Kyra rose out of bed, rubbing sleep out of her eye with the palm of her hand. Yawning widely, she glanced around. Sure enough, it hadn't been just a dream. She was in the mansion of the now former Lord Keris. But that didn't matter any more, this was Kyra's mansion now.

"Up and at 'em princess," came the voice of her second partner Bishop, equal parts dry and playful.
Kyra's mouth opened, but the words 'Stop calling me that,' died before they ever reached her lips. She found she didn't mind it, just as she didn't mind the uplifting feeling from killing Digimon.

The Renamon pushed the door to the master bedroom the rest of the way open and strode inside, cocky, calm, and relaxed as always.

Icy blue eyes settled on the nighstand next to the bed, and the white and red Digitama that sat upon it. Same colors as Canada's flag she thought with the slightest smile, thinking of her home country. But Canada wasn't really home any more. Even Earth wasn't home any more. She was never going back. Sis was dead. Mom was never around enough to care. Her father... her father. She'd never known the man, and her mother never spoke of him, either. There was nothing for her. If she found a Digi-port, she had no intention of using it.

"So, where to?" asked the Renamon, watching Kyra calmly.
"Back to the apartment... one last time. To get a few things."

They walked side by side out of the room, along the main hall toward the front entrance. In Kyra's backpack as always was Vanguard's Digitama. She wasn't letting it out of her sight.

The double doors at the front of the mansion yawned wide, the tamer and her foxlike partner striding out. The cool morning air greeted them as the doors shut, leading to fresh questions on the Renamon's part about the curious day-night cycles of this part of the graveyard. It seemed... ominous somehow. But his curiosity was squelched as the duo made their way beyond the gate and fence, and onto the path leading to the Trailmon platform.

Bishop rested atop the third story of the mansion, a statue for all the signs of life he was showing. Crouched, eyes shut to the outside world, totally still. But as still as he was on the outside, within, his mind was quite busy.

So that's Evolution. Quite the change from a little pipsqueak insect to a much larger one. Tall, humanoid, she can even fly. I wonder if she acts any different. I suppose she does, she hardly said a word the whole flight here from the plains. Flashes of memory. The nighttime surf. A feeling of joy. Of victory. Accomplishment. And then...

These weren't his memories. They were imprints from Vanguard, he'd been spawned from her data when she died. And yet, he was a whole new configuration. It let him to another curious thought. Did it make Vanguard his mother? She certainly thought so, and he'd disagreed at the time, and yet...

If it did, that made him rather unique among Digimon. How many could claim to have parents, even one of them?


Kyra lay sprawled on her bed, sharpening and cleaning her knife. Her mind churned away beneath her dark hair, wondering just what to do next. She kicked her feet, silvery sheets falling off the bed. Settling in, she stowed the knife.

Rolling onto her side, she planted her feet on the floor and rose. Heaving a sigh, she acknowledged a feeling of disease that had been plaguing her. Wherever she was, she wasn't happy or even content. When she was in the field, all she wanted was rest and quiet. When she was in bed, all she wanted was to be out doing something, anything. It was maddening.

Her knife snapped up, launching across the room. With it it carried a piece of her frustration, impaling itself into the Puttimon plushie resting on a shelf against the wall. It was then her eyes spied a small object left over on the shelf next to where she'd dropped the plushie earlier.

"Eh?" she wondered, striding across the room and plucking up the instrument. It was, in fact, an instrument. "A flute?" she wondered, her hands brushing across the smooth surface. It was odd alright, black and burnished purple. As though compelled by some force, she picked up the instrument and pressed it to her lips. As her fingers danced clumsily along the flute, a ragged tune emanated from the musical instrument. And yet, despite her absolutely horrid attempt at music, she found it... soothing. As the notes drifted into her ears, it brought a seldom felt sense of serenity, peace, relaxation.


"Is someone slaughtering a cat?" Bishop wondered, as an unpleasant sound echoed across the mansion grounds. He rose, striding forward and stepping lightly off the edge. Bending ever so slightly at the knees, he landed at one of the windows looking into Kyra's room, open at the time, the curtains pulled back. He could see the female tamer playing what appeared to be a flute. Shaking his head, the Renamon jumped back up to the roof. "Whatever," he muttered, trying and failing to screen out the grating racket.


A flash of gold told Kyra that her second partner had taken interest in the racket coming from her room. The tamer smiled slightly, lowering the instrument. "Well, the counselors always said I needed a hobby," Kyra breathed with a chuckle. Anything the bigwigs with a fancy plaque on their wall said to her had always gone in one ear and out the other. "Whatever happens, I'll find my own path." She resumed playing the flute, a tune that seemed tantalizingly familiar, seven or eight notes, she wasn't quite sure. As she played it over and over, her flow steadily improved, almost tolerable to Bishop if he was still listening.

At last the instrument dropped from her lips, slipping into her pocket. She had grown fond of the little instrument, a piece of the ease it had given her stayed with her. The seething pit within was kept at bay for now. The young tamer sighed, sitting down on the edge of her bed. The brief break had renewed her drive, it was time to move on once more.


"Where we headed?" Bishop asked as he walked half a step behind and a little to the right of Kyra.
"To the city?" Vanguard asked, cradled in Kyra's arms.
"Yeah, actually." said Kyra.
"Thinking about a new weapon?" the Renamon inquired as they strode down the path.
Kyra shook her head. "Replacing what I've got isn't worth the money," she said flatly "And only an idiot tries to steal from a weapons dealer."
Bishop chuckled, smiling slightly. She had a point, although there were still ways of ripping off even the most paranoid shopkeeper.

"I don't like this," growled Kyra, the dark tamer sitting on the edge of her bed. The misty night was beyond the windows at the end of the room as ever, a rare moment of rest at home for the teen. While Grace's anti-venom had worked quite well in neutralizing Narissa's poison, what damage had already been done was up to her body to heal normally.

"Bishop's still missing, we need to find him." she continued, but while both her partners agreed, both knew Kyra wasn't in much shape do to any searching.

"He'll be okay," Vanguard said softly, the Dokunemon beside Kyra on the bed. "He probably just needs some time alone," even in her own ears, the excuse sounded hollow.

Kyra then scooped the Dokunemon into her arms. "Sorry about that," she mumbled, apologies not coming naturally to her. She referred to, of course her first use of the beast spirit, resulting in a short but fierce battle between herself as Lady Devimon and Vanguard as Angewomon.

"You weren't yourself, Kyra," Vanguard replied calmly, but at the same time felt a sort of thrill at the teenage girl's rare desire for close contact.

"I..." the girl paused, remembering what her partner had told Narissa during the battle. I would die for Kyra! I -have- died for Kyra, because I love her!. Beyond musings relative to what exactly Vanguard had meant by love, Kyra felt increased guilt for the wounds she'd inflicted on the then-Angewomon. She sighed, no matter how much she ran words and phrases through her head, they were just sickeningly corny. Instead, Kyra merely settled for gently stroking the Dokunemon's back as she cradled her, an unusually soft look in her pale blue eyes.

"Right," One said bluntly, interrupting the moment from where he sat on a chair nearby, snapping the last few pieces back onto his rifle. "From the look of it, Bishop's not going to find himself." They couldn't bring Kyra along, whether she would admit it or not she wasn't 100% yet. Nor would it be safe to leave her alone at the mansion while her remaining partners searched for the renegade fox.

"Draw straws?" asked Vanguard, rolling upright again and gently scuttling from Kyra's arms. "One of us stays with Kyra, the other searches?"
"Puns aside, yeah," replied the Commandramon.
"Forget that," said Kyra, rising to her feet "I'm coming too."
One seemed to frown as he looked at Kyra. "You're in no shape to be out right now, and we both know full well there's no such thing as a routine trip anywhere in the Digital World." Hard yellow met icy blue, neither blinked, neither looked away. "In short, you're staying here even if I have to tie you to your bed." the cyborg finished flatly.

Kyra felt a flare of indignation, but she knew it was partly because he was right. Though she scowled, she flopped back on her bed. "Fine."

"Go," One said, looking to Vanguard. "I'll stay with her." He knew that although less experienced than he, Vanguard could travel faster on the wing, and he doubted the Dokunemon's ability to ensure their tamer did as he wished and stayed home. "Be careful," the words came from both One and Kyra, simultaneously. Violet light flared from Kyra's wrist as the Crest of Desire offered its power, the form of Angewomon striding quickly to the balcony before eight shining wings propelled her skyward.

Kyra Evans stared silently out the rain-slicked window of her bedroom. The gentle pattering of raindrops on the roof, the occasional rumble of thunder. That was it. Even One was silent. Vanguard, even Bishop, would have attempted to find small talk to fill the void. But not this Commandramon.

Uncertainty still festering in her stomach with one partner missing and another gone hours ago to look for him, Kyra was in a mood to be agitated by the slightest disturbance. Even when that disturbance was none at all.

"What's on your mind, anyways?" she asked sharply at last, turning to face the armed cyborg. He was apparently comfortable with silence. She wasn't.

Seated in a chair, eyes closed, rifle propped against his shoulder, if not for the tense posture he held, One might have been asleep. His eyes flickered open, yellow irises shifting to settle on Kyra. "A number of occasions since I was reborn, I have experienced... odd familiarities with certain things. I thought that focusing on it would allow me to start to regain past memories."

Kyra went very still, as though prepared for the imminent re-awakening of the One that was Zack's partner and the battle that would surely ensue from such an instance.

"But the harder I try to remember, the more it slips away." The cyborg turned his eyes toward the window. Kyra dared to breath again.

"The more you want to let go of something, the more it comes back. But if you try to get a hold of it instead, the faster it slips away from you," Kyra said quietly, looking over at her bed but not seeing it at all.

Kyra was far away through time and space, to that dreadful day five years ago. Sirens pierced her ears, lights of red, blue, and white swam in her blurred vision. Even though the sight before her icy blue eyes too was distorted, it couldn't dull the pain it caused her. Nor the months of emptiness that followed. Grief consolers told her she had to find something positive in this, it would help her to move on. What if she didn't want to move on? Her sister deserved better than to be just tossed aside after she practically raised Kyra, her father a missing and forbidden topic, her mother always working to support them. But the pain of holding on to it... was terrible.

The dark tamer looked over at One, the cyborg silently staring back at her now. That silence spoke volumes, and she reached up to find a single tear sliding down her cheek. For once she didn't feel anger at the weakness, only an emptiness. Can't I just have peace, even from myself? she rubbed the drop of salty moisture between her fingertips.

One regarded her silently, the Commandramon seeing a side of her he'd never known in this life nor in his previous one.

"Sis," the teen whispered quietly, closing her eyes and brushing her fingertips across her tank top. The best sister she could have ever imagined. If only... if only that driver hadn't had a heart attack when he did, hadn't plowed his semi truck up on the sidewalk, hadn't killed three people, hadn't left one girl to fumble through the darkness in her heart. Maybe things would have turned out better.

Seeming to see something melancholy in the girl's stare, One looked sharply at her. "Dwelling on the past and what-ifs isn't going to change things, Kyra."

But with the girl's thoughts on her most intimate, but sadly impossible dreams, the crest embedded in her d-ban began to glow brightly. "Why," Kyra said hotly. "Why is it I can't let this go, no matter how much everyone, even my own head, tells me I have to move on!?"

