Still Here For You (Arata Sanada x Yuuvo [AI Yuugo] & Yuugo)

~3: Who Really Are You? [Yuuvo]~

Zaxon Forum, Early Morning...

Yuuvo POV

I turn around at the sound of someone entering the Forum to see a familiar figure who I didn't expect to see.

"This is a surprise, Erika. Is there something the matter?" I ask her as she approaches me with a Wormmon behind her.

"I'd like to ask you something now that we're alone, well not counting Wormmon here." She says to me.

"Oh?" I say to her, waiting for her to continue.

"Who are you really? Because you're clearly not Yuugo Kamishiro." She says to me with a determined look.

"You want an answer? In a way, I am Yuugo Kamishiro, at least this is technically his account. I'm much like you in a way, able to live due to the existence of EDEN. However, I would've never existed if not for EDEN." I tell her and she frowns at me.

"Not only does that not answer my question...No one in Zaxon was ever told about my condition...so how do you know?!" She replies warily.

"Calm yourself, Erika. I have no harmful intentions towards you. As a matter of fact...I envy you." I inform her and a look of confusion overtakes her face.

"Envy...me...? Why?" She asks me.

"Because you can be in the Real World. I'm confined to EDEN...so I can't even...be with Arata whenever he needs me..." I say while almost whispering most of the second sentence.

"Confined to EDEN?" She asks me.

"I've said too much already. If you want an answer to your initial question, the best answer I can give you right now is that I'm Yuuvo. Perhaps eventually I can tell you more. After all, I'd like to genuinely be friends with you. I don't actually have that many." I explain to her.

"Also, treat Wormmon as more than a program. He's so much more." I add with a smile towards them both as she contemplates my words.

"I wouldn't mind being your friend. But I probably won't be the only one to ask you that question." She tells me and I nod in understanding before she leaves.

Less than an hour later, I get another visitor. This one even more of a surprise to me. "Ryuji?" I ask in bewilderment.

"Hello, 'Yuuvo' is it?" He says to me with narrowed eyes.

"I assume there's something you wish to ask me?" I ask him and he nods.

"More than one thing actually. Let's get the first one out of the way. What's your relationship to Rie Kishibe?" He asks me with an intense stare.

"I owe my existence to her in a way, but I'm not her lapdog or anything of the sort. May I ask why you find it okay to constantly aggravate Arata's 8-years-old PTSD that he physically can't remember the cause of?" I answer before asking my own question.

"PTSD? Arata never mentioned..." He starts to say.

"He was never even given the chance to be diagnosed. He doesn't even know he has it. Now I ask you stop ripping open old wounds and rubbing salt in them. Because regardless of what happens, Arata is my number one priority. I'll do whatever it takes to keep him safe and happy. I'm not saying you have to all of a sudden be the best of friends with him, but please...stop picking fights with him so much. He doesn't deserve such animosity. He already hates himself." I explain to him.

"I apologize. I never thought about that. Even after I can still recall the terror in his eyes back then." Ryuji says to me with a guilty look in his eyes.

"Don't apologize to me. Now ask the other question. I have a friend coming over in a couple hours." I say to him.

"Fine. Who really are you?" He asks me.

"Hmm, the answer I gave Erika doesn't seem suitable here. So I'll give you a different one from her. I'm EDEN's protector and the leader of Zaxon but above all, I'm simply a person who wishes to protect and be with the people I care about. I hope that suffices." I tell him and he nods before leaving.

"I'm guessing you'll probably see Chitose and/or the newbies soon with the same question." He tells me before heading to leave.

"I look forward to it." I tell him as he leaves.

He's not wrong as about 20 minutes later my next guest arrives. I turn to greet my new guest. "Hello Chitose." I say to him as he approaches.

"Look, I'm warning you now. If you hurt Arata in any way, I'll do everything in my power to make you regret it. He's my friend and he's been through more than enough! He deserves to have someone love him for him but I'll be damned if I risk letting someone break his heart." Chitose yells at me defensively.

"It's nice to see he has someone looking out for him when I can't be there for him. Don't worry, I'd sooner kill myself than do anything to hurt him. He means everything to me. That's one thing I've always been certain of, Chitose. But I know this isn't all you came to speak to me about." I say to him.

"I'm guessing you mean the question? I was wondering what answer you'd give me to it. So I'll just ask you: who really are you?" He replies to me.

"My answer to you isn't much different from the one I gave Ryuji in essence. I'm both a lover and a protector, and I hope that we can be friends." I answer him.

"Gladly. Now I'll be going. I wish you luck in wooing Arata." He says to me cheerfully and I blush profusely before he leaves as I wait for my final visitors.

It takes about half an hour for the first of them to arrive and I turn to face Keisuke Amasawa. "Greetings to you." I say as he approaches more nervously than the others had.

"Sorry, I'll try to make this quick..." Keisuke says to me nervously.

"Go on and ask." I say to him.

His Digivice rings just as he goes to ask me the question and he picks it up and answers it before being surprised by the caller's identity.

"Allow me to guess, 'Who really are you?' That's the question, correct? I don't believe he'll mind me sharing the answer I received for that question. I'll directly quote it. 'I suppose I could say I don't know, but the best way to put it is that I am in some ways EDEN incarnate, even if that doesn't make sense.' Is the answer I got." K says to him over the call before hanging up.

"I hope his answer sufficed, Keisuke." I say to him and he nods before leaving and my scheduled guest exits his hiding place after he does.

"It's good to see you, my friend." I say to him.

WARNING: Spoiler section ahead!

"I hope you don't mind me sharing that with him." Yu tells me while lowering his red and black hood and removing his mask.

"Not at all. I wasn't sure what answer to give him myself." I admit to him.

"That's alright. But I might want to warn you that I asked Arata to come over. You owe him an answer to that question as well, you know." He admits to me.

"I suppose so. Especially with Under Zero coming up." I say to him and sigh softly as I hear someone else arriving and Yu puts his hood up and mask on.

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To be continued...