Welcome to the City [Open]

[Toki Akiyama]

A house this size in Aurora Towers? Colin's family must have been pretty well off. He stood there, a little surprised for a moment, but shook it off pretty quickly as he nodded at Colin's idea "Yeah that sounds pretty good, though I'm not sure I can make myself sound that convincing...either way, thank you very much for the invitation. If you need any help with anything just let me know and I'll come on by." He said, a bit worried but overall accepting of the plan. He supposed he did know a thing or two about Digimon at the very least, but that was neither here or there.

"Still, this is a really nice house." He said with a smile "It'll probably feel pretty big even if we were all there for a while. It's definitely enough space for Dio and Gio to relax and get things figured out. Still...part of me is worried about all the other Digimon out there. Those who are either just as lost and confused, or those looking to start trouble. But...that's an issue to be tackled when we get to it. For now, today's going well, so let's cherish that." He said and hoped he wasn't too preachy or heavy about all this.

That was always one of Toki's fears. He was always kind of the quiet, weird one to people, and he sometimes came across as someone who wasn't any fun to be around due to his cautious, worrywart behavior. Recent events and friendships have helped him see the better parts of himself, however, so he tried not to worry about it too much, especially not in front of people.

He looked at Dio and shook his head "This is a very nice house. My house isn't this big, not by a long shot. Though it's just me and my parents, so we don't that much space. Gio was excited to go inside and check it out, his eagerness endearing. "I don't have much going on, so I wouldn't mind visiting for a little while as these two get settled."

"If you'd rather wait for another time, that's totally understandable too. A lot's happened today. Though I had a good time! The food was good, and I got to meet some people. All in all, pretty good day if I had to say so."

[Colin & Bellamy]

Colin pondered about what to do next. Yes, he would very much like for Dio and Gio to take shelter in his home, but his parents were the ones who would make that decision. But still, Colin thought along logical lines. If he could convince his parents that they were fine and harmless, then that would be great.

As for Toki, that was another matter. Toki was clearly older than Colin, and might raise their concerns if they saw him hanging out with him. But still, Toki had given him a reason to make an acquaintance – his martial arts dojo. Yeah… Colin could work with that.

With that, the teen turned to his new friends and spoke his plans in what he hoped was an urgently clear voice. “Okay, for this to work, I’m gonna need you guys to work with me.” he said. “After we do this, you should have no problem at all with my folks. Just we need to get an introduction out of the way. Dio, Gio, you should be fine, they’ll see you the same as Bellamy. Toki, would you be fine if I told them that you walked me home for my safety, that you’re something of an expert on these ‘holograms’, and that you’re offering martial arts lessons?” even though they had already agreed to this, Colin thought it would be important that his parents got the right impression of Toki quickly.

“After that, it’ll probably be up to mom and dad if you can enter or not. But either way, once I introduce you to them, you should be fine to show up if you need my help with anything.” Colin assured him.

Bellamy meanwhile took all of Colin’s reasoning on board, judging its effectiveness. Yeah, he sounded a lot like Owen, and his plans should work out as long as he didn’t get too nervous. But the Impmon hoped for success. He was curious about what Owen felt like all that time ago, to be in a position to offer other digimon hospitality and kindness. Given that he decided he rather liked Gio and Dio, he hoped he would finally understand why the Gaomon decided to help him all that time ago.

[disasterduo]

Dio gave a somewhat resigned, nervous sigh. Even if he was already expecting this time to come, he wasn't entirely sure if he was ready. Approaching two humans on it's own was already quite an out there experience for him, but having to face even more scrutiny while doing his best to blend in? Even if all he had to do was keep quiet (which admitedly, was a hard sell for him), the prospect was already nerve wracking. What would Colin's parents do if they found them out? What if someone else found them out? Hell, he almost hoped they wouldn't let them in since it would make his future choices way easier.

Key word almost, as not only the promise of a possible shelter was really tempting...well, the puppy like stare from Gio was getting too heavy to ignore. If it meant that much to him, then the impmon had to at least try. Toki's concern about others like the twins was very well founded, though surprisingly Gio would be the one to respond to it.