Things had always been so easy, so clear, with Sis looking out for her. Kyra envied her sister's premature wisdom, always finding the right path. But Kyra? She was left to take a violent, competitive path, the path some killer instinct lurking within her would lay out just one step ahead of where she was now.

She remembered the journal entry she'd once made after coming to the digital world, telling herself she was over it. What a lie. There was no facing that painful truth now, and maybe not ever.

"We're going," she said suddenly, booted feet striding boldly across the room and yanking her vest up off the foot of the bed. A split second later the cloak followed it, settling onto her shoulders.

One didn't blink as Kyra stared at him. "Let me guess," the cyborg said gruffly. "The only choice I have is whether I have to fight your beast spirit or not, right?"

A smile came to the teen's lips, not warm by any means, but not cold either, just a pleased acknowledgment of the understanding between them. Whatever damage the poison had caused her finally seemed to have healed.

----

Name: Beelze Motorcycle
Number: R45
Type: Weapon
Duration: Remainder of the battle
Effect: The affected Digimon acquires Beelzebumon’s motorcycle, Behemoth. Any Digimon can ride it, enabling them to move at twice their normal running speed, and allowing for a ramming attack whose damage = their regular attack strength + the number of the Tamer’s DEP x 10 (for example, a Digimon with 2.5 DEP and 10 base attack strength would be able to use the cycle for an attack worth 35 damage points). However, only Virus-type or Ultimate (Mega)-level Digimon can control the motorcycle – otherwise it quite literally has a mind of its own.

"You sure you can handle this thing?" Kyra asked, even as she vaulted onto the motorcycle behind One. They were out on the mansion's front lawn, the beefy motorcycle having materialized out of thin air as the card was slashed.

"You betcha," the cyborg said, claws easily running across Behemoth's controls as the two sat in the motorcycle, the rain still coming down in full force.

A vibration pulsed through the bike as the engine roared to life. "Here we go!" said the cyborg, cranking the throttle. The rear tire dug into the muddy ground, spewing a slimy stream out behind before it finally bit into solid ground and launched the duo off down the stony path.

It didn't matter where they went to Kyra, just so long as she got something to scratch her restless itch. As strong as the urge to find Bishop and Vanguard was, the desire to blow off steam was stronger. The dark, stormy night soon swallowed them both, it was anyone's guess just where and why they'd appear next.

One's movements had become sluggish, energy sagging from a brief battle against an enemy tamer, but more notably, traversing the entire distance back to the mansion on foot of his Sealsdramon form, taking switchbacks and roundabout routes over patches of trackless terrain to mask his trail.

His passenger a handful, the exertion of keeping a grip on her part of his fatigue. He'd carried Kyra the entire way back, her initial storming outrage giving way to a pale, sobbing sadness. Though quite out of character for the tough girl, it wasn't without reason.

The final blow of her last battle had directly impacted the face of her beast spirit, and upon devolving, she'd found herself blind. Feverish whispers that it would come back, it had to come back after just a few minutes, were met with persisting, smothering, velvety blackness.

"We're here," the cyborg said, slowing his gait at last as he entered the mansion grounds, Kyra still pulled close to chest. Dark, foggy, and slightly foreboding as ever, but this mansion was their home.


Setting Kyra onto a couch in the living room that was an offshoot of the foyer, One at last devolved. The cybernetic saurian in modern combat gear, complete with assault rifle, grenades, and although it wasn't evident now, something even better than standard camouflage.

Kyra flopped limply on the cushions, throat raw from her outbursts and eyes pink.

Hiding his fatigue well, One backed away. "Hang on, I'll get you some water to drink." Between the desert now, tears, and her raw throat, he knew a drink would go a good way toward helping her right now.

"H-hey, wait!" Kyra said, pushing herself halfway up and looking in his direction despite the futility. Another painful growl came from her throat, her mind taking to being so reliant on others for even mundane tasks like the average person would take to the vacuum of space.

Still, she was never the type to give up, boot-clad feet tentatively finding the floor. Standing, she tried to call up a mental image of the mansion by which to navigate. One step forward, then another. Swaying, she had to rely on an internal sense of balance in order to remain upright now. A third step, her foot striking something hard as she plunged forward. Cursing, she'd forgotten about the table until she'd tripped on it.

A strong arm caught her mid-fall, but with a chill she realized it was not the hard metal of any form she'd ever seen One in. Her hand reflexively went for her knife.

"Who's there?" she said, turning around out of futile habit.

"Me, Princess," said a sly, easy and familiar voice. "Everything okay?"

"Bishop!" Kyra felt herself sag with relief.

One walked back in out of the kitchen, head jerking upward as he saw Kyra wasn't alone. Vanguard, still the regal, white-clad humanoid form of Angewomon, and Bishop, the bipedal foxlike Renamon. Vanguard hung back in the doorway, while Bishop had apparently rushed forward to catch Kyra during an ill-advised attempt to follow One.

The Renamon took a step away as Kyra managed with more success to find the couch again, backing up to it but not sitting down. He looked to One for an explanation, the Commandramon suddenly but quite understandably feeling intensely uncomfortable.

Vanguard strode across the room, a smile on her features "It's good to see you again, Kyra." she said, pulling the surprised tamer into a tight, warm hug.

"You were only gone a couple of hours," Bishop muttered, raising an eyebrow, but his remark was eclipsed by Kyra's response as she loosely wrapped her arms around Vanguard's waist, subconsciously glad to have something familiar and warm so close, even if she couldn't see it.

"Wish I could say the same, fuzzball..." she muttered hoarsely.

As the shock began to register on the visible portion of Vanguard's face, One finally spoke. "She was blinded..."

"What!?" Bishop and Vanguard exclaimed in unison, both astonished.

"It was Lexi," Kyra growled, words hurting both mind and body now as she recounted the acts that had led to the humiliating state she was now in. "Kodi's perfect form, Kyuukimon. I fought him with my beast spirit, but he hit me in the face with one of his blades..."

Vanguard gave a soft gasp. "Oh, Kyra..."

"I spent half the journey back trying to scan her eyes," One said, carefully placing the glass of water in Kyra's hand. He sighed. "I can't even detect any damage."

"Maybe it's something freaky since it happened to her beast spirit?" said Bishop, not bothering to point out the obvious that One was no doctor. Figures he thought to himself Just when I want to come an apologize to Kyra for the mess I've caused... I bet wherever they ran across Lexi, they were out looking for me too, once Kyra was feeling better. This... is all my fault. If I shouldn't have run off before, I certainly should have *now*. But... my leaving won't bring Kyra's eyesight back. I can only hope it's temporary, or that Grace can find something One can't...

Kyra pulled away from Vanguard, sitting moodily on the couch and sipping from the glass of water. Even the cool liquid seemed to hurt her throat, but she knew it would make things better soon.

If only her body's other maladies were so easily remedied. But her sight, one of the most necessary senses to a human's immediate survival, was gone from her. She couldn't cross the room of her own home, led alone be expected to carry out the complexities of battle, ranging from reading an enemy's analysis to knowing the right card to slash. Weak and worthless. That's what she was now.

"I'm blind," she spat. "No good to any of you, Insomnia, or myself. I should just - "

"Kyra, please," Vanguard said, folding her wings close against her back, kneeling and resting a hand on Kyra's knee, the tamer flinching briefly from the unexpected contact. "You're safe now. We'll protect you, and find a way to help you."

Kyra began another angry outburst, but one of Vanguard's gloved fingers at her lips stopped her. "Shhh," the angel said soothingly. "C'mon, let's get you to bed. It's been a long day and I know you'll feel better once you've rested."

----

"Whew," said Vanguard, exhaling a sigh of relief as she scuttled into the first floor kitchen. One and Bishop were both present, the former stripping and cleaning his assault rifle, the later making new attempts to play Kyra's flute. "She's asleep now," the Dokunemon announced with weary happiness, crawling up the leg onto the table. "After I gave her some grape soda, she finally managed to settle down."

Bishop lowered the instrument, chuckling as he placed it down on the table. "Grape soda soothes the savage beast, eh?" He gave a smile, but it was brittle, for even masked behind business or jokes, all three were intensely worried for her.

"You poured it from that half-empty bottle in the refrigerator?" One asked, not looking up as he carefully brushed some sand off one of the many components set up on the table before him.

"Yes, why?" Vanguard said, not comprehending, pausing as she was about to bite into a muffin.

"I figured you were going to do that, so I laced it with sleeping pills." the Commandramon said casually.

"One!" scolded the Dokunemon, glaring lightning-bolts in more ways than one at him.

"What?" the cyborg said indifferently, apparently satisfied with the cleaning of his rifle and beginning the reassembly. "It got the job done."

Though the dank graveyard gave no sign to it, night slowly passed into morning. One and Bishop had slept in one of the neighboring rooms, while Vanguard cuddled close to the tamer herself. Only when the Dokunemon had finally grown so restless from sleeping she could hardly stand it, did One's surreptitious dose of sleeping pills finally lose hold on Kyra.

For a fleeting moment she believed it had just been a dream, that when her eyes opened she'd see the cozy interior of her bedroom. But only blackness greeted her. Stifling any panic however was the feeling of hard exoskeleton curled against her abdomen. "Fuzzball?"

"Here, Kyra," the familiar voice replied.

----

Bishop and One were waiting as the original duo arrived in the kitchen, Vanguard taking the form of Angewomon once again. No doubt she felt the human touch would be comforting to Kyra as she helped guide her to the kitchen with an arm around the shoulders. In fact, Vanguard had been somewhat glad at the angry outburst that came after the angel said she would carry Kyra to the kitchen. Blinded or not, she'd still do what she could.

Kyra's appetite seemed to have returned, for with one hand on the bowl and the other on the spoon, she busied herself eating at the far end of the table. Already she seemed to be getting a bit more accustomed, learning how to use her other senses to chase the cereal nuggets around in the milk.

While Kyra's focus was elsewhere, Vanguard and Bishop slipped out of the room, leaving One to keep an eye on Kyra.

"We should get her to Grace," the Angewomon said nervously, looking across the room to the golden fox adjacent to her.

"Forget it," he said, scowling mildly. "You heard about Lexi's reaction when she found out Kyra was a dark tamer? She attacked an opponent who had no intention of fighting her and only wanted to find us. If we run across other tamers like that, or if Grace herself..." he paused. "She could easily turn Kyra over, or kill her."

Vanguard grimaced at the suggestion, even as every memory of the kind nurse she held rallied against the notion. The one who'd gingerly tended her wounds in the past, even after they had become Insomnia's servants. "She's already been treated by Grace after becoming a dark tamer."

Bishop snorted. "Just because Russian Roulette didn't kill you once..." He sighed. "We should contact Insomnia. She should be able to help Kyra, right?"

The Renamon's suggestion sent cold tendrils twisting through Vanguard's insides. "Bishop..." she said slowly "When I was looking for you, I ran across a Digimon who warned that Insomnia is just using any tamer she recruits... and will kill them when they're not useful anymore." She couldn't help the feeling that Insomnia would sooner cast Kyra aside than use her power to help.

"Well, we have to do something." Bishop snapped.

"What are you two going on about?" Kyra's voice from behind them startled both. Turning around, they saw the teenage girl behind them, a hand on One's shoulder for guidance. Out of habit, her eyes drifted toward the sources of the voices she heard.

