Home to Return to (Son Yamaki)

The more he thought about it, the less it made sense.

Such were Son's thoughts, on this rainy day. For quite a while now, he had been caught up on the most peculiar investigation, several small factors not quite adding up. Increased reports of truant students?  A disproportionate amount of missing persons cases filed in Shibuya, and subsequently, a disproportionate amount of withdrawn cases? Heck, even for the kids that turned back up again, reported grades were significantly down, teachers reporting some amount of 'distraction'... and it didn't line up with any of the usual cases, either, like a video game release or something of that nature. No, there was just a 'taste' about it, something far more confounding just beneath the surface.

This case, in particular, stuck out like a sore thumb: a 'Ryouta' was filed missing, much like many others... but in this case, after the case was withdrawn, it was not for that the child had returned. No, it was as if they had moved on entirely. On a base guess, Yamaki assumed that this didn't follow the pattern of the other cases, but there was that chance that something this far out of the ordinary left more clues than originally intended.

"... Hm." But so much for clues in this state. Taking a walk in the rain, Detective Yamaki just intended to give this place a walk-by. Construction crews had been through, and anything the house itself could have offered was gone entirely. The family who left didn't look like they wanted to be found, and at a mere glance, there was nothing about the abode itself that looked menacing. Heck, he could see right through it through the exposed beams, a mere tip on his feet confirming there was nothing off in the basement.

"..." Silently, the man rested an umbrella on his shoulder, continuing to walk by, adjusting his glasses. No leads today, but... there, from the corner of his eye, he spotted a person, next to an electrical pole across the street. And... by lord, it just matched the description? "Ryouta? Noguchi Ryouta?"

Honestly, the clothes meant the least to him: for several of these cases where the child had never returned home, Yamaki had it ordered to have the most recent pictures and records of these children aged over several years. And though this face might have never actually existed in this world, Yamaki was, in fact, looking at what he knew to be the spitting image of Ryouta.

Still, he kept a calm expression. Walking closer, he paused a few feet away as the boy asked those two questions - and two reasonable sounding ones, at that. The first, he could answer without hesitation, and it lended its way to the second: "I am Detective Yamaki," this was coupled with him reaching into his jacket pocket, producing a badge confirming his rank, "the chief investigator of this case. Well... former, at least." With the house vacated, case dropped, and parents who-knows-where, it was hard to get any sort of lead on this.

But, at least like this, he had a subject. "But you must excuse me. For you to show up again after almost a year, and speak so casually... its almost like talking to a phantom." He adjusted his glasses, looking down at Ryouta. "By what manner are you back here? You look like you've had the rough of it."

For a teenager that had been missing for about a year, Routa seemed almost too calm. Stoic in expression, he just trailed from one thought to the next, creating a rather jarring tone for the detective to deal with. And this was another symptom, one that likely confirmed that he was related to the case: anyone he investigated almost seemed as if they were sworn to secrecy, inventing tales or outright refusing to give any useful information. It seemed like Ryouta was about to give more of the same.

"Honestly, I didn't believe you were dead. At least, that wouldn't fit the large amount of cases similar to your own." He paused, letting that sink in. "Children and young teenagers, disappearing for months at a time, some returning without as much as a word to the police. Over and over... and trust me, if the Yakuza had a hand in it, this would be much easier to solve." Yamaki had ruled that train of thought out long ago. But, for the moment, he extended his umbrella, at least getting Ryouta out of the rain.

"Sorry. Its not what you want to hear, but I need answers."

Well, hadn't this taken an interesting turn? At least on the surface, it appeared that Ryouta was willing to go along with this, as the detective got a good look at his face. As for his hunger, well, Detective Yamaki could only really give a sigh at that.

Why a sigh? Honestly, his skepticism in this case was already quite high, and someone just falling into his hands to explain everything was not only unlikely, but came with several caveats. Could what he said really be trusted? Was he saying what he wanted to hear just to get food or ask for favors? Even his last request seemed a self-serving one, even if it was said in a sincere fashion.

But for now, it was the only lead he had. "Alright." In a tired tone, he gave a nod, and turned. "Follow me, we'll be heading to my office to discuss this. But once we do, I'd prefer if we get right on track here."

---

It would take a bit of walking, as Yamaki's office was several blocks over. But soon, the pounding sound of the rain behind them, they would walk into an office building, and punch up to the sixth floor. And there, in an otherwise unoccupied firm space, he would lead the boy inside his office.

And it was, perhaps, as Ryouta expected: a wall at the far side held many push-pins, with various leads and ideas, and his desk was covered in papers. Sitting in his executive chair, he gave a nod to the guest chair across the desk. He pulled a pen, and looked to Ryouta.

"Well. You said I wouldn't believe you... but go ahead, anyway. What's your story?'

Ah, yes... the supernatural. As Ryouta started with his explanation, Son folded his hands and listened, though it was clear that he wasn't convinced for several sentences. There was a weird, almost grandstanding tone to this boy's story, and from the weird machine to the premise of an entirely different world? The Detective wasn't taking it at face value. That thing looked like a novelty toy at best, and as his words went on that he had more to show, it looked like the Detective was about to cut in.

"Listen, I-"

Wait. Was that backpack... moving? With a blink, he looked, and as this... what in gods-green earth, dragon-lizard-floaty thing, came out of the bag? He flinched, falling back in his chair with a crash. "Ow... what in blazes..." Scrambling back to his feet, he stood, rubbing the back of his head. Indeed, there it was. This... this monster, from another world, just floating and holding casual conversation. For the moment, he was at a loss for words.

And then Ryouta spoke again. Listening to that, the Detective looked towards the creature once more, giving a grunt. "... I'm not going to guarantee you anything. But something like this will definitely have to have a more delicate approach. Ah, yes... hi there. My name is Yamaki."

Forced pleasantries aside, he turned his attention back to Ryouta. "I would have to assume, then, that there are others like you from Shibuya, in that other world? Curious... how many are you aware of?"

"Hm..."

No, Yamaki didn't think that Ryouta was lying, but it seemed like he was exaggerating certain facts. The scope of Yamaki's case, for example, didn't hit the 'thousands' that this kid was mentioning. No, this was a couple hundred at best: anything more would have already drawn the eye of worldwide agencies far beyond his control. So he took that first fact with a grain of salt, which was perhaps the only reason that he didn't seem surprised by it. But a lot of the explanation came to settle in shortly:

"So, Digimon, from the Digital World. A world different from ours, full of monsters - er, creatures," He nodded respectfully towards the Babydramon, "In a rather violent world. And somehow, that world is calling to the youth of our own? Is that what I should be gathering from this? Curious... do they have any sort of civilization or-"

Hearing that stomach growl again, Yamaki blinked, giving a sigh. Right, he was being too eager about this: pulling a drawer open from his desk, he pulled out a few breakfast bars, sliding them across the desk towards Ryouta, with a nod. "Hm... Ryu, right? Does your world have any place like Shibuya, the city we're in?"

To be honest, the creature's words - even as he took his larger form, earning a raised brow from the detective - weren't that easy to understand. By what it sounded like, they did have cities of some description, but also a lot of wild space? Of everything, the fact that they could grow meat was the least surprising part of the story, but at this rate...

"Hm. Alright, that was just a curious question for now. Ryouta." His attention returned to the boy. "To put it simply, how does one get into this other world? By your presence here, it doesn't seem to be a one-way trip or anything like that." Slowly, the pieces were stacking together. But all this had done was open up another mystery entirely...

What was this place?