Seeking Warmth in Midst of Snow - [OPEN]

Yaku was, once more, out of money. He remembered the Northern province as one of the first locations he'd been stranded in in the digital world. It was cold, cruel, and hard. Much like the desert before it, the endless tundra was a deathtrap to weary adventurers and seasoned veterans alike. He shuddered as he imagined how many humans and digimon had died to the cruel and frosty mistress that was mother nature. As he trudged through the snow, barely keeping himself warm, he wore his layers of clothing, much like he'd done during the freezing nights in the aforementioned desert. Snowblindness was another problem he'd faced when walking the treacherous tundra, but he'd found a way around it by digging a hole in the multiple piles of snow and napping to allow his eyes to recoup. This fixed his eyes but left him vulnerable more often than not, so he'd only done it when absolutely necessary. Mirages were another issue. The sunlight playing tricks on Yaku's eyes had nearly lead to his untimely demise by rushing into a gorge or tumbling off a cliff more than once. His solution was calling out to the perceived location, praying and hoping that a reply would come.

This was the case with Snowflake Village. He'd heard of such a location on one of his first rides on a trailmon, when his only options to pass time was to read through whatever scraps of paper were lying around and listen in on conversations of fellow passengers... of course, the second option had gotten him tossed off the train, so he'd decided not to do that again. "HELLO!" The Japanese businessman shouted, hoping for a response. "Hello! Is anyone there? I've been wandering for a very long time now!"

The squealing of the stopping train did not do a lot to inspire courage in Yaku, mostly filling him with terror and worry over what he'd done. But thankfully, the voice of the Trailmon arguing with someone made him realize he was not under attack, but had found civilization. "Here! Over here!" Yaku shouted, starting to run towards the source of the voice. He held onto his toupee and briefcase, having done everything in the past few weeks to keep from losing them, even putting them above his own life in terms of importance. As the businessman waved at the approaching figure, hoping it wasn't his mind playing with him, his tone had changed from a shout for help to a voice of relief. "I need help! I've been wandering the tundra for a long time!" He waved and waved, finally coming into Karin's view.

Tridori had grown some stubble from a lack of shaving, now an owner of a five-o'clock shadow. One lens in his glasses was missing, never to be recovered by the businessman again. His cloths were stained with melted snow and his own sweat, and everything else was covered in snowflakes blowing in from the winter. As he finally stood before her, he bowed politely. "Hello, Thank you for coming to save me. I've been stranded in the digital world for almost a month and this entire world is just an endless circle... I am Tridori Yaku, forgive me for my appearance and having brought you into this weather." Despite what he'd said and what he appeared to be, Yaku was trying his best to be polite and thoughtful.

"Y-yes... I'm cold and lost b-but I'm fine otherwise... I believe. Finding a village would always be a good thing, however... unless it's cannibals... th-they don't have those here... d-do they?" The businessman asked, realizing he had another thing to worry about in the digital world. Then came the inevitable digimon question. "N-no... I-I don't have a partner... or even one of those... vice things I see so many kids with..." He sighed, looking at the girl's body language, he could assume she was pitying him. He liked being pitied, it's far better than being taken advantage of or being bullied... well, he didn't ENJOY it, he just preferred it to most reactions he'd gotten so far.

"D-date? Um... lemme think... J-july 23rd... yes, that sounds about right... It's only b-been a month... oh, I wonder how my wife is doing..." He mumbled, clutching to his briefcase as a gust of wind rolled by. He turned his attention to the small mon, nodding in agreement. "Y-yeah... l-let's go for a w-walk..."

Yaku looked at her, confused. He seemed perfectly calm... cold, but calm. Had he accidentally raised his voice at one point? The tone in her voice made him slightly worried. Then she dropped the bombshell... well, it wasn't much of a bombshell, really. It was more like a cherry bomb or small firecracker. Sure, it'd still hurt if you were too close too it, but it was hardly a devastating weapon... well, normally it wouldn't be, let's not get into this. "A... y-years? You mean I-" He breathed a sigh of relief when she gave him the actual amount of time. A month and a half? Well, that certainly was a much better reality. "Thank goodness... y-you scared me, a lot... n-next time start with the bad news..." He'd never imagine what it would be like if he was trapped for years. He'd either be like Bruce Campbelle in Captain Supermarket or a pile of bones in a shallow grave, forgotten by everyone but those who speak urban legends of a false name. As he imagined how he'd die in the digital world, be it of a horrible injury or slowly and painfully collapsing from a lack of nutrients he was thankfully brought out of it by Chessmon.

