Date Started: August 14, 2008
Date Finished: August 29, 2008

Summary: Jun tries to accept her brother's role as part of the Chosen.

Outsider

Motomiya Jun had been in the mall when it had happened; more specifically she was in the salon with Momoe. They were both getting their hair done to see Yamato's band play later that evening. It had been a split second in length and only visible through the front doors of the shop if you were lucky enough to not have blinked.

A robotic floating creature – two hands, no legs, had flown by. It seemed to be in a hurry, though as far as floating objects were concerned, you could never be certain as you couldn't check for the movement speed of their legs to determine whether they were moving faster or slower than usual. So after that thing flew by, Chibimon was there following right behind it – or rather it was what had once been Chibimon; it was now a creature on all fours, covered in black armor and armed with terrifying fangs and horns. Daisuke rode on its saddle, securely mounted, and a pink-haired girl sat right behind him. Even further back stretched vines that connected to a green plant-like Digimon that Jun only faintly recognized.

It happened in a flash.

Daisuke had shouted. "After 'em!"

The pink-haired girl behind Daisuke had one arm around him for support; the other arm waving a cowboy hat about as she yelled cheerfully. "Yee-haw!"

The green plant Digimon wailed as it tried desperately to hold onto its grip upon the fast-moving creature that had once been Chibimon. "Mimi-san!"

Jun stared dully in shock; the women styling her hair had frozen stiff in fear as well.

"That girl behind your brother was kinda cute," Momoe said, and instantly returned her attention to her fashion magazine. "Oh! Maki-chan has a new movie coming out!"

Jun felt lost in her confusion. She had never seen her brother in any situation even remotely similar to that before.

Daisuke had later explained to his sister that though Gennai (who on Earth was that?) constantly tried to maintain and limit the travel through the Digital Gate (Huh?), every once in a while a Digimon would accidentally get through and the Chosen (Eh?) would have to track it down and send it back with their Digivices (Umm… what?).

Jun nodded absently, having had no idea what Daisuke was saying, yet still feigning her understanding of it. She was only certain of one thing: this wasn't the same brother she knew anymore.

Jun's worry was quickly turning into fear. Daisuke had been gone for several days.

When her brother was running late for dinner, she assumed another rampant Digimon was keeping him busy. When her brother failed to show up that same night she was ready to phone the police and report him missing. Instead the phone rang with further dreadful news: all twelve Chosen were gone.

At least further news made it clear that it wasn't a guaranteed time for panic. The families were all informed that the twelve Chosen had voluntarily left to defeat a new evil. It was a reassurance that they weren't missing per se and would eventually come back – well, hopefully.

Yet the news only served to unnerve Jun some more. Why was it that Daisuke hadn't bothered to tell her all this himself before he left? Why was it that she was instead hearing it from Kido Shuu?

Jyou had told both his brothers that he was to leave for an undetermined amount of time. Why couldn't Daisuke show the same courtesy to his one and only sister?

Jun frowned. She didn't want to be alone on this night.

She spoke into the phone, "Shuu-kun, could I see you tonight?"

It was three weeks before the Chosen came back. Battered and bruised, yet still victorious. The tears had come unnoticed and unwillingly when Daisuke walked through the front door. Jun didn't bother to brush them away as she ran up to hug her brother. As long as he was within her grasp, he was protected from that other world. As long as he was within her grasp, he wouldn't need to ever run off and put himself in danger again.

As long as he was within her grasp he was still her brother. Jun refused to let him go, choosing instead to continue wetting his cheek and tattered shirt with her tears.

It was Daisuke that broke their embrace. "I'm fine, Jun; we both are."

He was referring to that monster of his – Chibimon. Jun glanced at it as it appeared from behind Daisuke's feet. She rubbed away her tears; the creature waved, and she wondered why that thing was taking her brother away from her.

Again Daisuke had tried to explain what happened. She tried to take in all the new information presented to her. All of a sudden there was a third world for her to worry about. A world of darkness with an ocean so deep and wide it seemed to have no end for the waters it contained. The descriptions and events Daisuke spoke about seemed to remind Jun of a Lovecraft novel. Again the deeper meaning was beyond what Jun could comprehend – she could only simply hope that the girl they went there to rescue was going to be okay.

It was a pet; Jun couldn't see it as anything else. Ten months, three days, and approximately eleven hours had passed since she found out about the little blue bugger her brother kept around, and today was the first time since then that she found herself alone with it.

Sure, it was part of the family, but it always hung around Daisuke. There was never any exception – it was as much a part of her brother as her shadow was a part of her. And on that same note, to her, it had always been overshadowed by Daisuke. That's why it – he – by itself – himself – alone with her made her very nervous.

Daisuke was off taking a mock-exam in preparation for his Junior High entrance exam, and it – he – Chibimon – couldn't follow. School should always be off-limits as far as Jun was concerned, but her brother always managed to sneak his little pet in through his backpack. Just so happened that today Daisuke decided that failing the exam due to Chibimon being caught wasn't worth the risk – even if there was a Digimon attack nearby.

And at first it was very unnerving. Why did she have to baby-sit? Well, she didn't, she realized. She could walk out right then and there and nobody would care. Well, maybe Chibimon would, she couldn't be sure. But in general she just felt it not right to leave the poor thing all alone. Sigh, there she was again, thinking of it as well… an it, a thing, not a living, breathing being.

