Storm Before The Calm (Kuu)

Fluoride-free toothpaste was safer to swallow, right? Yeah, it totally was. That's why it was always marketed as child friendly. And those were the toothpastes that were always made with the tastiest flavors, too. Maybe that would be the key for finally making Kuu's teeth clean, even if he'd end up swallowing it all anyway and getting a stomachache. "Only a little," Elliot said, smiling. "But unlike other special treats, you can have it once a day. And it makes you even cleaner when you have it than before!" He'd sell Kuu on proper hygiene yet, gosh darnit.

Accidentally sick? What? "Most sickness is by accident," Elliot said. "By staying clean and treating your body right you can avoid it, but even the most careful people end up getting sick sometimes. And it isn't really something you can beat up. Sick stuff is tiny. Like, so small you can't even see it. You don't know it's there until you're already sick. But if you drink lots of water and take your medicine it'll go away just as quickly as it came, so it's not like we're helpless.

Some sickness is worse than other sickness, though, so please don't tell people what I just said. They're already doing their best with it." It was a sudden reversal between Elliot's explanation of the common cold and the realization that it was really hard to be general about something as complex as sickness. He added in that last part quite quickly, hoping Kuu wouldn't scramble up to someone with a severe illness and tell them to drink more orange juice.

Just like how no amount of orange juice could help Isaac with full body corruption. At least Kuu had a really good point about their respective makeups. Elliot was flesh and blood, while Kuu was all data. If the D-Reaper code wasn't hurting him, surely it wouldn't hurt Elliot. Then again, Kuu was also concerned that Maia could be effected, so maybe there was more cause to worry than that. "Why would it hurt her, but not me?" Elliot asked, confused. And why would it only be if Kuu Digivolved too far? Would the data risk him going berserk or something? God, Elliot hoped not. That would really be awful.

But if Kuu believed he could keep Maia safe, Elliot trusted him. Kuu had done that well for a long time now, and Elliot knew he'd never do anything that would hurt Maia on purpose. "I know," he said. "I just wish my Digivice would even work anymore, so I could keep you safe too."

Any of that trust was hit when he realized that yes, Kuu totally would eat something smaller than him just for being there. At least Elliot knew he'd be spared, somehow. "Thank . . . you?" he said, paling slightly in worry at that statement.

Kuu had never turned into this stuff before. That's true. After all, Elliot had met him as a new hatchling. Of course these forms wouldn't be familiar to him. Sure, Digimon reincarnated, but they probably didn't remember even close to everything. There was nothing suspicious left for Elliot to ask about. "It never stopped being weird," he admitted when Kuu turned the question right back on him. "In some ways it was freeing. I mean, my leg works when I'm a Digimon, right? And I'm taller. And braver. And stronger. But it also doesn't always feel like me. And it's dangerous, and scary. And sometimes, I wish I could be that strong all the time.

I mean, I'm not right now." The relatively unclean (only somewhat flawless) state of Elliot's room and bags of stress under his eyes were a testament to that.

Illinois, huh? Cassandra had a feeling these two were out from the state, even if Kuu's accent didn't seem quite like what one would usually expect from Illinois. Although what was that last statement? Elliot blushed a little at Kuu's sudden mention, as Cassandra blinked in an off-guard look of confusion.

At least Elliot was running damage control. "You know how little brothers are always mimicking big siblings," he said, blurting it all a little bit too quickly. "I mean, I did it all the time, right? Just shows how close they already are." A bit of a nervous laugh followed, Elliot shooting a pleading look at Kuu. Please, Kuu, don't mess this up!

At least it seemed to placate Cassandra, slow understanding dawning on her face. "Sounds like Isaac's already part of the family for you guys," she said, voice suddenly a lot warmer than before. "Thank you for that. Truly. The move to Japan wasn't easy on these two, but I know there was a lot more pep in his step than usual." After Isaac had so much trouble fitting into their own little family, knowing that another one had so much love for him was a huge weight off of Cassandra's shoulders. Between that, and her redoubled attempts at spending more time with her boys, she knew this move to Japan was going to be all okay for them.

At least now Kuu flat-out admitted that he didn't like being clean. Frankly, Elliot couldn't imagine why. Being dirty just felt so slimy. It's why Elliot was a morning shower person for life. Still, it was Kuu's preference in the end, even if it was a weird one. Best not to turn that into a debate.

