Subject: grave of the unknown soldier, open 336 views

[löwe]

He kneeled at one of the graves, resting the bouquet of flowers he carried upon it. There was no point to such an action. There have been no published reports of people dying in the game. These graves were not real, even though they may feel as such. The cool touch of the stone, the chill the wind sends down his spine every time he took this path ...

It was disgustingly alluring.

He hated how it was the very first place his feet would allow him to travel in this sector. The act of carrying the bouquet had been a joke originally. There were already rumors surrounding him and the area.

A ghost child travels to visit their dead mother in Jungle Grave.

There's a real ghost haunting the Jungle Grave.

He found the rumors ridiculous. The small and young avatar of his allowed for such rumors to occur and it was long too late to change it. He was supposed to be "laying low." How could he if he had redesigned his entire avatar to suit his needs? Creating an alternate staff account was not only against company policy, but difficult to get the paperwork done and cleaned.

Shaking his head lightly, he forced himself to stand and stare down at the grave. There were many like this around him. Unmarked. He gave a low chuckle as he placed his hand on the cool stone. Ah, now he remembered the reason why he had gone there in the first place.

His grandmother had passed, leaving him with nothing but a letter he couldn't force himself to open.

[anima]

"how did we get here?" the girl tamer asked her digital monster who blinked up at her with innocent eyes. "wrong turn somewhere" the lunamon responded, causing anima to wince slightly. "that would be my fault. sorry." she told her partner, running hands through her pink locks, wondering how on earth they'd get back to the city.

anima was new to the game. only a few days ago her aunt had purchased the personal pod and the digimon online game, both as a present and as an apology for not being around much due to her job. the girl didn't fault her aunt. living with her had been a damn sight safer than at her biological parents. even now, after therapy and being away for quite some years, anima still felt sick by the memories.

"are you okay?" the lunamon asked, keeping close to anima, worry clear in those eyes of hers. "i am. let's try to find a way back!" putting on a cheerful smile, anima began to lead the way in what she hoped was the way out. it took several minutes before realization struck.

anima was positively lost. and lunamon was faring no better with direction.

she paused, annoyed with herself moreso than being annoyed with her digimon. wasn't she supposed to be the player? and she'd lead them into, quite possibly, danger.

starting to walk again, this time at a slower pace to make sure nothing was missed, anima came across a rather odd scene. a child near one of the gravestones that littered the area, and while anima wasn't scared(the gothic culture was rather fascinating to her), it seemed strange for a child(she didn't know he was a teen with a child's avatar) to be alone like this.

"hey! are you okay?" anima strode forward, lunamon trailing behind. no way she was going to leave now!

[skull]

The graveyard had been startling to Rorukya. He was far more accustomed to the bright colors and a certain upbeat nature surrounding the central sector. The acidic aesthetics of this area, however, enticed his borderline dark sensibilities. Also, he couldn't help but feel it suited his and phascomon's appearance. In the real world, he was quite far from the appearance of his avatar. His hair clean, his flesh still pure without puncture or marking. All in all, he was somewhat of a goody-two-shoes, but in this world he took on the facade of a bad-boy type that he wished he could be...

The male's head tilted. As stated, the unmarked graves brought up repressed memories of grief in the past. He'd gotten better about brushing it off, but lithe fingers traced the headstones while he indulged in his survivor's guilt. Eyes following grave to grave as he sauntered, paused by a previously unnoticed company. The laying of flowers gave him the impression perhaps these graves weren't just for decoration, but it wasn't uncommon for people to play along to a made-up plot-line built around their characters. His lips pursed at the idea, wondering if he should just leave the childish avatar alone.

A soft gasp parted his lips when it appeared another player had arrived to comfort the child whereas Rorukya stopped the lift of his foot to head forward. Suddenly, he felt missed. Like a bullet had targeted him yet by divine intervention it took a turn away from striking him. It missed, but he hadn't dodged it. He breathed easily, though conscious of his lungs inflation. It took him a moment to realize he was standing alone, leaning his hip against a grave with arms folded over his chest.

Phascomon continued pacing forward ahead of its tamer, annoying the cabbage roll that it would act so independently of his desires to remained at the sidelines. The player sauntered forward, putting on a distinct air of indifference toward the girl and the situation in general. "Do people come to graveyards and leave flowers because they are ok?" He rolled his blue hues to her, digging the tip of his shoe into the dirt while the digimon crouched beside him, fixated on the child.

[löwe]

Surprised, Bakumon turned to the direction of the voice. Löwe, however, did not.

His real life self was slowly trying to pull away from the pod. The unopened letter was in his hands there. He was toying with the tie keeping it shut. A strange nudge at the curve of his back sent him back.

Löwe's expression was blank as he settled back into his avatar. The thing he had done was dangerous. It made it easier for people to lose track of which world was real. He hadn't caught a word she said or that of the other who had shown up as well.

Bakumon nudged forward once more, and he turned and stared at the tapir for a second, judging them. The digimon hadn't noticed how he had nearly slipped back to the real world, even if his avatar had shivered for a second there, very much like how a ghost would. They probably figured that he had been diving into the code again.

