Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Straightforward enough?
Author's Notes: I LIVE!!!!! Finally, here it is: the long-awaited sequel to my first story 'A Favor.' No one ever lives happily ever after in my world, so you just knew that something else had to happen to our perfect couples somewhere along the line. Expect adventure ("Here we go!"), excitement ("What a rush!"), romance ("I love you") laughter ("No more kool-aid!"), action ("Get down!"), more of the action ("Get down again!"), but most of all, expect the best. This story has been taking shape in my head ever since I finished the last one. Outside of a few unavoidable typos (which I will do my best to avoid), I promise to make this a sequel that is not stupid in comparison to the original. That said, allow me to begin.
Favors Remembered: Chapter 1-Three Years and Something Later
17-year-old Takeru Takaishi walked down the hall of Odaiba High School with a huge smile on his face. In a mere nine hours, he would be playing in the basketball game that would ensure them a spot in the championship. Four days later was his 18th birthday, and his girlfriend Hikari had promised to do something very special for him. He'd been thinking about it for the past week, and today was no exception. Naturally, he only half noticed when one of the cheerleaders stopped him in the hall to talk to him.
"Hi, TK," she said. The way she said it conveyed both the fact that she was stereotypical cheerleader, and the fact that she had a crush on him.
"Oh, hi Lina," he replied casually.
"Good luck tonight," she said with an enormous grin.
"Thanks," he said. He began searching for an escape from the conversation. Then she leaned in close to him and whispered.
"I'll be cheering especially for you." She winked at him and walked off, leaving TK thoroughly uncomfortable. He stood there for a moment before he heard someone walk up behind him.
"Better be careful there, TK," Davis said. "You don't want Kari to catch you flirting with other girls." He laughed, but TK blushed.
"She wouldn't leave me alone," TK defended himself.
"Sure she wouldn't," Davis teased as he nudged TK with his elbow.
"Now stop that!" TK yelled. "You know I'd never cheat on Kari!"
"I know, I know," said Davis laughing. "But I swear, TK. Any other guy would kill to have Lina Suzuki all over them. She has got to be, without question, the most gorgeous girl in school."
"I'd have to disagree with you on that one," TK said, shaking his head. "But I do admit that I'd be one of the very few who would."
"Anyway, I came here to tell you that coach wants to see you. He wants to go over strategies for tonight's game."
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" TK's thoughts had drifted back to Kari, so he had to shake his head to clear it and focus on what Davis was saying.
"I could tell him your mind's not on it," Davis offered. "But that isn't the sort of thing he'd want to hear about the captain of the team on the day of the biggest game of the year."
"No, I'm fine," TK said. "Does he want to talk to us now?"
"Well actually, he just said you," Davis replied. "And yeah, he wants to see you before class starts." TK smiled.
"Well I have to have my co-captain there, don't I?" he asked. "Come on, let's go." The two of them left the main hallway and headed for the gym.
* * *
"So what do you think?" Kari asked Yolei. The two of them were sitting outside before classes started, and Kari had just told Yolei all about her plan for TK's birthday.
"I think it's great!" Yolei said enthusiastically. "TK's gonna be the happiest guy in the world in four days' time, I guarantee it!"
"I hope you're right," Kari said nervously. "I just want everything to be perfect."
"Oh, it will be," Yolei assured her. "And after that, you've got the winter formal. And I'll bet he'll want to return the favor, if you know what I mean."
"I can't wait!"
Yolei sighed dreamily. "I wish I could have a guy that was crazy about me and that could make me feel all giddy." Kari looked at her sympathetically.
"You will, Yolei," she said. "Just wait. You'll find someone."
"I just wish I hadn't taken that year off last year to go study in America," Yolei said. "Being an exchange student was fun and all, but between you and me, their schools aren't all they're cracked up to be."
"At least you got to see a lot of neat things," Kari said.
"Yeah, but now I'm a year behind here. I didn't get to graduate with my own class, so I don't really even know anybody. How am I going to find a boyfriend if no one knows who I am?"
"You can't rush these things," Kari told her. "When you find the right guy, you'll just know. And who knows? Maybe it's someone who's been sitting under your nose the whole time." Yolei shook her head.
"No, the only guys that I really know well that I could even have a chance of dating are Ken and Izzy."
"Maybe it'll be one of them," Kari offered. Yolei shook her head again.
"They're both away at college," she said. "Besides, I honestly don't see myself with either one of them." Kari thought for a second and then started laughing.
"Well, there's always Davis!" she said. Yolei stared blankly for a moment and then she, too burst into wild laughter. The two girls were cracking up so hard that they barely heard the bell that signified the start of class.