The way Kuu puffed up, Elliot couldn't help but giggle a little. "What's the tiniest thing you've seen?" he asked, a teasing grin on his face. "I bet ya they're even smaller than that! But if you ever get a chance, there's this machine you can use to make them look bigger, and once you can see them up close like that they actually look really cool! Almost like little crystals." Huh. That was a bit of a tangent. Then again, with how big of a nerd Elliot was, it probably wouldn't be a surprise. Elliot totally would be the kind of guy to find viruses cool looking. And Kuu was exactly the kind of dork to try and beat them up.

Funnily enough, Elliot actually understood what Kuu was talking about! "Sorta like when me and my brother fused, and we couldn't turn back to human until we separated first?" Elliot asked, trying to figure out if he had his head properly wrapped around it or not. Wait, hold on a second. Elliot did a double take as he processed what he had just said. "Wait, are you and Maia going to be able to fuse too? Are you worried because you don't know what'll happen if you do?" Elliot, reader of context clues!

At Kuu's insistence on protecting him, Elliot gave another warm giggle. "I already feel safer. Thanks, Kuu," he said, smiling peacefully. That wasn't the last of Kuu's compliments, though. After the mention of him being brave and strong, Elliot just wordlessly hugged Kuu. Was he trembling slightly? He sure seemed to be. Kuu's shoulder would be ever-so-slightly tear stained after the sudden hug.

Maybe Elliot's statement was kind of weird, but it was also kind of adorable. Elliot's mom tried not to let the fact that she was giggling show too strongly. Come to think of it, her laugh sounded a lot like Elliot's. "That's adorable!" she said, clearly amused. "I know it can be stressful when someone's aught your big sis' eye, but trust me, kid. You're still gonna be her number one. Just in a different way. Trying to fight over it's the easiest way of stressing all three of you guys out." Oh, mom advice. How could you ever steer anyone wrong?

"We'd be happy to meet for dinner, by the way," she added, a soft smile on her face. "Maybe when Isaac's back, though. Wouldn't be complete without him, right?"

Those were some impressively small objects. Honestly, Elliot was surprised Kuu even had the attention span to focus on dead pixels. However, they all still paled in comparison to a virus. That was probably for the best, though. If people could see every virus, they'd be too busy squinting through clouds of dots to even see anything else! "Still smaller," Elliot said, trying to think of how to properly scale this. "You said sand, right? To a virus, a grain of sand is as big as a mountain." Yeah. That was a good analogy. Briefly, Elliot felt something resembling pride.

Still, maybe Elliot shouldn't have nerded out about microscopes. Now Kuu was going to try and beat up the very concept of disease just because it was visible. "Maybe one day I'll show you," Elliot said, hoping the 'one day' diversion would get him off of this topic for now. He didn't want to keep debating Kuu on the merits of punching viruses in the face!

Maybe Kuu wasn't being serious, though. The eerie silence greeting Elliot's own question about "illness" seemed far, far more serious. "Right! Karin mentioned biomerging to us before," Elliot said, now realizing why the idea of Kuu and Maia fusing seemed so familiar. It seemed like such a rare concept that Elliot had honestly not considered it as the last stage of Digivolution. Even Kuu was capable of it? Then again, Kuu had proven time and time again that he was capable of some really great things. If that was the case, though, Elliot could fully understand Kuu's worry.

"If it helps, the last thing Isaac and I did before leaving was fuse," Elliot added. "And that was after the D-Reaper did all that bad stuff to Isaac. And yet I'm fine, right? So if I could fuse with someone really, really corrupted and be okay, I know you'd never even come close to putting Maia in harm's way." That was the confidence coming from Elliot that Kuu knew and put up with! With some of that spirit renewed, Elliot was able to end his hug with Kuu on far more confident terms. Hopefully Kuu would be feeling reassured by it as well.

Lost siblings seemed to be a recurring topic today, as this time Kuu was airing his own confidence about never being gotten rid of. "Oh, goodness, she'd never want to try and get rid of you!" Cassandra reassured him. "Big sisters want their space sometimes, but that's just because they need to do girl stuff. Trust me. It's a total drag. If my brothers were here, they'd tell you the same." How many times had those four balked about being dragged along for her shenanigans? Far too many to count, frankly.

"So, what's your family like . . . Oh. Oh jeez, it always slips my mind." Cassandra facepalmed, laughing a little. "What's your name, anyway?"

