1. Chapter 1 (1/2)

title: smoothing overcharacters: jun, momoe, chizuruchapter: 1-1||words: 2,367genre: angst, suspense||rated: gchallenges: diversity writing: digimon adventure 02: alternate/divergent timelines: e3, 1-shot w/no dividersnotes: this is roughly in the tri timeline but somewhat alternate in the sense of memories being fiddled with, bonds being

oken carelessly, and people who should have actually shown up being the focus characters (right, daisuke and miyako vanish and their siblings just waft off into the ether not caring.) ahem. no, i'm not bitter. really.summary: jun feels horrible, her head throbbing, and is half-convinced that there's something missing in her apartment. only nothing's there that shouldn't be and nothing's gone that should be there – that she remembers.

something wasn't right. jun wasn't certain what it was, but she knew that something had changed and it had done so all but overnight. tiny memories of whatever it was flickered through her thoughts, nothing lasting long enough for her to be sure of what they were – only vague impressions. impressions of a pair of large blue eyes staring up at her, of a different pair of eyes and a laugh that annoyed her and reminded her of home at the same time. none of those stuck around long enough for her to truly say she remembered them from one moment to the next. but just long enough for her to be aware and uneasy.

she pushed the food around on her plate and raised her head to stare across the table, lips parting to ask if she were the only one to feel this way.

only there wasn't anyone there. she sat alone at the small table in her tiny dining area.

of course there wasn't. she was twenty years old – she lived alone in her apartment, far closer to her college than her parents' apartment. who else would be here?

and she'd been glad to get out on her own. she loved her parents and she loved being an only child but she reveled in this freedom. there shouldn't be anything unusual at all about not being there, about being free and able to do what she wanted, when she wanted. sure, she had classes at the university and she and – she and -

sharp pains began to shoot through her head, and jun pushed her plate aside to lay her head down on the table, hoping that they'd ease up. this had been happening more often lately. elec – someone had been worried about her.

she grappled after the name, but it slipped out of her hands, and the way her head thudded only increased, until she stopped trying. it left a lot better not to even think about it. maybe not to even think at all.

maybe i should go back to bed. that wasn't such a bad idea. her head throbbed and something inside of her throbbed and there seemed to be the faintest hint of unease that she couldn't shake. if she'd been able to put it into words, she might have thought that someone called her name. but she heard nothing.

slowly she stumble to her feet and cast a

ief glance around the room. everything seemed as good as she'd left it the night before. nothing really seemed off – except everything, in a way that she couldn't understand or really get a mental fix on. there was an empty corner in the bedroom. hadn't he had a cushion or a bed there?

no, why would she? she didn't have any pets. she'd never been fond of dogs and she'd never met a cat that she really liked – and she wasn't sure if her lease would allow one in the first place. they'd argued about ele – another sharp stab through her head and jun almost fell down, gasping in pain.

what was that name? she came so close and every time she felt it within the reach of her thoughts, that sharp stabbing pain tore through her, preventing her from remembering it. preventing her from even wanting to remember it, because remembering hurt so very much.

she managed to get on the bed and shoved her head under the pillow, blocking out the light that seared into her head. she hoped she'd be able to fall asleep soon.

perhaps she did. she wasn't ever certain. but at some point later, the light wasn't as harsh and the annoying sound of momoe's ringtone jangled for her attention. slowly she grabbed for the phone and mumbled.

"this better be good. what did i drink last night?" she didn't drink all that often but had she had something at all? that might have contributed to her condition right now.

momoe let out a heavy sigh. "no idea, but i probably had some of it. my head's been throbbing all day and things are just weird."

jun rubbed her forehead. the headache had eased off a little, though she could still feel it waiting to pounce on her again.

"you have no idea," she groaned, leaning back and considering burying her head under the pillows. she doubted it would do anything to help but she'd never know if she didn't try.

momoe made a commiserating noise before she sighed deeply. "i keep wondering if i've forgotten something. there's nothing missing; i've checked for all of my stuff, but sometimes – sometimes -"

jun frowned slowly. "sometimes it's like you turn around and what you expected to be there isn't – only there isn't anything that should have been there."

she could all but see momoe jerking up at her words. "yeah. that's it exactly. you too?"

"it's been going on since yesterday, at least." jun draped her free hand over her forehead. "did we catch something? is there anything going around?"

she could hear the faint sound of momoe's fingers tapping. "i don't know for sure. but – chizuru is feeling the same way." a

ief hesitant. "no one else i know about. but – i keep feeling like i should ask someone else."

jun worried at her lip. "who?"

"i don't know." momoe sighed. "i hate feeling like this. it's like something huge is missing but no one else knows about it and i don't know what it is, just that it's not there and it should be."

jun could not have agreed more. she winced as her head throbbed again. "maybe we should all get together and try to take notes or something? maybe then we can figure it out."

it would almost be like when they were kids again, making plans to go to a concert together. they'd done that a lot – though or the life of her, jun couldn't remember any of the bands they'd gone to see. she vaguely remembered the fact they'd gone to concerts, but which ones?

meh, it couldn't be that important. concerts three years ago, or more, with bands that had probably

oken up already, weren't as important as figuring out why all three of them felt as if they'd spent way too many nights out on the town, when they clearly hadn't.

"that sounds like a good idea. i'll grab her and we'll come over," momoe promised. "be there soon."

jun bid farewell,

eaking the connection, and dragged herself more firmly under her pillow. she knew she should get up, wash her fae, and get ready or her guests, but she didn't. all she wanted to do was stay where she was and possibly fall back asleep.

he'd call me lazy...

the thought floated through her head, there and gone in a second, leaving behind only the faintest impression. she didn't even know who the 'he' might be. she'd admired a lot of guys over the years, but she'd never been close to any of them..

the faintest flicker of cinnamon red hair just like her own danced through her head, vanishing when she tried to grab it, and in moments she didn't even remember she'd thought about that in the first place.

slowly she dragged herself to her feet and made her way out of the bedroom. momoe and chizuru didn't live that far away so they'd be there soon. she managed to get drinks ready, then flopped down on the coach and waited. almost as soon as she did, her mind more or less blanked out, only somewhat aware of the passage of time.

when the knock came she remembered she had to pull herself up and unlock the door. she cursed herself for not remembering to do so before she sat down, even as she made her way over.

momoe and chizuru greeted her as she let them in. neither of them looked much better than she did right now. chizuru looked as if she'd just managed to get a shower before they came over, but her hair was still limp and lifeless, while momoe wore her glasses instead of her contacts – she'd gotten the contacts just a year earlier but jun had almost forgotten what she looked like with them all.