A Pound of Flesh
Kari
His teeth fall.
It's nothing groundbreaking. He's young, he's human, and human lose teeth. It's a little awkward for some time, but he gets used to it- and Kari stops teasing him when her own teeth fall too.
The problem is his teeth grow back.
And they grow wrong.
His mother freaks- take him to dentists after dentists, frantic, hands shaking, please find a way to fix my son, please I'll do whatever it takes, please
Tk doesn't get it.
His teeth grow sharp, and they grow big- but most importantly, they grow lots.
Tk doesn't mind, really. Tokomon also had lots of teeth! He tries to explain to his mother, that less human doesn't mean bad, and more human doesn't mean good (Piedmon and Pinnochiomon and Myotismon and Devimon all had that general shape in common; that did not make them any less evil.) But she doesn't get it. She tells him he's flesh, not data- she tells him he's a human child, and human children should not grow teeth.
But Tk does not want to be a human child.
Humans are survivors- they're determined and resourceful and full of hope. But Tk doesn't want to just survive. He wants to live and fight and protect- he wants to be bigger and sharper than anything he can encounter.
As for the child part...
(white feathers in the wind and yellow-striped egg on the ground)
Well. He hasn't been one in a while, has he?
Still, Tk keeps his mouth closed and his teeth tucked in at home, because he loves his mother and his mother still think of him as human.
Outside, though- outside, it's fair game.
He smiles a lot. Because he's proud and he’s happy. He smiles, and when strangers in the street see him, they flinch.
Good.
He wants this- these teeth feel right in his mouth, their weight comforting. He wants this, to be feared- to be able to scare away any potential threat. He won't be a burden, ever again. No one will force apart his family, ever again.
And if smiling isn't enough...
He'll show them a monster to be afraid of.
binarysunsets: I absolutely ADORE this concept. In general I love the idea of the kids being changed in some way because of their experiences (because really, they were children!!! How could they not be???) but unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be a ton of fics that focus on that. The fact that you went one more and made the transformations literal????? Brilliant. Thank you SO much for writing this and sharing this (and don’t mind me adopting this story into my own personal headcanons about the show byeeeee).
silrin: I LOVE this!! It's so quietly and intensely unsettling. I love that everything is so subtle, or at least starts out subtle. Reading about everyones changes and reactions was so good, and I really like how you don't shy away from the darker aspects of everything that the kids have been through. Also Sora's chapter; love love love accepting, open minded and supportive friends :) I'm so glad they all at least have eachother. The tension in this is just - holy moly. I truly love how everything is happening quietly, little by little, and how you write about how these changes affect their every day lives, and all the practicalities of it. And the parent friend group is so great, it's really neat how you included them, and how they all react to what happens differently as well (Diana Wynne Jones writes about parents too, in a really good way. I think she's written an essay about parents never being included in fantasy stories, especially for children, but I can't remember what it was called. Black Maria is a good example though, it's also unsettling in a quiet and uncertain sort of way. It might not be your cup of tea, but I read it as an adult and loved it, and this story reminded me of that book :)) It all feels closer and more real because they're all still in our world and we get to see the consequences of what's going on. Like Tai being able to hold pans and trays straight out of a hot oven, I don't know, it's all sort of quietly frightening, I love it. I can't wait to read more of your stories, thanks for sharing! I hope you're well :D