Chibimon seemed satisfied for now, at least. He sat quietly with her on the living room sofa as she killed time by watching re-runs of her favorite T.V. dramas. Ah, Yamapi, you're so wonderful.

During halftime commercials she got up and made them some hot cocoa. Chibimon was thrilled, flashing the most satisfied smile as he extended his little arms for the drink, and slurped from the mug.

"You're not nearly as bad as Daisuke says," he giggled suddenly at the girl next to him.

Jun turned and looked at Chibimon, downcast by his comment. She mused over his words; had Daisuke really thought that badly of her?

"This is really good," Chibimon continued slurping.

"You like it?" Jun asked. It was only an instant mix.

"Of course," he replied. "It's much better than the tea Iori's grandpa makes for us to drink."

The commercials were ending.

"Are you enjoying this, Chibimon?" Jun thought to ask. "I won't mind watching whatever you and Daisuke normally do."

"No, no," Chibimon giggled some more. "This stuff is great. Daisuke should start watching these shows too. He could really learn a lot from these guys on how to get the girl. He's really bad at that."

Jun stared, and let out a soft laugh. From her perspective, sometime within the last half hour Chibimon moved up from an 'it' to a 'he'. And sometime in the last few minutes, he moved up from being Daisuke's shadow to simply being Chibimon.

It was an improvement. The first one she'd had in a long time towards being more understanding about her brother's new life.

"It seems that it was Yagami-san's daughter that they went after in the Dark Ocean," Shuu was saying.

Jun listened intently. She was desperately trying to understand her brother's role as a Chosen.

"Ichijouji Ken was with her when she was taken. When Daisuke-kun found out he blindly went in after them," Shuu continued with his report. "The others held a meeting at the park later that day and decided the evil there needed to be destroyed at all costs – and so together they all left to put an end to that dark world."

"And you learned all this from Jyou-kun?" she asked.

Shuu nodded.

Jun sighed. "Daisuke barely tells me anything."

And Jun had to wonder just why he even should. She didn't understand the responsibility he was entrusted with, or the horrors he had gone through, or the killings he was forced to commit.

She had made progress with Chibimon, but Daisuke was still far beyond reach. She never seemed to do anything right with him. In a way, she was only Daisuke's sister when Chosen matters were no longer at hand.

It was a natural progression to go from Chibimon to Daisuke, but apparently for Jun there were a few steps in between those two as well. She decided to step up to them the following day.

Early in the morning near Odaiba Junior High she found her target. Eying him carefully, she walked up to the leader of the Chosen, Yagami Taichi.

He noticed her immediately, and asked. "Looking for Yamato?"

"No, actually, I was looking for you," Jun frowned at his question. She could feel her cheeks redden in embarrassment as she then voiced her request. "Tell me about Daisuke."

His confused look didn't help her settle down any, but she let out the deep breath of relief that had been building up since their eyes met. One down, ten more to go – she was actually doing it.

Hearing about her brother from several different perspectives certainly helped Jun see him in a new light. She marveled at his courage and bravery in battle (curtsey of Hikari). She was delighted in being told that the safely of his friends always came first in his decisions (that was Miyako and Iori; they were together when she saw them). She gasped in awe at all he went through to make Ken feel a part of the team (from Ken himself). And it amazed even Jun that Daisuke led the younger crowd, yet modestly and willingly returned the mantle of leadership to his mentor Taichi when it was agreed that would be overall better for the Chosen as a whole (this one came from Yamato's younger brother Takeru).

When Jun arrived home she carried with her a newfound understanding and admiration for all her brother had done to ensure the safely of this world. He was a hero; one of many, yes, but most importantly he was her hero.

Daisuke ran past her as she entered the apartment, Digivice gripped tightly in his palm. Chibimon hung onto the goggle strap on his head. Jun called out to them, "Hey, Daisuke!"

He twirled around on his heels, almost impatiently. It told her that he was needed elsewhere. "Yeah?"

"Take care of yourself," Jun said. "You're my brother, and I want to know that you're able to come back to me safe and sound."

A large smile grew on Daisuke's face. "Of course, Neechan. Know that I'll always do my best."

He then turned around and sprinted off down the hallway, shouting to his partner. "Let's go Chibimon! Takeru needs our help!"

Jun smiled as well, at last accepting her brother's role as one of the Chosen Children. Behind her, the family computer let out a bright white glow that illuminated the entire living room area for a brief moment. As Jun turned around to inspect the light that had caught her attention, her eyes stopped to linger over the oval-shaped object that was slowly materializing directly in front of the organized static pasted on the monitor screen.

End Notes:
- "Neechan" means "older sister" in much the same way "Oniichan" means "older brother."
- Momoe is one of Miyako's sisters. She is good friends with Jun; they went to watch Yamato's band play together for Christmas during 02.
- Maki-chan (Horikita Maki) and Yamapi (Tomohisa Yamashita) are both teenage idols in Japan. I would imagine fangirls such as Jun and Momoe would be rather into Japan's modern TV-idols.
- Lovecraft is the author of many science fiction books, several of them dealing with a being known as Cthulhu – which served as the inspiration for Dagomon and the Dark Ocean.