"People don't just live on mountains," Elliot pointed out. "They also live on islands. And near forests. And everywhere, really. And so do germs. You'd have to eat, like, everything in the world to get all the germs!" Elliot paused as he realized that not only would Kuu take that as a challenge, but he'd also love every second of it. Immediately he changed tune, trying to wheel back on that statement something hardcore. "But eating germs is, like, the easiest way to get sick. They can only make you sick of they get inside you, so please don't do that! It'd be really bad." Would Elliot's desperate plea work? Maybe. But probably not. At least Kuu would forget it all really quickly.

Kuu could take some subjects seriously, though, if his continued sobriety was any indication. "Just like Isaac . . ." Elliot found himself saying as Kuu mentioned Digivice breakage. Was that really all that was to it? Isaac's Digivice no longer recognized him, and thus his human form was basically being held hostage? No, that couldn't be right. It was Isaac who was primarily exposed to the corruption, not the Digivice. There had to be an internal component to it too, even if Digivice linkage corruption was likely a very commanding factor. Could Isaac still use his spirits? Elliot would need to find him and ask. Or at least, he would once his own started working. Was that corruption too?

No, the Digivice was fine. That was all Elliot just lacking the strength to push beyond.

Still, Elliot was listening quite closely. "You said you saw a doctor, right?" Elliot suggested. "Maybe you can try and biomerge in front of him? Like, have him take you and Maia's vitals while you start to fuse. Then if there's a problem brewing, you can call off the fusion before anything fully transmits. It'd at least mean you could check and see, right?" Oh Elliot, you little problem solver. There were probably quite a few holes that Mikemon could poke in that statement, but at least it was a start.

At Kuu's incredulity about brothers, Cassandra raised an eyebrow. Kuu really was naive, wasn't he? Or maybe sheltered. Or an interdimensional space fox. Or both. Nevertheless, Cassandra was quite patient with his questioning. "Four of them," she said warmly. "Two older, two younger. Just my luck I'd end up right in the middle, eh? Meant whenever they were out of people to pester they always turned to me. But hey, when you're family you're totally allowed to get away with that. Meant there was always a lot of fun to be roped into, too. Ah, but now I'm just reminiscing. Don't mind me."

Elliot didn't mind. It was the perfect cover to respond to Maia's newest text. Yeah. Kuu and I are still at my place, he typed. Mom's here too, so please try and keep any of the real secret stuff on the down-low until she leaves. I don't want to get her wrapped up in any of this, especially while Isaac's still gone. It'd kill her.

When there was nobody left to keep his secrets, it was no wonder Elliot started holding his cards close to his chest.

Oh god, Elliot. What have you done? The boy opened his mouth to try and say something, anything to dissuade Kuu, but by now he was well aware that anything he said to Kuu could and would be used against him. Even something as simple as "please don't" would've somehow been taken as an invitation to start eating the world. He let the topic drop, mind somewhat boggled as to how Maia handled Kuu's curiosities 24/7. Maybe that was why she almost never, ever indulged them. It was probably a smart decision.

At least Kuu was indulging Elliot's when it came to the subject of Digivolution. Kuu seemed a little hesitant about the idea of doing it in front of the doctor. Would the nerves of the situation prevent him from properly Digivolving? Elliot could totally understand that. And considering that Digivolution, especially for the first time, tended to require some huge emotional impulse, the doctor's office probably wouldn't have been nearly dramatic enough to allow it. "Yeah. I guess you're right," Elliot said, voice trailing off as he tried to think of any other ideas. "Well . . . I know there's really nothing I can do. But I promise, in case there's any trouble, I'll do my best to be there for you guys. That okay?" he added, a soft smile on his face.

Such serious matters were likely far less interesting than the rather large sibling count that Cassandra boasted. "Five kids really is a pretty big amount, huh?" she asked. "Although if you think that's a lot, you must've missed that show about the family with nineteen." Cassandra shivered. Man, that show kinda creeped her out! "Still, was pretty nice keeping close to a lot of people like that. Being the only girl kinda sucked sometimes, but I kinda miss being treated like a princess. And heh, you should've seen what happened to any guys that broke my heart." Briefly, Cassandra closed her eyes and imagined her now ex-husband being introduced to an impromptu family reunion.

Ah, bliss.

Elliot continued stealthily shooting out texts during the anecdotes. He'd heard them all before by now. I'm sorry Isaac's not there for it, Elliot said, debating on whether to attach a frowning emoji or if it would've been way too gauche. Okay, yeah, definitely not including the emoji. I bet if he knew you were coming to meet her, he'd show up no matter what he was stuck like. Devidramon would've been an odd choice for a family meet-up, true, but Elliot didn't have a doubt in his mind that Isaac cared for Maia that much.

