Yolei and I are part of a group of people, twelve in total, who have fought in the Digital World several times to protect both this and our world. But we’re not the only ones. There are DigiDestined all over the globe, three of them we met in Moscow and those are the ones who introduced us to pierogi and borscht. Yolei and I both have the crest of love”, she tapped on the necklace, "that channels one of our main characteristics."

   “This is wild!” Zoe grabbed her head with both hands and looked rapidly between the two of them. “Because I’m also one! How did you look like as digimon?”

   Yolei scrunched her face. “What do you mean ‘what did we look like as digimon’? Of course we have partners. This is Hawkmon.” She pulled out her phone and clicked on a picture that showed her and a small creature, looking like an eagle, that reached about her thigh.

   “And this is Biyomon” Sora said, sliding her own phone towards Zoe where she saw another bird-like creature in hues of red and pink.

   “They’re a bit small. They don’t quite look like fighters to me”, Zoe made to mistake to opine.

   “Ohoho, just you wait! Of course, this is not their final form, merely their rookie one, which is already potent. But you should see them in one of their higher evolutions! Aquilamon is one impressive bird and when he merges with Gatomon, ho boi! You don’t want to be at Silphymon’s wrath. Also you have never seen Hououmon in action. Tell her, Sora, what a sight that is to behold!” Yolei had sprung up, chair clattering to the ground behind her, and her face had taken up the shade of her bird companion.

   “What Yolei is saying is that digimon don’t always look the same and can become very powerful if the need arises. Though I guess you know since you are familiar with them, aren’t you?”

   “I was one. That was about three, three-and-a-half years ago?”

   Now it was for Yolei to gape. “Hang on! What do you mean with ‘you were one’? I was already wondering why you asked what we looked like as digimon. You couldn’t have possibly been a digimon. You’re human! Or are you?”

   Zoe smiled, her tension once again easing since Yolei’s exuberance made it hard to feel nervous. “I’m pretty sure i am one. But I also used to be a digimon. I got called into the Digital World by an ominous voice which turned out to be an angel digimon.”

   “We also know some of those”, Yolei muttered but when Zoe looked at her quizzically she just motioned her to continue.

    “I wasn’t the only one, but I was the only girl.”

   “Typical.”

   “Yolei, let her speak!” Sora raised her voice slightly and smacked her hand a little. Yolei only huffed in response.

   Before she could continue Andrzej appeared with their food but this time he placed it silently in front of them, as if sensing that an intriguing story was about to unfold. “As was explained to us, the Digital World was in danger and only chosen children could save it – with the aid of the Ten Legendary Warriors that had saved the Ancient Digital World. Each of us got two spirits, the H-Spirit and the B-Spirit, meaning Human and Beast Spirit. But we weren’t the only ones. The evil that was threatening the Digital World had enlisted several digimon to help it take over and in turn these had been rewarded with B-Spirits as well.” She caressed the figurine attached to her purse. “This was my B-Spirit, Zephyrmon. My H-Spirit was Kazemon. I loved them both, they were fierce warriors of the wind.” Lost in thought, her voice trailed out until she was only looking at Zephyrmon.

   “How did you get it?”, Sora finally asked.

   “The spirits?”

   She laughed. “Yeah, those too. But I mean the keychain.”

   “Oh, I made that myself from memory with polymer clay.”

   “You’re really talented. I mean, I haven’t seen Zephyrmon yet but she’s really detailed. You’ve seemed to have caught every feather. Speaking of which: Did you notice that we all have a connection to those? All our digimon, partner or spirit, have feathers!” Sora exclaimed.

   Zoe laughed, caressing the wings on the keychain. “You’re right. Maybe that’s why I met you of all possible people back then. The universe led us together because we are kin of the air.”

   “I like that! Is there a chance for you to, you know, turn into Kazemon or Zephyrmon?” Yolei’s eyes glimmered with unbridled excitement.

   She shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t tried to transform since I came back, also I don’t think that’s possible in the real world. And I don’t know how to get to the Digital World. Even though I would love to go back, to see what’s changed.”

   Yolei’s eyes shone even brighter. “No problemo! But before we tackle this, let’s eat first. You shouldn’t face the Digital World on an empty stomach!”