Vanguard and Bishop exchanged a tense glance, realizing the conspiracy-like appearance of what they were up to. The question now was, how much had Kyra already overheard? Could they even apply reasonable norms to it, after all, whether it was true or an urban legend, the remaining senses had a way of seeming sharper when one was lost.

The softest of tense exhalations from Bishop. The scraping whispers from her clothes as Vanguard shifted uncomfortably. Something was up with those two, and a tiny, thrilled spark flashed in Kyra as she deduced it. Maybe things weren't so hopeless after all. But the minute pleasure was gone, the tamer frowning as she awaited an answer. "Well?"

Vanguard gulped. As much as she wanted Kyra to see the awful truth behind Insomnia, she herself wanted a little more confirmation to it beyond the words of one wise wanderer. Still... "We were wondering if it was safe to take you to Grace or not."

"Doubtful," said One, apparently content in his role of helping Kyra steer her way about her residence, for he remained at her side. "I was able injure Lexi and one of her partners during the scuffle. They'll probably be in the infirmary as well, and if they know Kyra's status, it would be an ideal place to ambush us."

"They went down easy last time," said Bishop, folding his arms and leaning back slightly against the wall. "But we wouldn't have cards this time," he added quietly.

"If it comes to a battle," One said, claws on his recently-reassembled assault rifle, yellow eyes locked on Bishop "You'll have to stick with her, give her the cards she tells you to and protect her from the enemy."

"What!?" Bishop exclaimed, standing upright as his arms fell to his side, glaring at the Commandraon. "Why me?"

"You have the dexterity to do it, and you're the weakest of us, so we lose the least firepower."

"Excuse me!?" said Bishop, snarling at the statement, flexing his clawed fingers and taking a step forward in challenge.

"You heard me," One said flatly "Although we can spar over it later if you insist." he finished bluntly.

Vanguard was about to step in, but at that moment, Kyra interrupted the heating argument instead. "Speaking of," she said, looking out of habit in the general direction of Bishop's voice. "Bishop, how about a spar in the basement?"

"Huh?" The Renamon said blankly. "Against you? But - "

"But you're a few words away from some broken bones if you think I'm just going to roll over and die, or be stuck with you guys taking care of me like an infant." Kyra said heatedly "No attacks, no claws, no weapons... or are you afraid I'll beat you?"

Oh, Kyra... Vanguard thought, feeling her eyes start to tingle. Why couldn't she take it easy for a few days, or override Bishop and One to seek medical attention? What did she have to prove?

----

Refuse cleared from one of the chambers, Vanguard watching for the safety of both, the match between Kyra and Bishop began. The dank chamber, made of lopsided bricks, was one of several occupying the very dungeon that had been the first part of the mansion Kyra and Bishop came to know.

To the angel observing, it seemed as though Kyra might also be taking out some of her frustration out on this match.

It wasn't pretty at first. It was one thing for Kyra to hear Bishop coming, but it was far more difficult to ascertain the nature of his attack. High or low? Kick or punch? But even as her skin and muscles ached in numerous places, bruises no doubt in her future, she didn't surrender, for she was improving.

Bishop meanwhile had sustained relatively few blows, beyond a few moments he suspected Kyra had in fact allowed him to land a blow if only so she would know where to hit back. On one level he felt sick with himself for hurting her in the process of the match, but on another he was pleased so much more by the fact she continued seemingly undaunted.

But it was time to end the game, and as he circled around Kyra, the girl's hands raised cautiously in a defensive stance before her, he saw his chance. He jumped at her back, wrapping one arm around her chest just below the ribcage to try and pin her arms to her side, the other arm going around her neck.

Surprise fluttered from Kyra's lips, but just as Bishop chided "Gotcha!", Kyra executed a surprise move by throwing herself backwards. Slammed into the wall, winded, Bishop let go before finding Kyra's forearm pressed against his throat after she'd quickly spun around.

"Okay, Princess, you win," he said sheepishly. He'd underestimated her, believing the girl too fatigued and worn to continue to fight. If anything, after the initial shock, Kyra almost seemed more determined to show life just as she had Bishop, the final blow hadn't been dealt yet.

Exhaling, Kyra stepped back away from Bishop, hands on her knees as she doubled over in exhaustion. The Renamon was similarly worn, but a bit better at hiding it as he vanished upstairs, leaving Vanguard with the tamer.

Her hand on the wall, one of Vanguard's gloved palms on her shoulder, Kyra made her way upstairs without incident. As they headed up to the second floor where her room was, Vanguard spoke up again. "Are you sure you don't want to see Grace?"

"I do," Kyra said as they passed carefully through the doorway. "But One's right, we'd have to be careful. Plus, can she even help me?" she finished heavily, knowing neither had the answer.

"Well, well," Bishop said, greeting Kyra and Vanguard as the duo returned from the beach.

"Do I even want to know?" Vanguard asked, standing in the foyer, bearing the form of her adult form, Stingmon. Her crimson compound eyes gazed down upon the abnormally small, golden-furred form of Bishop. As Pokomon, he strongly resembled a squirrel, a small, slender quadruped with notable eyes and bushy tail.

"He lost," grunted a voice to the side, One, in his child form of Commandramon striding out of a side room. "And so did a few of the decrepit pieces of furniture stored in the basement." the cyborg explained grimly.

Vanguard's giggle was greeted by a soft snarl from Bishop. Kyra stepped around from behind the Stingmon's back, try as she might unable to shrug the insectoid warrior's clawed hand from her back.

"Meh, well," Bishop said, anatomically unable to blush. "I did fight Kyra earlier, remember that." He crawled up the leg of a table, waiting until Kyra and Vanguard passed by before leaping off and latching onto Kyra. One followed, and the four passed from the carpet of the foyer, into a hallway that gave way to the tile of the kitchen.

"Since I'm sure the plans have been simmering in your head all along," Kyra said, the blinded girl helped into the seat at the head of the kitchen table. "One, what have you got for the plan of getting to the clinic?"

There was a flash of light, Vanguard dropping onto the table just in front of Kyra as Dokunemon, while Bishop scrambled off his perch and joined her. One seated himself at the side of the table, slinging his rifle over his back.

"Apart from it being a bad idea?" the cyborg asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm guessing spirit evolving doesn't help?"

"No," Kyra said quietly, shaking her head as she leaned forward a bit on the table. She'd tried it riding the trailmon back to the graveyard. "Whether it's Witchmon or Lady Devimon." Her left hand habitually drifted to the knife holster at her waist. Just because she was starting to manage the frustration didn't mean it was gone altogether.

One nodded. "It might still come in handy. How many have seen your Witchmon form?"

Kyra frowned, rubbing her forehead in thought. "Not too many... and most of them aren't still alive."

"So we can use it as a disguise, huh?" said Bishop, catching on as he sauntered across the table, gnawing on some crackers.

"Mm," said One, nodding. "Still, four of us are going to be hard to miss. I'll go in stealth, scout the clinic, then keep an eye out while you two take her in for treatment."

Vanguard, meanwhile, slithered her way into Kyra's lap. Battle plans were clearly more One's purview than her own, and she couldn't help the feeling that all his plans would be totally unnecessary.

Despite the fact she'd never approved of the adornment, Kyra found her fingers rubbing against the pink ribbon tied between her first partner's feelers.

"Bishop," One continued, his hard yellow eyes tracking the Pokomon's wandering trek across the table, not unlike a stern teacher who knew full well his student's attention was elsewhere. "You'll have to take armor form. Shurimon's a better fit than Black Growmon."

"You seem to be putting an awful lot of emphasis on stealth," Kyra said, not heatedly, but curiously.

The Commandramon shrugged his armored shoulders. "If necessary, we can be ready to fight, but going in fully evolved would draw too much attention."

"Mmmm," Bishop drawled slowly, before yawning.

"Vanguard?" One asked, causing the Dokunemon to give a mild start.

"Yes?"

"You have stealth capabilities as well, don't you?" His question surprised both Kyra and Bishop, while causing Vanguard to feel hot embarrassment and curl into a tight ball.

"I-I..." she stammered "Don't like doing that." There was a reason she'd chosen to forsake that power. Using it just didn't feel right, not for the purposes those around her were likely to pressure her toward.

"But you don't like Kyra's situation either, do you?" One countered. "And," he continued before she could answer "Using that ability now will help us keep Kyra safe, and carry out our best chance of helping her."

Vanguard reluctantly nodded. A split second later, colors rippled and shifted across her exoskeleton, until she was barely visible. Only a rippling outline in Kyra's lap could be seen.

Only Bishop's gasp made Kyra realize what had happened. "Fuzzball?" Kyra asked, again running a hand over what registered as utterly invisible to One and Bishop. "Why didn't you -"

"Not now Kyra, please," Vanguard murmured, colors rippling again as she shed her camouflage. "Your plan, One?"

"You'll stick close to Kyra, but stay invisible. Bishop will take her in for treatment, and both of you will oversee treatment while I stand guard outside. If I get trouble, I'll give you the signal."

"Signal?" Bishop asked blankly.

One merely responded by tapping his claws against his assault rifle, a sound Kyra quickly recognized. "As useful as using her spirit form to disguise is, we can't evolve without her d-ban present." He sighed. "She'll have to stay normal while we move."

"We'll have to figure out a way to disguise her while I'm carrying her then," Bishop said, glancing over at the tamer.

"You mean I will," Vanguard said, scuttling up onto the table, glaring at the diminutive mammal.

"Right," One interjected. "Time to get ready. Bishop, stuff your face so you can evolve. Vanguard, Kyra," he nodded to the two, rising to his feet. "Thirty minutes." he departed.

Kyra scooped Vanguard into one arm, tempting fate as she ran one hand along the wall, following her touch, her memory, and the occasional tidbit of advice from her partner on how to safely navigate the path ahead.

----

"Nice work getting upstairs, Kyra," Vanguard murmured, a faint smile on her lips, once again in the form of Angewomon. Each time she took this form it grew progressively easier, and she found herself enjoying it more and more.

"It won't be necessary anymore if this works," Kyra replied, picking at her clothing. A change to a new outfit had also been part of the plan, things that Kyra herself might not chose to wear but which Vanguard picked out for her.

A blue jean jacket over a green tank top, camouflage pants, socks, and gray sneakers. It was completed as Vanguard untied the ribbon from her hair, binding it instead around Kyra's right bicep, in doing so passing on the item's protective properties.

At least I know she didn't try and give me a skirt Kyra thought, she could tell the shape and texture, though lacked any knowledge to the color.

Even as Kyra stood upright, Vanguard still towered over her. "Ready?" the angel asked, leaning closer, but then suddenly stopping herself. She instead rested a gloved hand on Kyra's shoulder, ready to guide her.

Kyra swallowed, features setting into a determined mask. Even with the handicaps set upon her, she was still determined to be ready for whatever speedbumps sought to bar their path. "Let's go."

It had once just been a still, oppressive, foggy silence. But standing in one of the upper rooms of her mansion, leaning on the railing of a balcony, Kyra found herself sensing so much more. The wind rasped over her ears, causing the trees dotting the area to audibly creak and sway. And the scents, a varied collage. So much it jumbled and tangled together, only a scant few of the many close to recognizable. She was no Bishop, the dark tamer knew that much.