He looked at his satellite to get a good idea of where to start. The way the male was staring at him was kinda odd. It was blue. Good. They could think he was a lost child or something.

"I ..." He looked down, fidgeting awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

[anima]

lunamon spotted the other male and digimon before anima did, tugging on anima's pants which caused the player to look down. when lunamon pointed, anima froze. males were not a trusting gender, younger ones like the kid were fine. older ones were treated warily. lunamon noted the change in her tamers posture, from relatively calm to rigid. later she'd ask, not wanting to make anima discuss something that the other two could hear.

"it's called having empathy." anima retorted back, eyes blazing with sudden anger. the distrust was still deep within her eyes as she took a step back away from him. why were guys such jackasses? the question was to show she cared and that if he wanted to talk or simply know someone was there for him, she was there. he didn't have to talk, he simply could just remain silent. but at least the boy knew someone cared.

eyes moved from the male to the boy, the avatar shimmering for seconds before becoming normal. not knowing what the cause was caused anima to keep quiet. "it's okay, you don't have to apologize." anima threw the other tamer a reproachful look before padding closer to the boy and standing beside him. "what happened?" anima asked. seemed like the best way to start, noting from the corner of her eyes, lunamon had come close and settled next to the boy as well, as if offering him extra comfort and security. seemed like the other older male tamer wasn't going to be like that, but she could be wrong.

[skull]

desensitized to his aesthetic, rorukya wouldn't have known it'd cause him problems later on. there was a sudden tension he felt responsible for, but could it really be helped? careful eyes narrowed at the female, rigid by her manner and tone. "no, it's called obvious. people don't mourn--" the strange light attracted his attention. he supposed it was some aspect of the game he'd not learned of yet. in the back of his mind, he considered actually reading through the manual but who really did that kind of stuff?

rorukya's point was that if you knew someone wasn't ok, what was the point in asking? he scoffed at her. she was acting like he was some sort of... he didn't know, some kind of monster? like if she weren't there to guard this child he'd pounce and murder him. it offended his better nature that this was the way she was probably thinking of him. it really wasn't too uncommon. the brunette sighed harshly when the girl asked another stupid question. in his head, he thought--oh, well, let's see... flowers on a grave, when did people do that? when other people have died, obviously.

it wasn't a 1000-piece puzzle in front of her. the older of the two boys here softened his features when hues rolled to meet the child. he wasn't needed here, with this kid and this woman's stupidity. yet he remained, because her words managed to sink into him and while he knew they weren't for him there was a comfort he desired from it. phascomon looked to the tamer and her digimon, dully noting how close they'd come. it lifted, toddling nearer the security its own tamer offered despite how impartial rorukya toward the expected return.

[löwe]

His fingers curled tightly. He couldn't feel the paper in the real world wrinkle in his hand, but he knew it was. His real body was crumpling it with his grip. Cautiously, he looked at the woman (anima, the name showed up) and the man (rorukya). They looked angry towards each other. Was it his fault? "I'm sorry." He repeated, even if she used a nice, calm tone. When was the last time he heard that?

Bakumon moved behind its tamer, observing their interactions with great curiosity. While he would often play the child, he never held it for too long. Löwe couldn't handle it for too long. He would often make up some sort of excuse and log out for a while. But even then, he never went this deep into his role.

"It's ..." His throat felt dry. Could he tell this very personal matter to strangers? Isn't that what some people did? Wasn't it supposed to be easier than telling someone he knew? He shook his head lightly, looking down. He wasn't ready to talk yet. "I'm sorry."

But he didn't want them to leave just yet. He liked the woman's motherly ... aura to her. Even through the game or maybe because of how flexible their reality was, it felt pretty damn close to the real thing. "I need to be stronger." Löwe looked up slowly at the male. Although he couldn't read his eyes, he looked strong. He carried a strong, confident feel. They both did and he wanted that. He didn't want to stay a sodding mess.

[anima]

a thought came to her, unbidden and slow as if she had had trouble figuring it out in the first place. there were some who went to graves to place flowers, not because they knew the person whose grave it was, but because it was some sort of gesture to the unknown and unforgotten. "people go to graves to place flowers on those who never get such things as well as those who mourn." anima snapped. he wasn't welcome here, in her eyes, but she knew she couldn't simply send him away. the other boy may want him around and she'd have to suck it up and deal with it best she could. that didn't means he had to be nice.

for now she would ignore him unless needed, and she doubted she would have any need of him. "you don't have to apologize." anima repeated, giving the boy her fullest attention. he didn't have to say what was wrong, anima would understand. sometimes, speaking would make one feel better but there were some secrets that one didn't want others to know. her, for example, didn't like being around most older males because of her past, but instead of saying so, she simply snipped at them, acted tougher, didn't take any crap, those sorts of things. easier to act than to tell the truth.