* * *
Taichi Kamiya sat in his tiny apartment, waiting for the phone to ring. He'd left Sora three messages yesterday, and still hadn't heard back from her. Normally, this would only upset him a little bit, but as of late he was really worried about her.
Just over a month ago, Sora's grandmother had died. The whole family took it pretty hard, but Sora had been especially close to her grandmother. Not to mention the fact that her mother had become almost bipolar. She seemed extremely distant at times, and at other times she was incredibly edgy. Add to that the fact that her cousin Duane had been arrested for possession of illegal drugs, and Sora's life pretty much sucked. Her cheery demeanor could only hold out for so long, and Tai could already see that she was starting to break. The only time she ever smiled anymore was when he would take her to the park where they'd met and just sit there under their tree with her. It was the same tree they'd stood under just over three years ago when he'd given her the necklace that ever since she'd refused to take off.
"Oh, man," Tai groaned quietly as he fell back in his chair. "It seems like everything is going down the tubes. Ever since that big incident last spring, nothing's been the same around here." He paused for a moment and thought. "Well, almost nothing." His mind drifted to his sister and TK, and their still nearly perfect relationship.
'Man, TK,' he thought. 'How do you do it?' He looked over at the picture on his desk next to the phone. It was of he and Sora, and they were celebrating their one-year anniversary. Funnily enough, their one-year anniversary happened to fall on Sora's 19th birthday. They'd had Sora's birthday party with the whole group in the morning, and then spent the rest of the day together for their anniversary. In the picture, they were standing in front of a fountain, and Sora had her arms around his neck. They were both laughing.
Tai sighed. 'You'll be okay, Sora. I'm always gonna be there for you, no matter what.'
* * *
'Man, is this class ever going to be over?' TK wondered as he looked at the clock for the fifth time in seven minutes. He knew the teacher was talking, but he had no idea what about.
'It's the last class of the day! Can't he just give us a break? We've got three minutes!'
"Mr. Takaishi, are you paying attention?" His teacher's stern voice snapped him back to reality.
"Uh, yes sir!" he stammered.
"Good," the teacher responded. "I want our team to win just as much as anyone, but don't think that I won't give you detention just so you can play. There are higher priorities than the basketball championship."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir."
"That's fine. Just don't drift off in my class again, understand?" TK nodded. "Very good. You may all go now," he said.
'Finally!' was the thought running through TK's mind as he darted out of class and went for his locker. When he arrived, he found Kari there waiting for him. She was smiling brightly, and the look increased after he kissed her hello.
"Rough day?" she asked, giggling. TK rolled his eyes.
"You have no idea. I'm just glad I didn't get detention so I can play tonight."
"I'm not even going to ask."
"You're going to be cheering tonight, right?" he asked her as they walked down the hall. Kari was one of the cheerleaders.
"No, not tonight. I'm gonna sit in the stands with Tai and try to cheer up Sora."
"Sora's coming?" TK asked. She seemed a bit too depressed lately to bother with going to a basketball game.
"We hope so, anyway," Kari told him. "Tai's been trying to get a hold of her, but with no luck."
"That's too bad," TK said. He stopped and held the front door open for Kari. "I hope she's okay."
"So do I," Kari agreed. They made their way across the parking lot to where Matt always picked them up after school. "Tai's not taking the whole thing very well," Kari said as they saw Matt waving to them.
"I don't imagine that he would," TK said. "I mean I'd be pretty worried if you were depressed all the time." They reached Matt's car, and TK opened her door for her and then went around to get in the other side.
"What were you guys talking about?" Matt asked as they all settled into the car.
"Oh, nothing," TK lied. "Are you coming to the game tonight, Matt?"
"You bet I am! How could I miss my little brother bringing the school to the championships for the second year in a row?"
"And we'll win this year, too!" TK said confidently.
"Of course you will!" said Kari as she leaned across the backseat to give her boyfriend a huge hug. TK took the opportunity to ask her a question that he didn't want Matt to hear.
"Is Mimi coming?" he whispered. Kari looked up at him and gently nodded, a worried look on her face. TK bit his lower lip.
"What's going on back there?" Matt asked jokingly as he took a sharp turn.
"Ah, nothing!" TK replied quickly.
"Right, right," Matt nodded sarcastically. "Well, here you go, Kari," he said as he stopped in front of her building. "I guess we'll see you tonight."
"Bye, Matt, thanks for the ride," she said as she got out of the car. TK got out as well and came around to her. She hugged him and gave him a quick kiss.
"Good luck tonight," she said. "I'll be cheering for you, even if I don't have my pom-poms on."
"Thanks," he said. Then he gestured at the car with his eyes. "And try to keep those two apart, huh?" She nodded.