Her hand brushed against her chest, feeling the optic nerve regenerator tucked in the pocket of her jacket. The device had yet to carry out its promised purpose, even though Kyra had no particular reason to not believe Grace.

But she wouldn't give up. She would find a way to persevere, even if the only benefit in the end was to have been one step ahead of the cruel chain of events called life.

----

"One?" came a soft voice, stirring the cyborg resting in the corner of the fire-light den.

"Yeah?" the Commandramon grunted, shifting in his seat to compensate for the fact that it had not been designed to accommodate a being with a large tail.

For all the grace and power she commanded, the female divine warrior striding into the room seemed quite hesitant and unsure of herself as she passed the threshold. She stood a short distance away, not seating in a chair as though she were intruding into One's personal dwelling and had to wait for an invite to sit.

"What-what did Lexi tell you..." but Vanguard broke off, her insides squirming terribly. How could something she knew she had to do feel so wrong?

"Enough," One grunted, his arms folding as his yellow eyes settled on Vanguard.

His stare certainly didn't ease her nerves, wings pulling tight against her body like a shielding cloak as they often did when she was upset. "You know what it means, don't you? The very tamer you died to protect is Kyra's target! She wants to kill him!" Vanguard made her impassioned pleas, hoping that someone would see things the way she did, an ally to save Kyra from Insomnia and her own darkness.

The cyborg was silent for a moment. "I made my choice." he said at last. "Whatever he may have been to me, I passed from that life. All actions have consequences. It's my own doing that brought Kyra and I together." But even though his words were dismissive, he knew what Vanguard said had brought him pause. He could say that now, not even remembering Zack's name, only having learned it 'again'. What would happen when the time came? Even he couldn't say for sure.

Even if he tried to think of it as another person and another life, he couldn't forget the facts he'd learned. If he acknowledged that duty as still valid to this One, it conflicted with his duty to Kyra... which was a problem.

Wrapped in thoughts, he didn't notice as Vanguard had finally seated herself, rather than on a chair, cross-legged on the floor, if nothing else, putting her just a bit below eye level between them. Her fingers interlaced nervously in her lap. While the Zack situation was a problem, it was merely a symptom of a larger one. It started and ended with Insomnia, the one who had ended Kyra's time as an ordinary tamer and sought to use the girl as a tool.

Kyra was lost more than ever, and Vanguard wasn't sure if she could trust either of her digital comrades to care for Kyra in the same way that she did. This wasn't how things were supposed to be, yet she feared what would happen if the partner she told in turn told Kyra.

For a horrible moment Vanguard imagined one of the obsidian gears Kyra so frequently summoned sailing forth, impeding itself in the back of her neck, and extending its vile tendrils into her core, the Angewomon becoming a puppet of destruction, pain, and death, a shadow of Kyra laughing maniacally as she pulled the strings.

Kyra with Insomnia as her mistress was no different, except she didn't realize yet how much control she still had. And the consequences were already evident, Lexi hadn't attacked until Kyra let it slip she was working for Insomnia. While Vanguard would never forget that, it was evidence of the trouble surrounding Insomnia, on top of what the Oracle of Frost had told her.

"What do you think Bishop's stance is on all this?" Vanguard asked, breaking the silence and drawing both from their respective mental bubbles.

One gave a dry chuckle. "Probably already planning a day trip to an orphanage, hoping that killing things will help cheer Kyra up."

His words caused Vanguard to wince, even though she knew such had often been the case. The angel no longer feared Kyra's bloodlust would blossom as she once had, but that still didn't make it right. Her heart tugged at her, she wanted badly to make sure Kyra's morale stayed up in the face of adversity, but how would she react to her pastime when she couldn't see it anymore?

And it didn't help that it just felt wrong to Vanguard to feel that way. Why was it necessary to take every negative emotion out on someone else so aggressively?

"Don't worry, Vanguard," One said gruffly, standing. "It'll make sense in the end." No sooner than the words left his mouth, than a familiar sound echoed through the mansion. The clarion notes of Kyra's flute. Vanguard and Bishop were all too familiar with it, and even One had heard it more than once as Kyra practiced. After all, playing from heart and mind, it was something that didn't require much in the way of eyesight.

----

Bishop too had heard the music, and soon all three of Kyra's partners were with her once more. The nimble Renamon was perched on the back of a chair near the window, while One leaned against the wall near the door, his M-16 hanging loosely before him off the shoulder strap.

Kyra sat cross-legged on her bed, feet encased in the boots she'd worn previously, but her camouflage pants and green tank top still those of Vanguard's choosing. Her fingerless gloves were back in place. The sliver of hope was gone from her arm but not altogether, instead tied covertly around her neck, hidden by the collar of the tank top.

The cloak of shadows lay on the bed behind her, its silky darkness easily lost in the sheets by sight, yet to Kyra's fingertips the textures were worlds apart.

"So, we're heading out, huh?" said Bishop, his trademark smile on his face. Kyra wasn't the only one getting restless, and even his exercising in the basement and surrounding areas had done little to vent his energy.

"Yeah," Kyra said. Her hand brushed against her waist, and sharp eyes would see that her knife too was back in place. Though she hadn't said it, Kyra was rather irked Vanguard had left the implement behind on the trip to the clinic.

"Kyra?" Vanguard asked quietly. "Can't you just... stay and rest until your eyes get better?" Even though she had the feeling she was asking fire to not burn, she had to try.

"You already know the answer to that, fuzzball," Kyra said with a faint smirk. "We've got what, about eight hours until my next... treatment?" she paused, finding the word out of place. Doctors' offices weren't a place she spent a lot of time in her youth.

"Six," Vanguard corrected gently after taking Kyra's wrist as delicately as possible so as to read the clock display in the corner of the d-ban's screen.

One seemed to share the mind of Bishop and Kyra, in his typical state of stoic readiness. "Where we headed?"

"Won't know until we get there," Kyra said with a frosty smile, picking something else up off the sheets with one hand. It was a strip of purple fabric a few feet long and a few inches wide, donned deftly like a blindfold by her gloved hands. It covered her icy blue, though currently-disabled, sight organs, before it was tied in a knot at the back of her head and hidden under her hair. "Not like I'm using them anyways," she said, her tone equal parts dark and dry. "And I never could stand sunglasses."

Bishop chuckled, his grin widening. Of all her partners, he shared her digicidal tendencies the most. Whether it was a wild digimon or a so-called innocent, it had been too long since he'd gotten the chance to tear one apart.

"Shall we?" One said, voice expressionless but his safety clicked off by a casual motion of his thumb claw. Whether it was Lexi or her ilk, or anyone else, he would protect Kyra. With his focus on the hear and now, he was almost able to push Zack out of his mind. Almost.

Fishing the cloak up, the tamer draped it around her shoulders, fastening it in place. Then bracing her hands, Kyra pushed forward and vaulted off the bed onto her feet. Double-checking that her cards were in place, in her pocket, she was ready to go.

"Kyra - " Vanguard began softly, but Kyra interrupted her.

"I know it won't be easy," Kyra said, taking a few booted steps toward the sound of the voice. "I remember all the bruises and derisive smirks I got when I started in karate. But I didn't let the bumps stop me, and I was eventually one of the best." Reaching out with deliberate caution, she slowly moved her hand through the air until it fell on Vanguard's waist.

Yet as she delivered the gentle touch, Kyra was reaching out just below the height of her head. For a brief moment she was far away in a happier place and time, with her mother and sister on two weeks of vacation. It was one of the rare times she felt like her mother had truly cared about her...

She shook it off after a moment, but not before Vanguard noticed the change in the girl's demeanor.

"Right, right," Bishop said a bit more loudly than was necessary. "Let's quit talking and get moving, nkay?" Maybe he disapproved of the mushy moment, or perhaps, though he would sooner kill the inquirer than admit it, he was jealous of the deeper bond between the original duo.

The fog grew thicker, and the sun mysteriously faded. Instead the full moon gleamed in the night sky, the nocturne reigning over that section of the graveyard.

Dead and sickly trees were scattered to both sides of the path, with the occasional root protruding dangerously from the surface. Vanguard gritted her teeth as she again had to steer Kyra away from yet another gnarled obstacle. Soon enough they'd be home, she reminded herself. In the safe abode where Kyra was at least vaguely familiar enough by memory with the rooms to navigate without the angel acting like an overprotective mother.

"This place is a good home," Kyra murmured, still feeling Kyoko hanging off her hand. "No uninvited company. I haven't seen anyone else out here since I killed the former owner and took the place over." She was tensing again, friend or not even Vanguard wasn't this clingy, and it didn't agree with Kyra.

The fog made it nigh-impossible to see more than a few meters, but Vanguard took the right fork near a familiar dead, burnt tree, and knew they were only a short distance from the mansion know.

What she didn't know was that One was watching them. Company, eh? the cyborg thought to himself, using his active camouflage, even though it was hardly necessary. His artificial optics were less effected by the fog, but even the lone tombstone he stood by was barely visible from the path the three walked along. I wonder who that girl is... seems out of character for Kyra to bring company here. Maybe there's more to that other girl than meets the eye. He frowned, taking his M-16 in both hands.

Kyoko had seemed to be the most relaxed on the voyage to the grave yard and now walked with Kyra in hand, tugging her out of obstacles way when necessary too. She kept her own mismatched eyes glued onto the the thick fog and her ears trained to listen for any sound that might have been muffled by the thick blanket of moisture the graveyard provided.

"Must be nice, Kyra-chan,"she said softly,"to live out here where no one can bother you. It would be nicer if there was a bit more sunlight though."

Since they'd entered the place, the little bunny couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched from the back of her mind. It could just be from all the dense cover that was starting to make her paranoid but at any rate, not being able to see far in front of her was not making her feel any calmer about the idea. Perhaps this is how Kyra felt in her current situation: annoyed and paranoid.

Then again, Kyra seemed paranoid before. She always carried around a pocket knife and seemed rather keen to gut anyone who came too close...

"Its not too much farther, is it, Vanguard-san?"she asked.

"It's always night here," Kyra said, corners of her lips twitching into a slightly smirky smile. "It played hell with my equilibrium for awhile, I was used to sleeping in the city apartments for awhile."

The frequent swaying motion helped ease it, but Kyra's arm seemed to be getting sore. Or maybe it was just in her head, a head growing less content now that she had two people moving her around any obstacle, even though her balance was adapting. For a brief moment it was too much and she wanted to push both of them away, but that was interrupted.

"Yeah," Vanguard answered Kyoko. "We're here." Sure enough, the mist seemed to instinctively thin just a bit for dramatic effect. The path went from worn dirt and scattered stones to a full spread of stone, and the mansion loomed out of the darkness before them.

Several lights were on, while many other windows lay dim and gray in the darkness. The path led them straight toward the front door, but a sound behind them stopped Vanguard.

The unmistakable clicking sound of a large gun being primed. Spinning, surprised, Vanguard saw the stocky cybernetic saurian form of Commandramon appearing behind them on the path. There was no cover in sight, but that didn't matter to one with abilities like his.

"Kyra?" he asked simply, yellow eyes on the tamer, assault rifle pointed to the side but in a ready position.

Kyra spun toward the sound of his voice, though her other hand didn't break from Kyoko. "It's okay, One," she said quickly, holding out her free hand toward him, even though her facing was a bit off.