"M-mistress?" He asked, slightly disturbed that this small child had claimed that title. "Y-you mean her? ...N-nevermind. I would love to go back to Japan... th-this place is a wonderful one to visit but..." Aaaand there came the thoughts of how he'd die again, all flooding back and leading him to another deathly silence as he tried to stay warm. "Ch-chessmon, w-was it? M-maybe I w-we should change th-the subject... n-not to be rude, I-I just think enough a-about my own mortality as it is... dreams about it every night, if you will..."

"I-I've seen them, th-the crazy villagers... I-I've had to flee for my life into the mansion of tears... i-it's a rather... um, bad story... b-but it got better once I got there... a-as for survival..." He looked down, continuing to follow them. "I-it's not a tale of bravery or masculinity, it's not a story of courage or revenge, or even one of pride... I-I just... a month and a half ago I met this woman named Vetina. S-she was a very kind, if gluttonous, woman... I-i mean, she liked to eat... th-that's not a crime... I mean... she was a very good woman. I met her in the park where I usually stopped to have my lunch break. Over the course of the next few days we became close friends and... she revealed she was a digimon a-and... th-that's when I learned of this world and that... um... that Digimon have been living amongst humans by using disguises and things... She told me that I should come here a-and see what it's like... i-it was... um..." He coughed. "Anyway, I had gotten lost in the city and separated from her. Th-that's when I tried to take the trailmon home... i-it didn't work... I ended up wandering the digital world for weeks and... eventually I found this map b-but..." He took out the napkin map and tried to hand it to them. "It's not exactly... usable."

He sighed. "But... the question was of how I survived... um... well... I-I just... wandered. I used to watch survivalist TV shows once in a while back home b-but I never really paid much attention to them s-so I only picked up one or two tricks... U-usually I to find some friendly digimon a-and try to work my way o-out of my comfort zone and try to talk to them... a-and eventually I'll ask them if I could sleep in their house or have a meal... I-it's much harder to do this out here than in th-the jungle w-where you're likely to run into a b-biyomon or tentomon I think they're called..." The businessman explained, sighing. "Th-though when I wake up screaming is generally the time I get thrown out..."

Yaku looked at chessmon again and sighed. "Before she'd suggested coming to the digital world my boss had a nervous breakdown and was replaced... the new boss suggested it was simply koroshi and gave us the weekend off. It was... unusual, but I was not one to argue with a good thing... or, anything, really... I-it was supposed to be one day. I was supposed to be exploring Terminus City with her watching over me... b-but someone showed up and took her away a-and suddenly I was surrounded by tiny digimon a-and... it was supposed to be an afternoon trip. I-I told my wife I went to see a movie, b-but... now I'm here a month and a half later..."

He looked at the girl after a thought crossed his mind. "DATS. D-do you know about DATS? I heard about them once or twice, I-I thought it was a conspiracy theory or s-something b-but... i-if somehow we get separated or I-I can't go home for whatever reason, I need you to look for DATS... I-I doubt you know what they are, th-they're s-supposedly this government agency that try to hide digimon o-or something, I dunno... b-but tell them I'm stuck here. If you can find them, please, please send help. Tell them I'm still alive and that I'm a married man, p-people will miss me! Tell them anything, I-I need help!" Yaku was close to panicking, his paranoia sweeping him up as he realized that meeting someone willing to help him was a bit of luck that'd likely turn sour at a moment's notice.

"R-right... D-DATS... I said I don't know much about them b-but they... OK... supposedly there's a government agency that tries to cover up Digimon from th-the general public... a-apparently, b-but keep in mind I only heard it from drunks in bars, they find digimon and return them to the digital world if they don't have partners." Yaku continued. "Th-they're the reason Digimon just don't take the trailmons or the portals into the digital world whenever they want, b-because they send them right back... I-I dunno how b-but..." He looked worried again.

"...I-if they don't exist th-though... I-I dunno what to do... I-If I send you to my wife she'll think I just ran away... if I don't she'll probably think I'm dead. S-sorry about talking your ear off... I-I'm just worried... p-please, tell me about yourself..."