"I'll try." He gave her another quick kiss and said goodbye once again, and she went off to her apartment. TK turned around and reentered the car, now in the front seat.
"Planning on proposing anytime soon?" Matt teased. TK decided to humor him.
"Yeah, I picked the ring out last week," he said, unable to contain his grin. "All I need now is the right time."
"You know," Matt said, "If I didn't know you were joking, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised. You two are closer than anyone I've ever seen. Well, except for maybe Tai and Sora." At the mention of the luckless couple, TK's expression changed to one more serious. Matt noticed this, and changed his demeanor as well.
"I really hope everything works out for those two," TK said.
"Me too," Matt nodded. "You know what? I think this is just as hard on Tai as it is on Sora. The poor guy can't stand to see her so depressed, especially when he feels like there's nothing he can do about it."
"But he does help," TK pointed out. "You see the way she still lights up whenever he's around." Matt shook his head.
"But that light gets dimmer every time, bro," Matt said. "I'm not usually one to talk in metaphors, but I'm worried Sora's light is just going out."
* * *
"And there they are! Your Odaiba High Dragons!" The crowd cheered as the team ran out onto the court. A certain group was cheering louder than the rest.
"Yay! Go TK!" Kari was standing and waving her arms, making sure that her boyfriend could see her. Next to her sat her brother, who had his arm around Sora. He'd been able to get in touch with her, and she'd agreed to come. By her appearance, it was quite clear that she needed to get out, and Tai was just glad she was able to take a night and hopefully have fun. On the other side of Kari sat Yolei, then in front of them sat Cody and Matt. Mimi had yet to arrive.
"This should be good," Tai said. "This other team is supposed to be one of the best."
"Yeah, well we're one of the best, too," Kari stated proudly.
"It'll be a good one, that's for sure," Matt said. "It's one of the few things TK's been able to talk about for the past week." Suddenly, Yolei's head turned to her left as she saw someone approaching.
"Hey, is that Mimi?" she asked. As soon as Mimi's name was mentioned, Matt snapped his head to look. When he saw her, he gulped and turned to the rest of the group.
"You guys didn't tell me that she was coming," he said. He sounded quite anxious. Tai shrugged.
"You didn't ask."
"Oh, great. Now what am I gonna do?" He watched nervously as Mimi came up to them and greeted everyone. Then she turned to him slowly. She held one hand in the other in front of her, and as the she made eye contact with him, the two of them froze. She stood there for a moment before choking out,
"Hi, Matt."
"H-hey, Mimi," Matt replied. He sounded just as awkward as she had. However, no more words were exchanged between the two, they just stared at each other for a few more seconds, and then she sat down.
"That seemed more than a little awkward," Cody said quietly, so only Matt could hear him. The latter was still sweating.
"I was afraid of that," he said. The uncomfortable moment passed however, when Kari made an announcement.
"Hey, you guys! The game's starting!"
So they all sat and enjoyed the game, which was indeed very close. At half time, Odaiba was only up 47-46. During the first part of the game, Matt had switched places with Cody, so now he and Mimi were on opposite ends of the group. Sora would smile, but she wouldn't cheer like she used to. Although Tai was happy to see any sort of positive expression on her face, he was still a bit unnerved.
At half time, they all went out to get some water, since the school no longer allowed any sweetened or colored beverages in the gym. Matt and Tai chuckled slightly when they remembered the reason for that regulation.
The second half of the game was just as nail biting close as the first one had been. What's more, Odaiba lost the lead. By the time there were fifteen seconds left on the clock, they were down 88-86.
* * *
TK was sweating hard. He knew this was their last chance to win the game, and he was doing his best to come up with a plan. Even more important, he wanted to impress Kari. He could see her cheering for him, and it gave him that extra bit of drive to finish the game. He looked over at Davis, who was crossing his index fingers in front of him in the shape of an X. TK smiled and nodded, for he knew all too well what Davis was saying. This was a play they'd made up a few years ago, but the team had only ever used it once.
TK gave the signal, and the play was on. Davis ran up the center of the court, while TK came up the side behind him, dribbling the ball. He passed it to one of his teammates, and then swerved around an opposing player to have it passed back to him. During this time, Davis had positioned himself under the basket. As soon as TK got caught the ball, he passed it to Davis, who pivoted on his left foot to avoid another opponent, then jumped in the air to make the basket.
A mere fraction of a second before he made his move for the net, he threw the ball over his left shoulder, and it flew straight to TK, who had moved to just outside the three-point line. When TK took his shot, the other team was just coming down off the jump they'd taken to black Davis, so there was no hope for them. The entire gymnasium held its breath, waiting to see if TK's shot would make it.