Another click as the safety of the firearm went back on, but the Commandramon didn't speak and still watched the bunny-hatted brunette rather skeptically.

"Kyoko, this is One, newest of my three partners." Kyra explained, gloved hand falling to her side. "One, this is Kyoko. She's another of Insomnia's tamers, she's here as an assistant."

Vanguard's curtain of blond hair shifted as she looked around. I wonder where Bishop is. Despite his recent improvements, she was still concerned for him. He'd been through a lot lately, and the angel wouldn't have been surprised if he was beating himself up over being the only partner unable to reach Perfect. Assuming of course One was still able. He'd done it with Zack, but had yet to transform past Sealsdramon since being reborn. It was just like the Renamon to be silly that way...

"I've heard of One-san,"Kyoko said with a smile, glancing to Kyra,"It was a bit of a must. You know that, Kyra-chan." She left it at that, knowing digimon memory after death was a little shakey. It was dangerous to mention his previous life.

Should the need arise, I'll have to get rid of One. He could become... dangerous... For now he'll be closely monitored.

She swayed before looking back over her shoulder at the large mansion. Her train of thought seemed to be following along the same one as Vanguard's. Where was the second partner of Kyra Evans? Her heterochromatic eyes twitched over the rather large mansion, searching for the speck of gold that would be the renamon.

Her search would be in vain and instead she turned her attention to getting inside. She glanced at her D-ban's time, having long already stowed the headphones away and turned off the music. While it stayed night at the graveyard, it was growing close to matching the time of day for everywhere else too.

"Ne, time to go in and find some food,"she said softly,"I haven't had lunch and its already three in the afternoon." Her smile broadened wider, eying One's gun. "Is there any other weaponry I should know about, One-san?"she asked,"It would be difficult to explain to Onee-sama why I looked like cheese."

She couldn't help a giggle at the idea of that.

Kyra shrugged. Yes, in afterthought, it did make sense for Kyoko to know One. "Still, introductions. He doesn't know you."

The silence and stillness of the mansion was a relief compared to the din of the city. As background noise it was easy enough to tune out, but it was on the verge of causing a pounding headache when sound had been most of what she had to focus on.

On the plus side, eating lunch would probably finally detach the leech from Kyra's hand. Of course, if she'd managed to operate the headphones and then later store them with both hands largely occupied, Kyra wouldn't put it past Kyoko to want to eat while holding her hand to. Were that the case, however, that would be the end of that, and the sixteen year-old would have to put her foot down.

One gave a grunt-like noise, slinging his assault rifle back over his shoulder and joining the group heading up toward the mansion. His yellow eyes fixed on Vanguard, recalling their conversation from earlier about the Dark Lady. He knew she couldn't be happy with one of Insomnia's tamers lurking about. Probably suspecting her of being a spy or assassin, he thought with a smirk.

"Oh, no," he said in one of his mischievous moments. "Beyond the pop-up gun turrets I built here and there while you three were off tromping around, nothing to worry about." His tone left it quite ambiguous whether he was joking or not. Just another example of his direct and pragmatistic personality getting twisted by a sense of humor.

As they ascended the steps at the front of the place, Vanguard stepped ahead of the group and pushed one of the rich, wood-paneled entrance doors open.

Kyra took a deep breath as they passed the threshold. It smelled like... home. Not any place she'd known, but just a place she was familiar, comfortable with. Even in her condition, she was safe here. More or less.

"Lunch?" Vanguard said, looking to Kyoko. "Kitchen's this way," she pointed across the foyer and down a hallway. One had disappeared again in some form or another, but the three arrived in the kitchen soon enough.

Contrary to her earlier calmness, Kyra felt a sudden throb in her abdomen. It felt strange to have company after all this time, rather unexpected too. Oh well, not like she was the type to race around neurotically cleaning every inch of the place when she was expecting company.

Vanguard looked around the average-sized kitchen, a bit small compared to the rest of the place. But the walls were lined with cabinets, and a rather sizable refrigerator dominated the far wall, opposite a table. There'd be a variety of food to satisfy any appetite.

Her unseen gaze fell back upon the meeting of Kyra and Kyoko's hands. While it was still not mutual, it irked her that the Japanese tamer would just show up and make herself comfortable like this.

Kyoko's hand finally released Kyra's, probably to both of the other female's relief. She placed her bag down against on of the counters, keeping it pushed out of Kyra's way, before starting to ferret about the fridge. Noticeably, she'd taken her shoes off before walking about the kitchen, having had the briefest of pauses at the door to slip the flip flops of. Her bare feet wiggled on the cool tile and she felt a small bit of contentment at having them free. The shoes weren't her good sandals and had started to rub a blister between her big toe and her second toe.

Settling on a sandwhich for lunch she glanced back at the other girl, thoughtful for a second. "Kyra-chan, do you want me to make you a sandwhich too?"she asked, picking up the package of sliced turkey breast and putting it on the counter. Mayo, mustard and ketchup soon joined it along with a loaf of white bread.

Plucking two slices from the loaf she began to pile on the meat and condiments, topping it off with the last slice. She took a healthy bite out of the sandwhich, taking care not to send the toppings everywhere.

It felt good to finally eat something, even if it wasn't necessarily her favorite meal. Food was food; no sense in pickiness. She nudged the fridge door closed with the back of her heel gently, listening to the clink of various glass jars and the the click of the door locking closed once more.

While she ate, she looked the small cooking area over and decided, quite quickly, it worked for someone who generally didn't have visiters. Hopefully it wouldn't get too crowded in here now that the little bunny was there. Kyoko preferred to eat as often as possible.

The flop of Kyoko's steps was gone, but Kyra could still hear her routing about the kitchen. They'd probably need to make a food run before too much longer. It was one of the downsides of living in the middle of nowhere. If you needed to buy it, you had to travel.

Kyra was glad to have her hand back, to say the least. What was with this girl? She didn't seem that young, the constant contact had given Kyra a rough feeling for Kyoko's size. No mere kid should have been that tall, yet she was incredibly touchy-feely like one. Unless... Kyra grimaced at the thought.

"Feeling better?" Vanguard asked. When Kyra made a general noise of affirmative, Vanguard guided her toward the table. "Want something to eat?"

Kyra found the chair with a slow swing of her arm, then braced her other hand against the table edge and carefully lowered herself into it. It wouldn't do to half-miss it and wind up the floor.

But she settled into the chair, prying off her blue jean jacket and draping it over the chair behind her. "Sure," Kyra said to Kyoko, then hesitating. It hadn't been her way, and hadn't really been possible to be like this for awhile. If Kyra wanted a sandwich, she made one herself. But that wasn't really an option right now. "Ham, cheese, mayo... please." Not a word one often needed when they did things for themselves.

Out of pure boredom, Kyra drew her flute from her pocket. Just having learned to play it in the first place, she had to re-learn in face of her injury. Her fingers settling on the keys, she put it to her lips and blew softly, drawing out slow, single, and somewhat clumsy notes in a melody.

Vanguard bit her lip, before pulling a banana out of the fruit bowl on the counter. Normally it might be time to devolve and relax, but that was debatable at best in Kyra's condition, out of the question with a strange tamer now in their midst.

She peeled and began eating the fruit, leaning on the counter and facing the foggy night beyond the window over the sink. In reality, however, her gaze kept flickering between Kyra and Kyoko.

Kyoko mumbled an affirmative before taking another bite out of her turkey sandwich. She looked around the small kitchen before locating a paper towel roll. Tugging one free, she placed her sandwich onto it and started in on Kyra's. She grabbed another paper towel to make it on and began the process of hunting down the cheese and the ham. It didn't take long before the chibi usagi had piled the dairy and meat piled on the white bread.

The second piece of bread was being pampered with white mayo and placed on the very tippy top. She grinned before picking the paper towel and carrying it over to the other dark haired girl. It was placed with great care before Kyra. "Its right in between your hands, Kyra-chan,"she said happily,"Only a couple of inches off center."

Her expression could only be described as the pointy eyed anime one made by internet users. Or more specifically, this one: ^-^

The Asian girl retreated back to her sandwich, grabbing up the items she'd pulled out. After returning them to their original residence, she started back on her sandwich with a happy noise, finishing it quickly enough. Hoisting herself up onto the counter, she went back to kicking her legs back and forth, her heels bumping against the cabinet doors.

A few crumbs clung to her lips and she gave them a quick sweep of her tongue to clear them. There were other things she wouldn't mind sweeping that tongue over but that was for another day and another time.

"Kyra-chan, are we what you'd call friends?"

The question was a bit out of the blue but everything about Kyoko was a bit out of the blue.

Kyra ceased fiddling with her flute as Kyoko spoke to her, the teen sounding quite bright and cheerful. Pocketing it, she reached out carefully and found the sandwich. Taking it in her hands, she took a large but dignified bite. It was one of those moments that one didn't realize how hungry they were until food was in front of them. Grape soda had filled her belly a bit, but the sugary drink wasn't anything like sustaining.

Munching on her banana, Vanguard found herself smiling as Kyoko did. There was something very happy, very genuine about that smile, and with that expression some of Vanguard's concerns were laid to rest. That wasn't the look of someone who sought to harm the one before her.

Fortunately for Kyra, Kyoko's question had just come as the black-haired girl had taken a large bite of her sandwich. Despite her coarse nature, she agreed with the sentiment of not talking with food in one's mouth.

"Well," she said at last, after her tongue had scooped up a resistant shred of ham from against her teeth and cast it toward her throat to be swallowed. "Close enough, I suppose," Kyra said airily. "We're already on the same side as it is, and now you'll be living here." She paused, eating the last bit of her sandwich. "Just don't go the route of our last friend" She was referring, of course, to the same tamer/Digimon duo that had ditched them prior, thus leading to this crossing of paths in the first place.

"Of course not,"Kyoko said, holding her leg up to look at her foot. She spread her toes and flexed her foot out of boredom. Iti, ni, son, si, go... The numbers rang through her head as she counted her tose before she lowered her foot and grinned.

"Kyra-chan, friends call each other nicknames,"she said,"Since we are friends, can I call you Momo Jiri?" The question seemed innocent enough and the name equally so to those who didn't know Kyoko's native tongue. To those who did though, they flushed in embarrassment.

The girl seemed to have no shame in taking advantage of Kyra and her partner's naivety to her language, seeing as she was so blatantly willing to call Kyra "Peach Ass" to her face without worrying about the girl figuring it out too soon. She didn't think about nor care if Vanguard looked it up. She'd simply say there was an alternate meaning to the name and that she'd never disrespect a "friend" like that.

"Please, Kyra-chan?"

One of Kyra's dark eyebrows popped above her blindfold at Kyoko's question. It was another drop in the Odd Bucket where the little bunny was concerned, but she was ultimately harmless, right?

There seemed to be something off on another level with her tone. Like a single thread of a different color stitched into an otherwise solid tapestry. Bishop had never asked to call her Princess, he just had from the start. But what was odd, she couldn't quite place it.

"That's..." Kyra paused, never having studied much in the way of foreign languages. "What language? And what does it mean?" She leaned back, cleaning a bit of bread stuck to her teeth. The teen paused, shrugging. "Well, long as it's not something corny."