"You're right, but I think they'll manage. After all, me and Dio did pretty well before meeting you three!" Granted, this was ignoring the fact they had been in this world for a grand total of a couple of days at most, but the guilmon seemed fairly confident about his assessment.

"Eh, still probably fancier than any place we've been to. You've slept in a cave once, you've kinda slept in all of them." Dio shrugged at Toki, somewhat confident that his house was probably a lot better than he was making it sound, though he had to agree with him in something: this certainly had been a pretty good day. At any rate, their mind was already set on how to proceed, so all was left was giving the rest the go ahead.

"Alright, we'll just follow Bellamy's lead. Whatever he does in front of your parents we'll do." He said, before looking at his brother and grabbing at the sides of his head, lightly but sternly pulling it down so that they would be facing eachother at the same level.

"You follow it extra hard. No funny business, alright?" He instructed, not fully trusting Gio's ability to "blend in". The guilmon didn't seem to mind however, giving him a reassuring smile and nod of his head. With that out of the way? All that was left was going after the boy and his impmon and...hope for the best.

[Toki Akiyama]

Toki nodded, in full acceptance of this plan. It made sense. Inviting people to your home not long after meeting them could seem strange without a really good reason for it. For Colin's peace of mind, he would do his best to follow along with what he had in mind. "I mean that all makes sense. With all the strange rumors going on, it would make sense if you wanted someone's help. And I suppose I do know a bit about these 'holograms' given what I've dealt with so yeah I'm okay with being seen that way by people. As long as no companies come after me for impersonating an employee or something..." He shook his head "A-anyway, yeah they can look up my family dojo and see we're a legitimate business out of Goldenview. That won't be a problem." First impressions were important, especially with people who live with parents and such. He was just worried about any eventuality where Digimon became common knowledge. How would the everyday person react to them? Granted, he was an everyday person...as far as he knew

Gio's optimism about his fellow Digimon did bring a smile to Toki's face. It was comforting to know that despite the hardships that he was able to believe in good outcomes for others. It was very thoughtful. Dio's remark on sleeping in caves was heartbreaking to hear, but now they had options to get away from it all for a time if they had to. Gio and Dio bickered one-sidedly about blending in, though something told him they would be fine.

"Well I'm ready whenever the rest of you are. I just want to do my best to help everyone out, so I'll go with Colin's plan the best I can." He said with a nod. "I won't impose for long, and if you want me to head out at any point just let me know and I'll start heading home."

[Colin & Bellamy]

Colin was glad that his friends agreed on their plan of action. He didn’t really like that he had to be reduced to this situation, but, as a 15-year-old, Colin had learned that the best way to get his parents to agree to something would be to provide them with something they could all work with, with minimum friction. Anything else would be responded with the word ‘No’ and that would be the end of it. Hopefully by now, Colin had learned enough about his parents to work with him to get them to accept these new relationships he had made today.

So, when everyone was prepared, Colin pressed the doorbell of his house. A few moments later, his father opened the door.

“Oh, Colin, did you forget your keys again?” he asked at once, but then noticed his companions. “Ah… I see. You have friends with you today?”

“Yeah, dad, I thought I’d best introduce you to them at the very least.” Colin said. This exchange had also drawn his mother to the door as well.

“Oh? I thought you said you were meeting up with your friend Tadao.” she said. “Who are all these?”

“Ah, yeah, I did meet up with Tadao…” Colin lied. “And he told me about the specifics about these hologram partners. If we exchange friend codes, we can trade them between ourselves so that they can grow stronger.” he indicated toward Dio and Gio. “These are his partners, so he offered to lend them to me for the time being. I just thought I’d best let you both know that rather than just enter the house with some extra holograms, I thought that would’ve scared you.”

Bellamy for the moment was somewhat impressed with Colin’s ability to pass off a lie. But he’d also take note of that in case it became something of an issue in the future.

“And this is Toki.” Colin indicated to the other human in their entourage. “I met with him at the plaza, and he seems to be an expert on these holograms, so he gave me and Tadao a lot of useful information about them. He also runs a dojo nearby and offered me some lessons, you said I should look out for something like that, right, dad?”

“Ah… yes, I did.” Mr. James admitted. “Well, nice to meet you, Toki. Thank you for escorting my son home.”