First, it hit the front rim, and bounced toward the backboard. From there, it bounced off only to hit the rim again, where it teetered for a few agonizing moments before finally falling through and winning the game for Odaiba. The cheering resembled an explosion.
* * *
The whole group stood up and began cheering wildly for their friend. In a gym where a few seconds earlier one could hear a pin drop, it was now impossible to distinguish one's own voice from the rest of the screaming fans. That's exactly what was bothering Sora.
"Tai, I'm not feeling too good," she said. He immediately stopped cheering and turned to look at her.
"What the matter, Sor?" he asked worriedly.
"I just need to get out of here and go somewhere more calm," she said. "I don't think I can take all this excitement." He nodded in understanding.
"Let's all go, then," he said. "It'll be awhile before we'll be able to talk to TK anyway." So he beckoned the other digidestined and motioned that it was time to go. When they saw Sora, they all agreed and began heading out of the auditorium. All except for Matt, however.
* * *
"That was awesome, TK!" Davis congratulated his teammate. "I gotta tell ya, I was worried you weren't going to catch that." TK chuckled.
"Well if you'd been any farther off I wouldn't have. I nearly had to lunge for it as it was."
"Ha, ha. You try lobbing a blind throw over your shoulder next time." Their coach interrupted them.
"Great game, you two!" he said, slapping them both on the back, perhaps a little harder than was necessary. "Why don't you guys head on in to the locker room, eh? They're havin' a bit of a party in there." He then took off to congratulate the rest of the team still in the gym.
"Come on TK, let's get down there!" Davis said. "You know the first five minutes of these victory parties are the best!" TK shook his head.
"Nah, you go ahead. I'm gonna stay up here for a minute and talk to Kari." Davis rolled his eyes.
"Okay, man. Guess I'll see you in an hour or so." He turned and headed off toward the locker room. TK looked around for his girlfriend, but couldn't spot her anywhere.
"I wonder where she is," he said to himself. "She was sitting there with the rest of the guys, but I don't see them, either." He was pulled out of his thoughts by another slap on the back.
"Hey, bro! Great game!" TK scratched the back of his head.
"Thanks, Matt. You wouldn't know where Kari is by any chance, would you?" the older boy smirked.
"Why yes, I would. I just saw her go off with Davis out toward the parking lot…" he couldn't finish, as TK punched him on the arm and then they both burst out laughing.
"No, really," TK said when he'd calmed down. "I want to talk to her."
"She and the other's took Sora out of here when the game ended. She'll be back in a few minutes."
"What's wrong with Sora?" TK inquired, growing worried.
"It's nothing," Matt replied. "She just needed to get out of the crowd, that's all." The younger boy breathed a sigh of relief.
"So are you taking off, then?" he asked his older brother. The latter nodded.
"Yeah, I've gotta set up for a gig early tomorrow morning. Besides, I don't think I'd handle myself very well tonight." TK nodded understandingly.
"I guess you're right," he said. "I hope you two eventually get over this awkwardness around each other."
"I'm sure we will," Matt declared, "It'll just take time. You take care of yourself tonight, okay? Nothing too crazy." TK grinned.
"I know, I know. Get going, will ya?"
"Later, bro."
So he left, leaving TK to wait for Kari once again. After a few more minutes, someone else approached him.
"TK!" he heard the yell before he saw the yeller, but he knew who it was.
"Hi, Lina," he said a little nervously.
"You were amazing, TK!" she marveled. "You are just the best!" She leapt on him and gripped him and a very tight hug, especially for a girl of her…caliber. TK sweatdropped something awful, and a little trickle of blood came out his nose.
"Uh, thanks, Lina," he stammered. She gave him a peck on the cheek which only stupefied him further, and then flashed him a brilliant smile before turning and going on her way.
TK just stood there dumbfounded, trying to piece together what had just happened. He slowly brought his hand up to his cheek and touched his fingers to the spot, and gradually turned around. When he did, he froze in terror. If he'd been stupefied a moment earlier, he now stood petrified at the sight in front of him. There, not six feet away, stood Kari, looking at him with an indescribable look on her face.
There was some surprise in there, and some anger to be sure, but what got to TK most of all was the overwhelming look of hurt. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, and she stood frozen in shock. Then, without warning, or any indication as to her intentions, she ran. She turned from him and ran so fast that she was out of the gym in a matter of seconds. And all TK could do was watch, unable to move a single muscle in his body.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
There! Not my usual carefree stuff, is it? I don't want you to go expecting frequent updates on this like the last one, because I'm a lot busier now than I was when I wrote that. However, I'm still sticking to my ten review standard. I don't get ten, you don't get story. Cappiche? One easy way to do it: Like the story? Tell your friends! Nothing is better publicity than word of mouth. Later!
-"I'm not a complete idiot…some parts are missing."