[tri OOM] It's not even going to air for another two years.

[angry_friendship_wolf]

The Gekomon arrive in typical loud fashion. Yamato’s a little annoyed -- their trumpeting and singing are giving away what would otherwise be a strategic advantage -- but he supposes that was unavoidable. One of the reasons they took so well to Mimi is that they’re so like her, so completely and unapologetically themselves.

It’s not exactly good music, though. That, also, doesn’t help.

“How’d you convince them?” He asks Mimi, as the gates open.

Mimi smiles a little, scuffing a foot against the ground. “It was difficult. I tried to act like Taichi at first and be all diplomatic and charismatic and stuff, and then I tried to act like you, and then Sora. None of that worked, but I … guess I managed to persuade them eventually.”

“Just by being yourself, I’m guessing? You never were that good at being anyone else,” Yamato jokes, cracking a quick smile.

“I wish I was,” Mimi replies, shaking her head. “Everyone’s trying so hard to keep it all together, I wish I could make myself into the person everyone needs me to be. Like Sora does, or you, or Taichi, or even Hikari-chan.”

“The only person we need you to be is yourself,” Yamato says. He nods towards the gate, raising an eyebrow. “Think you can give the greeting spiel to TonosamaGekomon? I actually can’t stand the guy.”

“Don’t be mean to him,” Mimi says. “He’s not so bad. He’s just boisterous.”

“He’s annoying,” Yamato replies. “Meeting is in two hours. I’ll leave him with you until then.”

---

The meeting is fairly packed. Lord Goemon sits on his throne, while his grand generals, TonosamaGekomon, Koushiro, Mimi, Takeru and their partners, and Yamato and Gabumon surround the central table. Further away, at the edges of the room, sit the Digimon Yamato’s assigned to leading individual groups.

“So, we draw them into the city and pick them off in small groups,” TonosamaGekomon says, by way of confirmation.

“That’s right,” Yamato says. “As the army approaches, we’ll thin out their numbers using the cannons, catapults, and our ranged attackers. We’ve got a height and range advantage from there, so we should be able to do some damage. Once they reach the wall, though, we don’t have the numbers to hold it -- so as soon as they start climbing and breaching the gates, we withdraw back into the city.

“We’ve arranged speakers along the inside of the wall, which we can use to take out all the Bakemon in one fell swoop. That leaves us with the Troopmon, Hanumon, and whatever miscellaneous solo actors the Mystery Man recruited. They’re a coalition of bandits, not a highly trained force, so we’ll use smoke and ash to reduce visibility, traps to pick them off, and hit-and-run attacks. With luck, that loose command structure of theirs will start breaking down, and that’ll make them easier targets. But we’ll be losing ground as we do this, so eventually we’ll need to start drawing them into ambush sites,” he taps a few spots on the map. “I’ve assigned groups to each area, and they’re all set up to make the most of those groups’ strengths.”

TonosamaGekomon rumbles slightly. “I mislike this. It’s an underhanded strategy, there’s no glory in it at all.”

“Regardless, it’s the best way to keep as many people alive as possible,” Yamato returns. “We don’t have the numbers for a straight fight, so we don’t commit to one until we have to. We strike, cause chaos, and then flee if they start to gain the upper hand. That’ll be true even for the ambushes. If the tide is starting to turn, we back off, no exceptions.”

“And when they’ve pushed past the ambushes?” Renamon asks. “They do still have a massive advantage in numbers. We might not be able to thin their numbers enough.”

“Then eventually we’ll make our stand at the castle,” Yamato says. “Or the Gekomon will, at least. If they push that far, TonosamaGekomon’s forces are to regroup at the castle gates and take them on directly. While they’re doing that, several more groups will use the maintenance tunnels to get behind the attacking forces and strike at them from the rear.”

“What about us?” Koushiro asks. “We can’t take part in the fight.”

“No, we can’t. I actually have a special job in mind for you and Tentomon, Koushiro,” Yamato says. “Takeru and Patamon will stay with the noncombatants in the underground shelter and try to keep them calm. I want Mimi and Palmon in the castle coordinating the Gekomon -- and potentially the rest of our forces, if things go south.”

“If things go south?” Koushiro asks, raising an eyebrow. “I assume this has something to do with the MetalEtemon problem.”

“Right,” Yamato says. “We have a way to break his armour, potentially. We’ll draw him to the Shrine of Knowledge, where the grand generals will be waiting. Hi-VisionMonitamon, Goemon, and Renamon will restrain him, while FlaWizarmon and Sorcerymon use their abilities to rapidly heat and cool his armour, inducing thermomechanical fatigue and hopefully cracking his armour. The numbers check out.”