Mrs. James matched her husband’s reaction with a smile. “Yes. Thank you for that. You’re most welcome to our house for that.”

Colin was glad of his parents’ reactions, but supposed that was as far as he could get with their introductions. “Okay, so, I’ll be sure to call on you if I need help with these holograms, Toki, and I look forward to the first session at the dojo. Thanks for all your help today” he said to Toki, supposing this was the best he could get for him at this moment. Any further than this, he’d feel it would be too awkward.

Still, he invited Bellamy, Dio and Gio inside and would lead them to his room, hoping that his big sister Sophie wouldn’t see them. Thankfully his parents didn’t notice as they attended Toki at the front door.

“It’s good to see nice gentlemen like you still around to help others.” Mr. James said. “I look forward to see what you can teach my young Colin.”

[disasterduo]

"Digimon should stick together, so of course humans should too." Was all Gio had to say about Toki's offer to help out Colin. Perhaps an overly optimistic view of the world, even for him, but it was clear the two of them seemed to work together well anyways, why not take advantage of that?

The twins kept quiet, not uttering a peep just as Colin had instructed them. Though Gio couldn't help but give a friendly wave at the boy's parents as they were introduced, which only earned him getting lightly but sternly jabbed on the side by Dio's shoulder. The last thing the imp wanted was to appear too friendly in front of these humans, he had a reputation to maintain for Yggrasil's sake! That and it might bring too much attention to them. At the very least the lizard seemed to get the hint, stopping his salute as he returned to a more neutral expression like that of his brother's.

Thankfully it seemed neither of the older humans had any grievances with letting the twin "holograms" into their house. Had it not been for the fact they were still under scrutiny by the mister and miss James (or at least that's how Dio felt) he would have probably let a sigh of relief there and then. As they made their way inside, it seemed Toki was now the one under their watchful parental eyes for the time being. Unsure of what that could possibly entail, Dio gave the gentle human a somewhat half hearted thumbs up, unsure how else he could wish him luck without speaking up. Ah well, hopefully he'd get the message.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy..." Dio finally sighed as he relaxed his stance, leaning against a wall and letting himself slide down like a deflated balloon. All these conflicting emotions in such a short amount of time was getting exhausting.

"They seemed nice!" Meanwhile the black guilmon x said happily, sounding rather pleasantly surprised. Is that how parents were? Shame they couldn't find any back in the Dark Area, it sounded like a nice relationship to keep.

[Toki Akiyama]

Colin mentioned someone named Tadao. Was this another person aware of what was going on? Hologram partners? Toki smiled softly and understood. Digimon under the guise of some kind of hologame? It was honestly kind of a genius idea. He nodded his head politely at Colin's father "Oh it's no problem at all. It's nice to meet you as well, sir. I helped do some of the beta testing for these new holograms. They're still working on a few key features but the basics have been implemented enough to send out some test programs to people." He explained, using the best of his tech knowhow to make a convincing story. He really hoped this wouldn't lead to any issues in the future, but this was the best he could do given the circumstances.

Colin and the others went into the house as he spoke with Colin's parents, so he decided to spend this time getting to know them as well "Well I try my best to help out where I can. Here." He fished out another card and handed it to Mr. James "In case you wanted to know more yourself. The Akiyama Karate Dojo is a respected business out of Goldenview, and we'd be more than happy to teach Colin as a student." he explained happily. "Just let me know if you have any questions and I'll answer the best I can." He offered. He wanted Colin's parents to be comfortable and knowledgeable about the dojo. At the very least this would prove it's a legitimate business to them.

For the time being he would stay and speak with Colin's parents and answer whatever question they had. He didn't want to make things more awkward for Colin by just letting himself in and hanging around for supposedly no reason, so he would talk and if it was time to leave, he would leave and see them another time.

[Colin & Bellamy]

At the doorway, Colin’s parents took in Toki’s story with understanding.

“That’s great to hear.” Mrs. James replied. “I mean… Colin’s struggled a little to fit in this city since we moved here. But hearing that he’s being proactive with this new hologram technology is a good sign.” she sighed wistfully. “I remember in elementary school, I made so many friends with the smartphone apps that were around at the time.”