Cassandra giggled more at Kuu's conspiratorial whisper. "That's why my boys had to help her find her way to the grocery store, huh?" she asked, curious at what the magnitude of Maia's homebody preferences were. "But hey, I get that. Sometimes it takes a little sib to get an older one off of their butts, you know? That's how it always ended up with my boys, too." Internet videos for actual exercise seemed like a nice trade, too. Better than "help us get our ball or we'll flush your Barbies down the toilet." Only Cassandra was allowed to flush her Barbies down the toilet, damnit!

The sun was shining. The doorbell was ringing. On days like this, kids like Elliot should "Be a dear and get the door, please?" Elliot nodded, already knowing darn well who this was. He took his walking stick and made his way down the stairs at an even, slip-free pace. Once he confirmed he wasn't dying today he went to the door opening it up for Maia. She would see a slightly disheveled and very tired looking boy who, annoyingly enough, seemed to have shot up past her in height by a few inches. What would Elliot see? "Hey. It's good to see you," he said, once any shock from how Maia was handling herself (or lack thereof if she was doing just fine) wore off.

Until he and Maia were back, though, Kuu would be left all alone with Elliot's mom. Hopefully he wouldn't do anything stupid!

How could Elliot not giggle at Kuu's goofy flailing attempts at motivation? Even though it was the goofiest thing that Elliot had ever seen, it sure did a good job on putting a smile on his face. "Thanks, Kuu," Elliot said, once he had finally recovered from his sudden mess of giggling. "Same goes to you too, you know? You're one of the strongest and bravest people I know." Both physically and emotionally, that seemed to be the case. Not only was he capable of reaching the peak of Digivolution, but he also seemed impossible to dissuade or wear down. It was actually really inspiring!

"Phone calls and postcards, usually," Cassandra said, as Kuu asked about her far-flung family. "We're all pretty scattered these days. 'Course, I think I'm the one that ended up furthest of us all. You should've seen the looks on their faces when I told them I was going to Japan." How many years of pent up brotherly concern ended up flooding out in that conversation again? Probably enough to make even Isaac blush, come to think of it. "I think our little bro stayed back in Oakland and inherited the old house. Oldest brother moved to . . . oh jeez, Florida I think? Said he wanted to get somewhere cool and quiet. And the middle two are trying to strike it rich over in Jersey. Bet their spouses are real thrilled about that." The last part got a roll of the eye from Cassandra.

Much less eye rolling was Kuu's earnestness. Cassandra found herself trying not to coo over how adorable he was being right now. "You are just the sweetest thing!" she said. She considered making a comment about the last "prince" she had to deal with, but in front of Kuu probably wasn't the right time or place. Cute kid like that didn't need to know the bitter details of her last marriage. It also wasn't her place to talk about how she was fearing she was running out of time on that note, especially with the prevailing attitude about women her age that was fairly common in Japan. Instead she just let the compliment pass, proving immediately that she was smarter than her sons.

Had Maia only been there that shortly? Kuu, at least, seemed quite fluent. "Could've fooled me with how good your Japanese is," she commented. It was almost as if Kuu was a pipe fox from another universe instead of a little boy from Schaumburg Illinois, home of Dashcon. "We haven't been here too long, either. Heck, I think you and Maia might've had a head start on us. I think from today, it's been maybe a few months more than a year? God, it's been kind of a blur."

That helped answer what Cassandra thought about Japan, at least. "I kinda wish I had more time to sit back and enjoy it, to be honest," she said, sighing sadly. "Been working my butt off trying to pull this move together. First few months I was knee deep in paperwork, and then I had to focus on finding work here. Stuff's getting more stable now, though, so I think I can finally sit back and start enjoying myself." Well, after getting back into her sons' lives, that is. And what a mess to start getting back into it was. "Still, it's really nice around here. Kinda loud sometimes, but that's city life for you. How about you? Are you enjoying it?" she asked.

Meanwhile, Elliot's eyes widened a little in surprise as he was pulled into a hug. Thankfully, Maia was a gentle enough hugger to not cause him to suddenly stumble and fall, but the unexpectedness of the section still caught him of guard. Maybe it was just what Elliot needed, though, because he hugged her tightly and warmly before they both let go. "Hi," he said in response, his own voice lowering to match Maia's quiet murmur.

"I'm f-" No, Elliot. You're not fine. And you're not lying to Maia's face like this. Instead, Elliot sighed and dropped the fib. "It still hurts," he admitted. "Kuu's been helping me feel better. But I get the feeling it's going to take more time than that.

What about you? Are you okay?"