anima wanted to hug him, but she felt that it would be rather weird, and how would the boy take it? he spoke of needing to be stronger but what strength did he mean? emotionally strong, physically strong? or some other strength? she lowered herself down and went to hug the boy as lunamon looked onwards, blinking as she had never seen this happen before. "you can be stronger." anima whispered. now she glanced towards the other, older male. she would put aside any emotions she currently held towards him for the sake of the child but would he do the same? she tried to convey that in her expression without saying words, not wanting to scare the boy or have him feel it was his fault.

her expression indeed remained softer as she looked at him, far different from the narrow and suspicious glare with anger pooling into the depths of her eyes. no, they were more kinder than they had been, and anima suddenly wished she kept quiet instead of snapping at him earlier. "i'll help. what about you?" she asked the older male, and her vocals matched her expression: softer, without the biting anger in the tone.

notes; uhm, i think anima is bipolar xDD

[skull]

he knew it was a delicate situation, but all this running around in circles was irritating him. it didn't take long for his easy expression to fade into a scowl, especially when he noticed the female softening herself toward him. the way she eased down to her knees and hugged the stranger. for someone so paranoid, rorukya was surprised she could be so tender to someone she didn't know. there was sympathy, yes, but it occurred to the brunette she really was just an idiot.

his neck curled into its extension, brows furrowing. he wasn't interested in helping blind causes--after all, it was still to be declared just what was wrong aside from the awareness of the child's being in the graveyard. this was something, the older male felt, he didn't want to be involved in. he didn't need this woman on his ass, and he didn't need to step on eggshells. if anything, he felt some idle form of jealousy that someone so eager to please wasn't around when he needed them.

rorukya sighed, reluctant to step forward. "i guess i could." he was going to regret this, no matter if he stayed or left. so he may as well get tangled up in this pathetic mess. phascomon toddled forward beside its tamer, eventually trotted even further to wrap its awkward arms around the boy's leg. meanwhile, rorukya had folded his arms across his chest and rolled his eyes. the remorse was already leaving an awful taste on his tongue, sharp as he sighed again.

[löwe]

He could feel her warmth wrap around him. Her support. It felt real, but that's all because of what he created. That device that connected them to the digital world and made it seem real was all his. It was his pride and joy, but ...

He could still feel the envelope in the real world. It was wrinkled and he was sure that there might even be a few tears in it. His grip had loosened enough for it to slowly fall from his fingers as she spoke. He hesitated once or twice -his hands twitched nervously- before hugging her back. For a second or two, it reminded him of his mother. Just when had he seen her last? Since the funeral? Before the funeral? He had been working -always working, she'd comment, just like her. Meetings at home were minimal. They'd argued - something he could barely believe - about trying to get her to retire. He would work for the two of them.

He took a deep breath, pulling away from the woman before rubbing away a few tears in his eyes. (When did that happen?) All the while, Bakumon watched. Their eyes were wide as if surprised. This was no longer a joke in their mind, a game in which he plays the fool. “Sorry.” He repeated again. “I shouldn't have done that.” He said. His hands curled into small fists as he pressed them against his pants. “But, um, thanks.” The words were clumsy and fumbled. He was off balanced.

“I … I can't tell you everything.” He said slowly, moving towards the gravestone and placing a hand on it. “But my grandmother -” His voice choked. “We weren't close, but I ...” He took a deep breath and turned to the both of them. “Both of you look strong. Please, teach me to be the same.” He bowed. Lifting his head to see their response, his gaze went to the male's first. While Anima might have disapproved of him, his ability to keep his head cool to the point it seemed completely uncaring was something he admired.

(( ooc // ... idk what's up with kouichi. sorry if it doesn't make sense. ))

[anima]

anima waited for the other male to speak, gnawing on the inside of her cheek in wonder. would he go along with it? would he retort back to her words? would he leave? many scenarios made their way through her head, and it was a relief when he did speak, his words enough to cause anima to give a slight nod. no words were needed and she didn't want it backfiring and have him snap at her again. there was no need to argue, not when there was something more important than either one.

as she hugged the boy, she didn't really expect him to return the hug, but he did. and when he pulled away and apologized, she shook her head. "you don't need to, or have to, apologize." he was just a kid after all, not knowing the real truth and would it matter? if she knew his real age would she act any different? she wasn't one hundred percent sure, and she hoped she would have. otherwise she was more messed up than she realized.

he didn't have to apologize, nor did he have to thank her. she did what was in her nature, and children shouldn't be alone when they were sad or upset. they deserved to know they had someone, even if they were in a game, she'd be there for him. no-one was ever there for her, not until she was older. "you don't have to tell us everything." anima was reassuring. he could tell them anything he wanted to. he wasn't expected to divulge everything. just what he wanted.

"doesn't matter if you weren't close. the passing of a family member can still cause grief, no matter how close, or not close, they are." she paused. she had zero experience with this sort of stuff, no-one she knew had died. "i'll do my best." anima promised. she wasn't as strong as people thought but if she could help the boy then she would forget her own inadequacies, she wouldn't, and didn't, matter. not when someone else obviously wanted help.

but how could she help? that was one thing she would learn and soon find out.