Mimi narrows her eyes. “And you plan on drawing him to the Shrine yourself?”

Yamato just barely stifles a sigh, shutting his eye. “Yeah. I’ll be the bait,” he says. “Don’t -- misunderstand me, I’m not being reckless. For this plan to work, we need bait that the Mystery Man won’t ignore, and we already know he won’t ignore me. This is the best way to control all the variables. Once MetalEtemon breaches the city, I’ll lead him to the Shrine of Knowledge and into our trap.”

“If he breaks through from the North Wall, you’ll have to lead him nearly five miles,” Koushiro says. “That’s a considerable distance to try baiting him along, during which you’ll be completely unprotected.”

“He’ll have me, I can -- …” Gabumon starts.

“No,” Yamato says, flatly. He sees Gabumon throw him a scowl. “I need you to guard Koushiro while he’s playing his role in all of this.”

“He has Tentomon for that.”

“It’s not up for discussion,” Yamato replies. “You just have to trust that I’ll be okay.”

Gabumon opens his mouth to say something, but Yamato turns his attention back onto the group at large.

“Every group has entirely different sets of abilities, so I’ll be going through individual strategies with each group leader,” he says. Giving a Mimi a sidelong look, he adds: “Mimi, you okay with sticking around for that? There’s always a possibility you’ll have to take over.”

“Sure, just try not to make it too boring, okay?”

“I’ll certainly try. All right, let’s get started with that. Akatorimon! We’ll start with you and the Muchomon.”

---

Going through strategies with each individual group takes hours, and Yamato still has to resolve at the end to run through those strategies with them again over the next few days. Once that’s all done, though, he heads out onto one of the balconies, inhaling a lung of fresh air.

“Yamato-san.”

Yamato has to fight an involuntary grimace, because after talking to two dozen different Digimon, the last thing he wants to do is talk, at all, to anyone -- but he did say he had a job for Koushiro.

“Hey,” he says, cocking his head. “Sorry, I’m a little worn out, I might not be the best conversationalist right now. But we should talk about what I need you to do.”

Koushiro bows his head a little, drawing up alongside Yamato. “I’ll try not to bother you for long.”

“It’s fine,” Yamato laughs, shaking his head. “You’re not bothering me. Here.”

He holds out his notepad, raising an eyebrow. Koushiro squints at him for a moment, then takes it, flicking through.

“... Ah,” he says, eventually.

“Ah,” Yamato agrees. “The ace up our sleeve, even if it is an awkward one to use. Which is where you come in.”

“Trajectory calculations,” Koushiro says, flicking through a few pages.

“Sixteen different trajectory calculations, to be exact, done as fast as possible, with data you won’t be getting until the battle’s underway,” Yamato says. “We can crack the armour, after all, but we still need to be able to break it open.”

“But you’ll be there, too,” Koushiro says, looking up. “And Lord Goemon and his generals.”

“Right. So, if your calculations are off, it could be bad for us. There’s no margin for error here.”

Koushiro seems to think about this for a few moments, looking from Yamato, to the notepad, to Yamato again. Then he shoves the notepad against Yamato’s chest, shaking his head.

“I can’t do it,” he says. “But you’re more than capable of making all these calculations on your own, so if I’m the bait and you’re -- …”

“I can’t make them even half as fast as you, and I’m more likely to make a mistake,” Yamato says, trying to keep his tone gentle as he pushes Koushiro’s hand, and the notepad, back towards him. “We both know you can handle this, so what is this really about?”

“Yamato-san, we don’t both know I can handle this,” Koushiro says, his tone very level. “The last time everyone knew I could handle something, I wasn’t quick enough, and the Reboot happened.”

Yamato is struck dumb for a moment, reduced to blinking at Koushiro. He knows that Takeru had been blaming himself, and he’s pretty sure everyone knows that he had been blaming both himself and Taichi, but the idea that Koushiro had been blaming himself is almost surreal.

“You have to know that wasn’t your fault. You did more than anyone could’ve asked for.”

“More than anyone could’ve asked for wasn’t enough,” Koushiro replies. “If it isn’t enough here, then you could die. I -- don’t know if I can trust myself with this.”

“Then don’t. Trust me when I say you can do this,” Yamato says. “And you’ll surprise yourself when you see that you can. But you can’t stop taking risks just because one didn’t pay off.”

Koushiro hesitates. Yamato considers, briefly, whether he should just order Koushiro to do it, or whether he should try to get Taichi on the Network and ask for his help. Neither of those seem like the right solution, though.

“All right,” Koushiro says, eventually. “I’ll try.”

“Good. I’ll leave that with you, then.”