Vanguard calmly watched Kyoko as she finished off her banana. It didn't exactly build trust that Kyoko so often lapsed into her native tongue, just often enough to obscure the meaning of her words. The angel would have to have a word with her if that kept up. What friend would speak such as to hide her real meaning?

Then she gripped the empty peel, striding easily across the room. She picked up the paper towel from Kyra's sandwhich. "Do you want anything to drink, Kyra?" She nearly had to bite her tongue to stop herself from adding 'chan', even though the meaning would have been quite natural for her.

"No, I'm good," Kyra said, leaning back in her chair and waiting for Kyoko's answer.

Vanguard dropped the refuse into the garbage can, while likewise keeping an ear out for what Kyoko had to say.

"Its Japanese,"Kyoko said soothingly,"It just means good friend." She smiled, closing her eyes to hide the glitter of uncontrollable glee. Opening them again only once she was sure she had herself under control, she slid off the counter top, her feet making a slapping noise as they hit the tile.

The Japanese girl wandered towards the kitchen's archway and looked about outside, mildly eager to get the tour of the large home on the road. While thirteen, she still had childish fantasies about finding secret passages in new places and would take any chance she'd get to poke around for them. Particularly for those that lead to Kyra's room.

"Momo Jiri, how much of this house have you explored?"she said, slightly excited. She couldn't remember ever getting many chances to run around huge mansions like this. Imagine how much fun getting lost could be in a place like this. Maybe the rooms would move around or the halls decide to swap up...

Or maybe her imagination was getting the better of her.

"Yeah, corny," Kyra muttered with a shrug. She reached down, hand sliding naturally between the bottom hem of her tank top and the waistline of her jeans. From a slight bulge along her hip and side she drew the handle of her knife, running a thumb gingerly along the edge of the blade. Still sharp. Haven't had to use it.

She heard Kyoko walk across the kitchen, then speak. Kyra herself rose, keeping her hands on the chair back, her jacket left for the moment. She slid her knife back down into the sheath, but the handle still poked out from under the jade-green tank-top.

"We only use part of it," Kyra admitted "But we checked over the whole place to make sure there wasn't anything living in it. Why do you ask?" She turned around, leaning against the chair back and facing Kyoko. "We mostly use the first floor, second floor, and sometimes the basement, but there's two more floors above that."

After throwing out the rubbish, Vanguard retrieved a glass from the cabinet. Simple water was enough for her, a crisp, cool drink from the sink.

Turning back to the two teenage tamers, she decided her foremost priority should have been finding Bishop. Surely Kyoko wouldn't cause that much trouble in ten minutes.

"Its very big for just one person and her three digimon,"Kyoko said before grinning,"I was just asking because I always liked old houses. Never really been in one though..." She swayed back and forth from her toes to her heels before turning to look at Kyra.

The other girl had taken a standing position and slowly Kyoko made her way back to Kyra's side, grinning. "Can we explore the mansion a bit later?"she asked,"Or could I do so by myself... either way." Her hand sought Kyra's wrist, ready to help should she have to.

"First we have to pick my room and get me acquainted with the lay out of your home,"she said,"Afterall, I'll have to help you to and from the different rooms. That's difficult if I don't even know where everything is." She snagged her bag with her other hand, the panda back pack having never left the comfort of its owner's shoulders. It wasn't necessary to take it off so the Japanese girl hadn't bothered.

The shopping bag swayed from her hand.

((Finally, writer-san managed to get this post up.))

The Angewomon finished her drink, depositing it upside-down in the rack nestled in the second half of the sink. Vanguard's gaze passed over the small pile of dishes near the counter. Much of their food came from pre-packaged sources, or simply didn't need fancy mealware, such as Kyoko's use of paper towels for the sandwiches.

She had no idea whether Kyra would be willing to do the dishes in ordinary circumstances, more than once Vanguard had wondered if all tamers were so tight-lipped about how things had been on Earth.

Well, the dishes would have to wait, there was still the matter of Bishop. Not a glint of gold nor any whisper of sound that would betray his presence. She knew for all his talents he couldn't really make himself invisible, but she had to agree with what the Oracle of Frost had told her. Renamon in general were exasperating indeed when they felt like being evasive. At least this time she could hope she had one mansion as opposed to an entire chunk of the Digital World to search.

"Kyra?" Vanguard asked gently, taking a few steps toward the tamer. Her wings folded against her back, her hand and fingers drumming the peach-colored flesh of an exposed hip in time with a song lingering in her mind.

"Yeah, fuzzball?" Kyra asked lightly. No sooner than the words were out of her mouth however than she felt Kyoko's touch at her wrist. She'd heard the bare feet padding across the floor, but it was still enough to cause the slightest of involuntary shivers to wrack the dark tamer's tall form.

"Bishop hasn't shown since we got back," Vanguard said, her tone slightly worried. "Will you... is it alright if I go look for him?" She wasn't sure how to phrase the question, she was as much asking if Kyra was comfortable alone with her manic counterpart as anything else. She had little way of guessing and had not yet had the privacy to ask what Kyra thought of her new assistant. All she had was the subtle feeling that Kyoko was asking for it if she kept grabbing onto Kyra, there was a reason Vanguard had done her seeing-eye Angel bit with such care.

Kyra nodded, a lock of smooth black hair falling into her face as she did so. The tamer tucked it back behind her ear with her free hand and said "Sure, go for it. I at least know the areas we frequent well enough, it should be alright." Wasn't there a metaphor about the blind leading the blind? Still, she was right.

Vanguard nodded and slipped out another doorway, her first intention to check the basements Bishop seemed to enjoy sulking about so much. Just before she passed out of sight through the other doorway, she cast a final glance at Kyoko as though to say And it better be alright.

"Right," said Kyra, rubbing the exposed tips of a thumb and forefinger together. "I appreciate that you're here to help me, Kyoko. But, blind or otherwise, I'm not helpless," the teenage girl began. Not nearly as well off as I was before she admitted to herself."I might need a partner's help to get me around a city I don't frequent, but this is my own home. I don't need your help getting to the bathroom or things like that, alright?" It wasn't her intention to cause any trouble, she just wanted to make sure a few things were clear before she found Kyoko as undetachable as her d-ban.

"Hai!"

Kyoko rocked on her heels impatiently, her toes wiggling, wiggling in anticipation. She seemed to catch the hint though and released Kyra's wrist. Or perhaps it was more like something out of the kitchen caught her eye. She darted out of the kitchen, feet slapping the floor noisily. There was no point in being stealthy here, particularly not when trust was a necessity.

She reached the stairs and grabbed the banister, looking up at the with pure glee. There was something to be said about stairs that excited most children. Maybe it was thoughts of sliding down the banister or bouncing balls down them to listen to the crash of an expensive object. Or maybe it was just the thrill of charging up them.

With Kyoko, it seemed more likely to be the latter. Something about sitting still just didn't appeal to her bubbly and excitable nature. Winding stair cases were definitely a good thing to have. If she tired herself out running up and down them, then perhaps Kyra and Vanguard would get a quite moment to better access her.

Hopping(and I do mean hopping) onto the first step she spun and looked back the way she came. "Momo Jiri, I'm at the stairs,"she called back grinning,"You know the way to them, right?"

The little bunny certainly hoped so, considering she was saying she didn't need help around the large house.

"Darn it," muttered Vanguard as she peered through the gloom in the basement. Had she real eyes, she'd have been squinting them to try and pierce the veil of darkness.

"Bishop, are you down here?" she called out, looking around, moving carefully into the main chamber. She suppressed a shiver as her eyes passed over the chains and manacles dangling from the walls.

"Tag," said a cocky voice, and a three-fingered hand brushed against her leg. Where there had previously been naught save perhaps the sound of gurgling pipes, the Renamon had ghosted up to his partner.

Despite herself, Vanguard jumped slightly at the unexpected touch. "Bishop!" she hissed, experiencing the digital equivalent of a pounding heart and frazzled nerves as many might from being snuck up on.

Whirling around, she bent to face the Renamon, equal parts annoyed and relieved.

"We've got company, eh?" Bishop said, the brow of an azure eye rising as he already knew the answer.

"Uh huh," answered Vanguard. Even though it had nothing to do with the matter at hand, she found it odd how often she had to keep stooping down to address her fellow partners eye-to-eye, the rest of them comfortable in their Child forms. Well, Vanguard had eventually grown attached the wonders of a humanoid body, including their dexterous hands. "A tamer who works for Insomnia, she's here as Kyra's assistant, I guess until her eyesight gets better."

"I see," Bishop said slowly, stepping away from the Angewomon. As her senses adapted to the gloom, she saw his dim form walking toward the metallic restraints dangling from the walls. "You're worried," he said, stating the obvious.

Vanguard briefly chewed her lip, considering her words. "I don't think that Kyoko girl wants to hurt Kyra," she said, recalling the exultant expression on the Japanese teen's face as she helped Kyra in the kitchen. "But I..." she trailed off and shook her head, curtain of blond hair wavering in the darkness. "I don't know how to describe it, but it doesn't feel right to have her around."

----

Kyra's cloak and jacket were discarded in the kitchen, it was uncertain when she'd leave again, and in the back of her mind she wondered whether Kyoko would attempt to prevent it. It was a moment's effort to cross the kitchen, boots resonating on the tile floor as she sought her way across open floor to the doorway.

Taking another step forward, Kyra's boot found the door frame before she could collide with it herself. Stepping out of the room, her hand traced along the wall, guiding her onward. She projected before herself the image of what she knew the corridor to look like, and guessed she was nearly to the stairs, the nearer set adjacent to the kitchen.

"Momo Jiri, I'm at the stairs, You know the way to them, right?"

"Naturally," said Kyra, hearing the voice from feet away. She reached out, and after a moment her hand found the banister of the railing. Her fingers briefly probed the surface, the finely-detailed woodwork of the outer railing.

She started cautiously up the stairs, uncertain where precisely where Kyoko was on them. "Barefoot?" Kyra asked as she moved slowly up the steps, remembering the altered sounds of Kyoko's steps in the kitchen. "Might not be a bad idea for me, actually." She thought of the boots and greaves encasing her legs. It might not be much, and could lead to stubbed toes, but maybe the extra sensory input of the exposed skin could be helpful. She'd have to try that, around here at least.

The stairs gently curved around, until it deposited them at a T-intersection at the second floor, with corridor leading off to the left and the right. The previously tidy and decorative decor of the place growing dusty as the team spent little time around the place to clean it. Kyra pictured such in her mind, then pointed carefully to her right. "My room is that way."

Kyoko smiled as Kyra began the ascent up the stairs before quickly following after her like some loyal spaniel. Had she truly been one, her tail would have been thumping and her chops pulled back into a charming grin. As she wasn't one, however, a simple smile (that went unseen by the receiver) and a hop in her step was the only evidence of her excitement and happiness.

When they reached the second floor, her heterochromatic eyes darted around, eying the dust and how untouched everything seemed to be up on this level. The little bunny had assumed that they'd at least would have started hovering around the home more. With Kyra's condition, travel was not the safest nor easiest thing task to accomplish.

"My room is that way."

Kyoko's eyes ghosted back to Kyra before following the point of her finger to the aforementioned door. A bubble of excitement popped in her stomach and it was all she could do to contain a small squeal and giggle. Of course, she managed but it was difficult. Instead she grinned excitedly, quickly memorizing the rooms location for future... visits.