“It’s how we met.” Mr. James added, putting an arm around his wife. “Remember when we were both after that legendary pokemon that evening?”

“Oh, Nathan, not now…” Mrs. James chuckled. Her husband accepted the card from Toki, and he read it, nodding approvingly.

“Alright. Thanks for this, Toki. I’ll be sure to drive Colin there for a session next week.” Mr. James answered, putting the card in his pocket. “Even if he just wants to watch at first, all should be fine.”

A short silence followed. Even though Toki had helped out their son tonight, they thought it might be a bit premature to invite him in for dinner. Eventually, Mrs. James spoke up.

“Would you like a lift home, Toki?” she asked. “It’s the least I could offer after you helping our son home.” after all, it was Mr. James’s turn to cook dinner tonight, so she would be happy to provide transport.

Meanwhile, when they entered the house, Colin gathered Bellamy, Dio and Gio in his room. He explained to them some ground rules about hygeine and cleanliness. When that was done, he wondered what in the world to do next. Dinner would probably be in a couple of hours, given that it was his dad cooking and he liked to go for long cooking recipes. But they couldn’t eat together, since holograms didn’t do that. Still, he’d have to provide some sort of entertainment for them.

“So, have you guys heard of video games?” he asked, moving toward the TV and game console in his room, switching them on. Colin hoped that this would provide them entertainment for the evening.

"Nope, haven't got a clue." Bellamy answered. "Sounds fun though, I'd be happy to try it out. You guys wanna go too?" he asked Dio and Gio.

[disasterduo]

To say Colin's explanations on "cleanliness and hygiene" fully landed would have been a bit of wishful thinking, at least when it came to Gio. Dio, for all his scavenger and survivalist tendencies always made sure to treat himself with a type of class and refinement one wouldn't expect from a Dark Area denizen (human dumpster diving aside), as if just the act of eating without a plate would be beneath him. Guess he really believed his own delusions of grandeur. Gio, while not a walking pigpen, still didn't seem to put nearly as much concern on that as everything else. Sure, he didn't mind baths but he didn't actively seek them out either, though ironically he still loved jumping into lakes and rivers as long as they weren't infested by bigger, hungrier things than him.

Still, if that was what they had to do in exchange for being able to stay under a roof, they'd be glad to follow along without question, even if it was outside of their comfort zone. Speaking of that, the mention of games immediatelly made Gio perk up, his ears pointing upwards like a dog setting his eyes on a ball.
"Vid-eo....games?" He parroted back, unfamiliar but very much intrigued. Dio seemed a bit less enthused, though that probably had more to do with Gio's usually definition of games being play wrestling, tag, or "turn your brother into a football". Not that there was too big of a difference between how those three were played.

At the very least Bellamy seemed just as in the dark as they were, that was a small comfort at least. Ignorance was a bigger bliss when shared.
"Eh, sure." Dio shrugged, not willing to risk being given the "dejected puppy" stare from his brother for refusing. "Is this room big enough for that though? There's four of us and not that much room to be tossed about..."

[Toki Akiyama]

He smiled softly as he listened to the two of them reminisce about past trends and tech. When Mr. James said he'd bring Colin over for a class, he nodded happily "Yeah of course, if he just wants to watch a class or two that's more than okay."

Toki shook his head when offered a drive home "Oh no, I can get home just fine on my own, thanks for the offer though." He said, politely declining. "You all take care, alright? I'll hopefully see you and Colin at the dojo next week." He said. He would have to head home and let his dad know he may have gotten the dojo a new student.

Since it was likely about time he left Colin and the Digimon to their own devices, he bid farewell to the James' and left to make his way back home. Good deeds done, everyone seemed to be happy and safe for the moment. That was all he could ask for. As he walked away he couldn't help but think about the Digital World and what it must be like there. If it's this whole other world he assumed it must vary depending on location much like their own. Would it be possible to ever cross over to it? Would that even be a good thing? He worried if humans got pulled into the Digital World all alone much like Digimon have. He hadn't heard any mysterious vanishings so hopefully that wasn't the case. Either way, he made his way to some public transportation and waited for a ride home.