Anywhere But Here (Mitsuko)

Apprehension filled Elliot's entire body as he saw the doorknob of his room start to turn. What was going on here? Nobody knew he was in the hospital, so it wasn't like there would be anybody visiting today. He wasn't supposed to be seen by any caretakers for at least another ten minutes, too. Who could it possibly be? His eyes darted around the room, Elliot desperately trying to see if there was anything else explaining this situation. Another bed, for a guest coming in soon? A note that he had missed? Maybe a full trash can that a janitor was supposed to come around and clean soon? There had to be some sort of explanation for this, right?

The explanation came as Elliot listened more closely, hearing an all-too-familiar voice as the door opened a crack. For a second, Elliot told himself that he was just going crazy. He was just hearing a familiar voice because he was still shaken up from yesterday. Then the door opened a bit wider, and the tone and sound of the voice became unmistakable. Mitsuko was here, and she was going to see Elliot in his most raw condition. He looked around, more nervously his time, wondering what the heck he was even supposed to do.

He answered that question by promptly flinging the covers over himself, trying his hardest to hide away from Mitsuko.

It didn't seem like he had much luck hiding, though. Mitsuko had pointed him out almost the second she set her eyes on him, and while Elliot tried to keep hiding he knew it was just going to earn him a major lecture. It was mere seconds before he gave up the ghost, peeking out from the covers pitifully. Naturally, he made sure to cover his messed-up arm, as well as pretty much the majority of his body. It was basically his small, exhausted-looking face poking out from the bed, weakly trying to smile up at Mitsuko and the figure with her. Her brother?

"H-hey, Mitsuko," he said, trying to force a smile. It did not look very convincing. "How are you doing?"

It wasn't very long before the two started asking Elliot questions, the vocal tone promptly outing the other figure as Patamon. Namely, they were the two questions that Elliot least wanted to hear: what happened, and where was Isaac? He averted his eyes from Mitsuko, mumbling softly to himself as he tried to figure out just how to voice his feelings. It was all too much, too soon, too fast. He couldn't talk about this. He couldn't find the words even if he wanted to. What was he even supposed to do here? Tears started to form in the corners of his eyes as the weight of the matter collapsed onto his shoulders. "I . . . " he said, trailing off weakly.

Why did they have to find him here?

Elliot blushed in shame as Patamon added his two bits to the subject. He was completely right. Elliot was here, traumatized, injured, and hiding from basically everyone he knew and loved. Despite all of this, though, Elliot still didn't think he was the one who had any right to complain. "Yeah. I am," he said, trying not to sound too troubled by what Patamon had to say. "But, I mean, hey. It could be worse." In any other context, that could have been a pretty decent joke. Between Elliot's haggard features, dull eyes, and frail smile, it seemed less like a joke and more like a call for help. Just what worse was weighing on Elliot's eyes?

It seemed like Mitsuko picked up on it, at least. She sat down next to him, then started raising a hand towards him. Considering that the last thing to touch Elliot was the horrible rending claws of D-Evidramon, Elliot couldn't help but flinch away from Mitsuko. Then he felt her hand rest on his cheek with an almost feather-like gentleness, and his worry forced itself back into his stomach. He almost leaned into Mitsko's hand as she rested it against his cheek, sighing wearily. Sure enough, once she mentioned that it was okay to cry, the tears started to roll down his face. He was way too worn down to resist the urge, even though in most circumstances he'd feel awful about having to cry in front of someone he cared about.

That's right. There were people he cared about here. He gently patted Patamon as the batpig nestled into his lap, a gesture both surprising and surprisingly welcome. Nevertheless, there was something dearly missing from this package. "I . . . I don't know about that," he admitted, averting his gaze away from Mitsuko and towards the ceiling. "I mean, I'm not alone-alone, but . . ." His voice trailed off and the tears gathering in his eyes continued to flow, the loss of his brother still all too clear in his mind.

"How did you find me here?" he finally asked, hoping to distract himself from having to think about the loss of his brother any longer.