"I see,"she said with a slow nod,"What are the rest of the rooms for, Momo Jiri? If they're all bedrooms too, I could pick one close to you."

Her gaze danced away again, looking over the doors each in turn. One of these could be her new home for a short while... Or a long while, depending on how well things went. Her smile turned wicked and stayed that way. No one could see it, afterall.

“There are several other bedrooms on this floor,” replied Kyra, various images of the mansion dancing through her head. “There’s a dining hall that way,” she jerked her raven-haired head down the other hallway. “And there’s a library/study on the other side of the wall just ahead of… me.” She’d nearly said us, but on the comparatively quiet carpet the elder of the two dark tamers had more trouble keeping track of the general location of her junior.

Hand reaching out carefully until she found the wall, Kyra followed it down the hallway toward her bedroom. Doors lined both sides of it, and where it bent at the end a large window looked out. Again, she mentally kept track where she currently couldn’t visually. First gap in the wall, door to an empty bedroom. Forward to the wall, then second gap, the door to her bedroom. “That one’s an empty bedroom,” she pointed back. “And that,” she said, pointing forward to the next door. “Is where Bishop sleeps, One as well on the occasions he feels like using a bed.” The Commandramon could be an odd one, but it was more eccentric or odd than crazy. He might have a different perspective, but everything had its reasons to him.

“There’s a bathroom along that wall, I don’t remember where but I’m sure you can see it fine. My room has one off the side.” Pointing along the opposite wall, Kyra was only marginally successful in keeping the bitterness from her voice, for obvious reasons.

Reaching out, Kyra found and turned the knob, pushing the wood-paneled door to her room wide open. “And this one is mine,” The room was large but not extravagant, a queen-sized bed dominating one wall. Large curtain-framed windows were set into another, showing only the foggy night of the graveyard. It had all the comforts of a bedroom and a few of a more communal room, aforementioned bed, nightstand, a desk, a couch and two chairs, and the bathroom off on the side of the room. Golden illumination from several lamps helped keep the place moderately bright despite the outside conditions.

Kyoko followed Kyra into the bedroom and looked it up and down. Her eyes first fell on the queen bed which she had to resist pouncing on. Queen sized beds were always fun and roomy and the fact that she'd spent a lot of her time sleeping on twin sized beds didn't help matters.

A twinge of pain echoed between her eyes before it radiated to the rest of her skull. It passed quickly but when it did it was hard to remember what she'd been thinking about before. Deciding not to worry about it to much she turned to Kyra and smiled, though it was strained. The pain was a lingering memory.

"I'll take the bedroom next to yours, Momo Jiri,"she said softly,"That way, I can come to your aid even in the middle of the night."

She swayed on her heels, taking a moment to reassure herself that the headache hadn't affected her balance before, moving towards the door. "I'm going to go ahead and set up my room next door,"she said before shuffling out. The door before Kyra's opened and she was grateful it didn't creak when she attempted to open it. That would make sneaking out so much more difficult.

It was an average guest room. Twin bed along the wall opposite the door, a wardrobe to the right, and small vanity to the left. A window with thin, flutter curtains held its vigil just over and to the right of the head of the bed. The curtains stark paleness looked ghostly against the dark outside of the graveyard.

The Japanese girl hm'ed before dropping her shopping bag by the door and walking into the middle of the room. She tugged the panda back pack off and it quickly became more identifiable as a pandamon. Quickly, she unzipped its mouth and began pulling things out to make the room more personal. She also put away her clothes, stowing them in the drawers under the wardrobe doors.

A hair brush and hand held mirror made it to the vanity's top, though she though her mirror rather useless. The vanity itself had its own mirror, ornately framed with some type of deep red wood. The little bunny didn't make it her profession to know what kind of wood; sorry, but she just didn't care.

A bag, small and pink and printed with a variety of small kanji words, was also stashed away, though it went into one of the vanity's many drawers. A sly, devilish little smile quirked her face at the known contents before she closed it.

A pair of plushies made it to the bed, propped against her pillow. One was a twelve inch, cutely evil looking plushie of the sleeplessness herself, complete with red eyes. The other plush was smaller and less sinister. It was a floppy lopmon plushie that only stood at maybe eight inches.

The last thing to take refuge from prying eyes was the neko suit, which was hung behind the wardrobe's doors. Looking around the room, she still felt it was a little impersonal but with time she'd add things to make it feel more homey...

Satisfied for now, though, she turned and left, happy to return to Kyra's side.

"Kyra-chan, I'm settled in,"she called happily.

It was a strange thing, Kyra thought, daring to allow her mind to wander as she carefully made her way across her room. That way, I can come to your aid even in the middle of the night. Kyra Evans was not the type for that sort of thing. Help, at times even proper friendship, hadn't been available, so she learned to make do. Her partners were treated as best her heart could manage as her equals. Kyoko seemed perfectly comfortable in being mildly subservient to her, and admitting her purpose there was as an assistant. At least the younger girl seemed to be enjoying herself.

Grimacing, Kyra bit back a curse as her booted foot collided with a corner of the couch. So it was tough to walk in a completely straight line without much reference. At least now she was close to be the bed, and soon enough found it when her leg brushed into something broad and squishy.

Seating herself on the bed, Kyra briefly paused to listen to Kyoko, but found there wasn't much to listen to. Then again, what could she have been expecting to hear at this distance?

The first thing to go was the sliver of hope. Even if it was a protective gift from Vanguard, whether she could see it now or not, pink was pink. If she wasn't safe here she wasn't safe anywhere, so the soft ribbon was unknotted and removed from its hiding place below her tank top's collar. After finding it with a toe, she carefully laid the ribbon on the bedside table.

Reaching down, Kyra's hands fumbled for the straps on her boots, slowly undoing them. Of course, that's the problem, isn't it? she thought, scowling slightly. She doesn't waste much time in shepherding me back home, but what am I supposed to do?

Her restlessness persisted whether she was in good health or not. Normally that itch was scratched by adventuring, but that wasn't much of an option now.

"Ah, good," she replied absentmindedly as she heard Kyoko's voice returning. "No Pico Devimon hiding in the hamper, I take it?" Why she made a stab at a joke, she didn't know. Kyra just found the words rolling off her tongue before she cared to stop them.

---

"I wish I knew what was going through that girl's head," Vanguard mumbled, ascending the stairs out of the basement with Bishop trailing close behind.
"Who, Kyra, or Kyoko?"
The question brought a brief blush to the Angewomon's cheeks, but it was hidden to the Renamon striding behind her. Either would work, really. "I meant Kyoko," she answered truthfully, but she would have been enamored with the possibility of the alternative. Vanguard chose her next words with some care "I guess I'm not sure whether she considers herself a servant, or a caretaker," she said slowly.

Bishop nodded, making a noise of affirmative as they emerged into a hallway on the opposite side of the mansion. "The difference between just following Kyra around, and trying to make sure she stays here?"

"Uh-huh," Vanguard nodded, gazing at a portrait of a Mystimon hanging on the wall nearby. "Kyra's safe here, but I'm not sure sitting around cooped up is really the best thing for her."

"We can find something, right?" Bishop asked, tail swishing back and forth as he gazed up at the Angewomon. "Surely she must have talked enough about her interests and life back home?"

"Ummm," murmured Vanguard, running a hand through her silky sheet of blond hair. "Not really. I don't think she was very happy there." She knew that dark shadows must have clung to Kyra's heart, and it was her hope that someday, somehow Vanguard could get Kyra to really open up to her.

Kyoko could help a little giggle at that as she entered the room. Her foot fall had become incredibly silent on the plush carpet and she carefully drew herself closer to Kyra, smile on her face. She leaned foward very slowly, hands coming to rest on either side of Kyra on the bed.

"If I had, you would have heard its squeals, Momo Jiri,"she said very softly, eyes twinkling. She suddenly pushed away and skipped away from the girl, her steps sounding loud again. That smilie expression was back on her face, innnocent and sweet looking.

She did a complicated little hop scotch patern on the floor, if only to drive away some of her own excited energy before spinning on her heel and grinning. "Ne, Kyra-chan,"she said,"What do you want to do now?" She swayed before wiggling a hand into her pocket and pulling a pony tail out. All the movement had made her feel a little stuffy; maybe lifting her brown locks off her neck would help.

Scooping it back, she pulled it into a small bob. It wasn't much of a pony tail and if she was asked, she'd have called it a bunny tail instead. She tucked the hairs that were too short to go into the bunny tail behind her ear and looked about the room.

"Tomorrow, I was thinking I could go grocery shopping,"she said,"You're welcome to come if you like."

Kyra started, hearing Kyoko's voice inches away, and feeling the younger girl's hands pressing on the bed to either side of her. Her teeth clenched, but beyond that the blindfold hid most of her expression.

"Do you need a bell?" Kyra asked, her tone mildly cross. She yanked the last stubborn strap on her left boot free, before sliding it off. The boot landed with a muted klunk in the carpet, soon joined by its twin.

Her toes and feet flexed, clad now only in socks. Then she leaned back, pondering Kyoko's question. "Well, I was out for some air and to spread my wings a bit," she sighed. "I know it's not a good idea in my... condition, but I don't think I can put up with just resting here. I have to do something." A calm smile came to her face as she heard and felt Kyoko jumping about. "And you sound about the same way."

"Shopping? Maybe," Kyra lightly shrugged, passing aside the odd thoughts about the gesture. She couldn't see it, but she had to assume Kyoko would. Of course, even Kyra herself admitted this Maybe was synonymous with doubtful.

"What about going exploring upstairs?" Kyra asked idly, sliding out her flute. "Could find something that interests both of us. But first,"

She raised the flute to near lips. "My partners and I arranged this signal if I need help." Kyra raised the instrument into place, playing the keening, short song quite deliberately. The dark tamer kept the volume down, but got the tune right. "See?" she said through the flute, then played another few notes. "Never mind," she added quietly, pocketing the instrument.

---

"Well, one way another, Kyra adapts," Bishop said, his voice tinging with pride. The Renamon's pale blue eyes passed over the painting Vanguard was eying, before he gave a snort.

"Yeah," Vanguard sighed. Her wings went slack, and then Bishop turned to face her.

"Aren't you planning on devolving any time soon?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow, a mildly antagonistic grin on his face. "Or are you starting to like that form?"

"W-well," Vanguard said, thankful for her mask and uncertain what to say. Fortunately at that moment, a diversion arrived in the form of music wafting through the corridors. Her digicore suddenly pulsed, and the uncertainty the angel felt for Kyoko suddenly flared. Had something happened?

"False alarm," Bishop announced, upon hearing the second part of the tune. "Guess she's teaching Kyoko the bat-signal too." The child-level Digimon chortled at his own joke.

Kyoko listened to the little lilt before giving a murmur of acknowlegement. She shuffled over, scuffing her feet in an exagerated way. It was mostly because she was starting to feel the affects of the ever evil boredom. Her heterochromatic eyes began to rip the room apart in search of something, anything to do. Staying in a house wasn't exactly her type of thing to do either.

"Exploring the upper levels could be fun, Kyra-chan,"she said finally,"Maybe we'll find a secret passage way or something."