Elliot didn't know how he ended up in this situation. His day since leaving the Sea of Blood had all melded together into a horrid blur. Isaac was there, and then he was gone, and then he was there again, and then he was gone for good. He had gotten home at some point, somehow, probably by just flopping down onto the Trailmon until it took him back. He had made his way to the hospital and checked himself in with sufficient distress to avoid attracting attention. And now he was here, Mitsuko wiping his tears away, pressing her face against his, and worriedly calling him a name he had never heard before.

Needless to say, in any other circumstance Elliot would probably be a blushing mess right now. However, he was too numb for even this to register. Instead he simply looked up worriedly at Mitsuko, noticing her own tears pooling in the corners of her eyes before she quickly swatted them back. "You're crying," he said, voice almost sounding matter-of-fact as he looked up at her. "I . . . Mitsu, please." He gently reached up to pat the hand that was currently caressing his face, eventually letting his hand rest softly atop hers. It almost seemed unintentional, as if he was too tired to let his hand drop. "I know you're worried, but I don't want to make you sad today, too. I'll be fine. I promise."

Those were big words for someone who couldn't really move one of his arms right now. Patamon may have rubbed against it in vain for hopes of pets, but Elliot's arm simply laid there unresponsive. He took his hand off of Mitsuko's to start petting Patamon properly, but it was a rather noticeable switch. "She does a good job of that," he said, smiling weakly.

At mention of a song, Elliot's ears perked in interest. He looked up at Mitsuko and Patamon, listening as their voices harmonized.

The singing itself was phenomenal. Mitsuko had a voice like a bell, even if the lower, sultry tone that she took seemed like a surprise coming from her. Patamon, too, was surprisingly good for someone as excitable as Kuu. Had it been any other song, Elliot would have been able to drift off without a care in the world, letting Mitsuko and Patamon's singing carry him away.

This one was different, though. The song itself had a melancholy tone, but it was the lyrics themselves that jabbed like needles into his heart. Immediately, his head started to fuzz over as he tried to think just what Mitsuko meant by it. The dark part of his brain, still on guard after the horrid day he had, almost had a feeling that it was an accusation. Was he letting Mitsuko down by not opening up? Or was this supposed to be a reassurance, telling him that it would be okay to let off whatever was weighing on his chest? Or maybe it wasn't about his situation at all. Mitsuko was seriously earnest, and there was no way she'd make up a fake singing competition just to pick Elliot's brain. And then there was the fact that she kept singing about "love" and "us", and there was also the fact that all Elliot could think about was his own "us" being left behind in the Digital World. It was a whirlwind.

He tried not to let the tears flowing down his face show, shifting to look at Mitsuko with his head in his hand just so that it would cover up one of his cheeks. "Your voice is really beautiful," he finally said once the song had ended. A sad, fragile smile crept onto his face as Elliot tried to find the other words he was looking for. "And you . . . really know how to pick a song."

That was one way to describe it.

Shit.

Elliot let out a small alarmed noise as he realized that he was spotted. He tried to move his other arm to show that it wasn't hurt or anything, but unfortunately he was still completely unable to. Maybe he was able to shake his shoulder a millimeter, but it was far from a convincing display of his ability to move independently. Briefly his brow wrinkled in frustration, but he tried to swallow that back down. He needed to look as peaceful and non-suspicious as possible so that maybe Mitsuko wouldn't keep pressing. He couldn't tell her. Not after how bad it was . . .

"My arm?" he repeated, as if he didn't even notice the state his own body was in. "Oh, please, don't worry. My arm's fine." It was the biggest combination of truth and bald-faced lie that Elliot had ever told. However, it really was the truth. The events of the mission had all taken place in a mental upload of sorts. If someone was to investigate his arm, they would find it didn't have a single thing wrong with it. Rather, it was more like his body had completely ignored his arm's existence, reacting like it didn't even have an arm. Elliot was sure all of the necessary motion would return soon, but for the time being nothing was really working.

If the mission had been real, how badly would he have fucked up his arm?

Patamon's question was a lot harder to dance around. Elliot looked down at the ground, trying to avoid both Patamon and Mitsuko's gazes. "He . . . " Elliot started, trying to find the best way to word this. "He's still in the Digital World. He's a little bit busy right now, sorry."

No. He couldn't leave Mitsuko just waiting for that long. "A long bit, really," he added. "There's a lot he needs to do."