Her imagination had started to run wild. "Or maybe the bodies of the previous owner's victims!"she said excitedly, grin breaking her face in half. Oh the possibilities. She quickly pounced back over to Kyra and attempted to tug her to her feet.

"Let's go then!"

Kyra didn't resist as Kyoko pulled her to her feet, sock-clad feet meeting the floor again. "Maybe," admitted Kyra on the topic of dead bodies. "He made it clear his intention was to eat me. At least," she gave one of her cold and knowing smiles. "Until Bishop and I did him in."

"It's this way," Kyra began, stepping back toward the door of the room. Oddly, she expected Kyoko hold her hand again. At least contact there felt a bit more acceptable. "Down the hall, around the corner, the stairs will be on our right." Carefully, the dark tamer went underway.

Whether she was comfortable admitting it or not, she knew she'd need Kyoko's help navigating the upper floors. Kyra was just too unfamiliar with that part of the mansion.

"Kyoko?" Kyra asked as an afterthought. "Do you know what Insomnia's mission for me is?"

---

"You sure you're okay?" Vanguard asked quizzically, eying Bishop as though eying him for symptoms of an illness.

"Yesss," Bishop drew the word out, as the two walked along the hallway by a large ball-room like chamber near the back of the mansion. "Are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vanguard asked, her visible skin blushing slightly.

Bishop laughed, hand trailing along the wall. "What? You came to see me, leaving Kyra to the new girl? People are going to start wondering," he drew out the last word antagonistically.

"I-it's nothing like that!" The Angewomon insisted, but going quite red. "Your data did spawn from mine, and ever since you almost, you know..." she trailed off, feeling that throwing it in Bishop's face would only aggravate any negative feelings he still felt.

"Barbecued my own tamer?" Bishop said darkly. "Yeah. But as for my birth, says who?" Though the Renamon was lying, and he knew it. "Maybe I'd just been killed too, and got caught up in you reformatting."

"Well I've been worried about you, darn it!" Vanguard snapped. She glared at her fellow partner as the two continued along the hallway, toward a spiral staircase leading up. "Going Berserk on One, running off, then coming back and, Oooohhh!" she broke off, her hand convulsing.

Bishop pushed off with his powerful legs, stopping and eying Vanguard. As much as anything, he wanted to stay out of arm's reach. The regal Angel had slapped him the last time they'd had this conversation, and he wasn't exactly eager for a repeat of that.

(("People are going to start wondering." Ohhh... People are already starting to wonder, Bishop-san.))

"He made it clear his intention was to eat me."

Kyoko's lips twitched and she carefully pursed them to avoid giggling. "I'm very happy he didn't, Momo Jiri,"she said, her thoughts adding on,'That means I get the honor!' She nibbled her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing in pure glee and instead held Kyra's hand delicately, leading her to the stair case as it was directed.

"Do you know what Insomnia's mission for me is?"

"Of course, Kyra-chan!"she said happily,"You're to find and assassinate Zack Knight." She grinned, charging up the stairs. Her grip on Kyra's wrist hadn't let up and she slowed at the second step to give the girl a chance to catch up.

"Pick your foot up high,"she said,"These stairs are on the tall side. Pretend your marching."

She gave a childish giggle of glee.

"It could be like a game of follow the leader, ne?"

While Kyra didn't share Kyoko's youthful enthusiasm, she followed her guide's directions. Her socked foot rose, toes deliberately skimming the surface of the step to gauge its height. Tall, alright. Her other foot followed, and after a fair few steps the duo was cresting the top of the staircase and arriving at the third floor.

Two small opal statues of Devidramon flanked the stairs, perched on square pedestals, tiny rubies glimmering in their eye sockets. The batlike dragons faced the two girls like ominous guardians, yet they remained quite still as statues would.

The area appeared to be a small study at the tops of the stairs, a single flickering lamp providing the only illumination to the room. Dust coated a desk and the chair pushed into it, and a small bookshelf was tucked in the corner of the square room. At the far wall there was a wooden door leading to the rest of the third floor.

Kyra could smell the dust in the air, which also held a certain quality of stillness. "Like I said, we don't use this floor or the one above it very often, and I don't know them very well either." She paused, though she would hope her assistant already understood what that meant.

"I think there's some kind of art gallery in the center of this floor, and some kind of observatory on the floor above. Not too much in the way of bedrooms up here though I don't think..." the dark tamer trailed off, drumming the fingers of her free hand against her hip.

---

Bishop eyed Vanguard carefully, the angel seemed to be calming down but he stayed out of reach as the two regarded each other. Vanguard's concern was touching, but Vanguard also cared about Kyra, and Bishop didn't see the tamer getting smacked around.

The Renamon shook his head. "I'm anything but proud of what happened, from attacking One, to the trouble we all got in trying to hook up after I ran away. I wondered what I could possibly do to repent in the eyes of this..." He wanted to say family, but stopped himself. The word seemed too mushy for the tough-faced Digimon. "Fellowship. But," he strolled slowly away, letting his claws dig into the wooden trim on the wall. "Then I realized... the person I was seeking forgiveness from wasn't Kyra, One, or even you..." They both knew the lengths Vanguard had gone to in order to protect Kyra that night on the Ocean.

"It was yourself," Vanguard said quietly, completing the sentence.

Kyoko looked the second level over, eyes wide and smile wider. "Ne, Kyra-chan, this whole level appears to be an art gallery,"she said tugging at the person of her interest.

The beyond the ruby eyes of the two statue stretched a long dark hall that ended at a pair of odd glass doors. They were odd because they appeared to be clouded by profile portraits of their previous owner. The little bunny carefully twisted the doorknob and shoved the doors open, not caring really if the glass panes banged roughly. Wasn't like they were broken.

The room inside was white and a bit maze like, perhaps. Paintings lined the walls and random statues were placed in between the walls. A lot of them were nude Angewomon, Kyoko noted with some odd curiosity. She wondered if the previous owner had met Vanguard...

"It is an art gallery, Momo Jiri,"she said, feeling a little disappointed. Seeing nude statues and dusty paintings wasn't her idea of fun...

Kyra carefully followed Kyoko, listening to what there was. Which, she expected, was very little. It usually took living things to make noise, and with this floor quite devoid of life last they checked, there wouldn't be much to hear. It was activity for both of them, but rather fruitless for the blinded tamer.

"Yeah..." Kyra said slowly, empathizing with Kyoko's apparent boredom. "The art gallery is the main room, but I think there's a few side rooms too. There's even a room that looked like it was supposed to be a treasure room, opposite the stairs on this floor, so ahead of us, but it was empty."

Her socked foot tapped at the dusty carpeting. Then again, their search had been to ensure the at the time trio were the mansion's sole occupants. They hadn't overturned every chair and knocked on every wall in search of the sort of secret passageways Kyoko had hoped for.

---

"Yeah," Bishop admitted, sagging. It didn't exactly feel well when his feelings seemed to be that transparent. "I think getting into the swing of things again would be good for all of us," the Renamon said, managing a smile as he turned back to Vanguard. "So we'd all quit dwelling on the past. I can only imagine what's going through Kyra's head about Lexi."

Vanguard's face darkened, as though instead of naming a tamer Bishop had said a particularly offensive word but was reluctant to call him on it. "Indeed." Each for their own reasons, but the Angewomon was certain that there wasn't a member of Kyra's group that didn't want payback. She felt an alien feeling, and the fleeting thought that she hoped Lexi's wound pained her a fraction as much as Kyra's crippling injury pained her.

Bishop sighed, tapping his index finger. "I can't even imagine what Kyra must be going through. And all we can do is be there for her..."

"Yes," Vanguard said simply, a smile curling her lips. She felt a certain warmth at Bishop's obvious empathy. Even if she felt it, it was good for Bishop to admit he was more than just Kyra's enforcer in battle.

Kyoko 'hmm'ed before tugging Kyra over to one of the many naked Angewomon. She took Kyra's free hand and placed it on the marble statue's hip with a smile. "This statue is actually kinda pretty, Momo Jiri,"she said,"It looks like Vanguard-san..."

If Vanguard-san was a Kyapi-kyapi... though its hard to decide if she isn't or not.

She grinned all the same placing her own free hand on the statue just to feel the cool stone. The little bunny wasn't exactly careful about where she put her hand though, her finger tips brushing down the statue's neck and between the noticeable cleavage.

Her heterochromatic eyes roved over the prostrate Angewomon. It was a fetching statue, if a bit exaggerated around the pelvis area, the busty hips twisted so that they lay on their side. Her back meanwhile was flat, exposing her naked bosom to the greedy eyes of the malicious world. Interestingly enough, the mask was removed to show off her face but the fluttery appendages that usually came off it framed her face handsomely.

Kyoko smiled and looked about the room for more items of interest.

((kyapi-kyapi=Bimbo. XD))

Kyra's fingertips brushed against the statue's leg. The stone was smooth, cool, and hard, yet with a thin layer of dust on it. "Hope you don't have allergies," she muttered, puffing out a breath of air.

A small cloud of dust billowed into the air, causing Kyra to wrinkle her nose. Her gloved palm followed down the marble hip, toward the knee. Angewomon. Of course, it only made sense that Kyoko would think of Vanguard as such. She would always be Vanguard, Fuzzball after her Tokomon form, but Dokunemon most familiar. Kyra smiled slightly in agreement with Kyoko's spoken assessment.

"Angewomon," murmured Kyra, pausing. Her hand slid down, finding the marble statue's other hip. She sighed, her hand running slowly back and forth over the angel's hip.

---

Vanguard sighed, stretching her arms high above her head. "She'll pull through," she said, offering Bishop a grin. "Hmm, you hungry?" the Angewomon asked, looking over at the Renamon.

"Hungry?" Bishop asked blankly.

"I know how you get," Vanguard said, managing to avoid any telling blush or stammer. "You sulk around and don't eat, Digimon need food too."

"Eh," Bishop shrugged, but the Renamon joined Vanguard's side as the two navigated the halls of the mansion toward the kitchen.

"Oh, darn it," the Angewomon murmured, seeing the blue jean jacket draped on the back of a chair once they arrived. She reached into the pocket, finding Kyra's nerve regenerator. "She forgot it," Vanguard said, running a hand through her hair in mild agitation.

"It's fine, right?" asked Bishop, eying the pocket. "She's got a few more hours until it's time for her next treatment."

"Um, yeah," said Vanguard, trying to push off her flustered feeling. "She should probably do it before she goes to bed."

Kyoko grinned and continued to poke, perhaps immaturely, at the statue's breasts. Her hand brushed over the statue's nipples before seemingly happy with her grope. She looked to Kyra and listened to her sigh before giggling. Perhaps some would call her down right evil for tricking a blind girl into feeling up a naked statue but she called it having a little fun.

She turned and tugged at the girl's wrist, moving off to navigate the maze of art and statues. It didn't take long for her to find a door of interest. Twisting the knob, she was sorely disappointed to find a workshop. Paintings lined the walls in here too but many of them were in the middle of being refurbished and restored.

She shut the door with a click before turning and heading back in the direction of the area that Kyra indicated to have a treasury. Finding it, she pulled the door open and looked about. It appeared empty, as her fellow dark tamer had mentioned. She hadn't mentioned the musky smell at all. Kyoko gave a grunt before venturing inside.

"Ne, Kyra-chan,"she said,"This treasury smells kinda strong..."