Becoming Tai
A/N: So I started another story :) This is for one of my editors who requested a Taichi-centric fic where he is a normal person, going through extraordinary circumstances but still in a very ordinary way. This is going to be very John Greene-like according to my editors who have already read through some of the chapters so I hope you guys enjoy reading it. I know I had fun writing it!
This is for my lovely little friends now graduating high school-it's graduation season in America, and one of my girls that I used to babysit is all grown up! She's actually graduating in around an hour! Sniff, sniff :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I wish I did, then I wouldn't have to work! (or work in healthcare :T although I am thankful I have job at all in this shitty economy, even for nurses!)
It was a pretty shitty day for 22 year old Yagami Taichi.
There was no way around it. His life sucked.
As if it wasn't bad enough not getting a call back from the ten potential companies he'd applied to, the one interview he went to declined to hire him because he was "over qualified."
What did that even mean?!
How did one become "over qualified" for anything?!
It was frustrating. More so since his childhood friends Takenouchi Sora and Izumi Koushiro were both hired by large corporations. And they didn't even have time to see him anymore.
Heck, Izumi was actually hired by an American company somewhere in a place called Langley, wherever that was.
And to think I was once the most promising kid in school.
Taichi scoffed at the irony and angrily loosened his necktie before taking it off entirely. He was tempted to throw the damn strip of fabric into a public trashcan but decided against it.
He would need the tie for his next interview. God willing.
And he couldn't afford to buy another one.
It was starting to get embarrassing, having to get allowance from his parents, never mind having to move back in.
The weather was starting to get really warm. It was mid May and everyone was transitioning to summer and a group of kids-middle schoolers, it looked like- were playing soccer in the park.
Taichi wearily set his leather briefcase onto a bench and spent a few minutes watching the kids kick the ball around.
Hmph. They sucked.
Wow. What was that? That can't even be counted as a pass. Whoa, kid! It's called dribbling! Use the inner sides of the foot, idiot! The sides! Argh!
That's it. These kids need someone to teach them how to play properly.
Soccer was an art to Taichi and what these boys were doing to his sport? Travesty, a goddamn travesty.
"Hey kids! What are you doing?!" Taichi yelled at the group as he briskly jogged towards the green.
A couple of them stopped to stare at him, their mouths agape and their faces flushed from the heat and exertion.
"Playing soccer, what does it look like old man?!" One of them yelled and Taichi rolled his eyes at the jab as the rest of the group sniggered at the comment.
"No, you guys are not playing soccer, you guys are chasing a ball around like a bunch of blind monkeys." He expertly intercepted a pass a kid was trying to make and amazed the boys with his fancy footwork before kicking the ball straight past the goalie into the net.
"That's soccer. You want to play, play properly."
His little act shut the group up and they looked at Taichi with renewed respect and admiration shining in their eyes.
He turned to the pudgy goalie staring at him from the net and motioned for him to throw the ball over to him.
The kid turned to fetch the goal and Taichi smirked. He was starting to feel good about himself again, confident say.
The kid set the ball on the ground and reared his little body back to kick the ball back to Taichi. Taichi concentrated on the fall of the kid's leg and watched as the foot came in contact with the white and black ball, the ball flying towards him with surprisingly good velocity and-
"Yagami Taichi! What are you doing?"
Huh?
It was that brief break in concentration that allowed the ball to come into direct contact with Taichi's head, causing him to immediately black out.
"Whhups. He's coming around." A vaguely familiar voice announced. Taichi had a pounding pressure in the space between his temples and he wanted that slightly whiny voice to just shut up.
"Huh. So he is. I'll call the resident, kid. Why don't you assess him and you can go over your findings with the doctor?"
SHUT. UP.
WOW. Not only did he have the worst headache in the world-much worse than the hangover he had after graduation- the nausea rolling up from his stomach, through his esophagus and up the throat and his mou-
"Ugh! He vomited!" Yeah, you think Jyou?!
Somethings never change. Jyou will always be Jyou.
Wait.
Hold up.
Taichi groaned as he pried his eyes open. Standing before Taichi and frantically wiping at himself with a wipe was a tall bespectacled man with navy blue hair.
Curious. Taichi could have sworn he didn't know the man. But he was so...familiar!
He shut his eyes tightly and rolled over onto his side. Despite the pounding in his head, he couldn't help concentrating on where he'd seen that man.
A strange image popped into his head. Actually, dream sequence seemed more apt to describe the acid trip his mind was taking him.
Seven kids. At summer camp. Suddenly transported into the Digital World. Digimon. Saving the world.
No wait, it was him and Sora and Koushiro for sure. And...Ishida Yamato?
Why am I dreaming about that moody douchebag?
Taichi, Sora and Koushiro had attended middle school and high school with the blonde and while they were not in the same classes, they were friendly enough. Besides, the blonde was pretty popular in school for being in a band and being 'handsome.' Anyways, point was, Taichi knew the guy enough to recognize the taller of the two blondes was Ishida.
The smaller of the blondes was Takaishi Takeru, also known as the younger sister's boyfriend.
Oh hey! Hikari is part of this too, only she came about halfway into the whole mess.
There were 2 other kids there too. And even though Taich could have sworn he never met them, he knew who they were instantly. Tachikawa Mimi and Kido Jyou.
Kido Jyou!
That was the guy now attending to him!
Taichi's eyes shot open again and he bolted to a sitting position. Only to regret it instantly as a sharp pain lanced through his head.
"Whoa! Calm down, mister!" Jyou gently pushed down Tai and Taichi grinned crazily at the navy haired man.
"Kido Jyou! Nice to see you again, man!"
"Ehh? Do I know you?" Confusion spread across the handsome man's face and he nervously pushed his glasses up with two fingers deftly pressed against the bridge of his horn-rimmed frames.
The face was much older than the twelve year old in the dream but it was definitely Kido Jyou.
"Yeah! Can't explain it at the moment but we saved the world together!" Confusion turned to alarm before settling into amusement.
The curtain separating Taichi's emergency room bed from the patient next to him was drawn and an older version of Jyou-Kido Shin, Taichi's mind told him, walked in.
"So, kiddo, what do we have here?" The elder Kido grinned at his younger brother, pleased at himself for the corny pun on their name.
"Well, we have a 22 year old male with a traumatic head injury and subsequent loss of consciousness. CT scans do not indicate any fractures or swelling, but he is presenting with classic symptoms of concussion." Jyou turned to his brother and lowered his voice.
"He vomited as soon as he came to and he's obviously confused and delirious. He claimed to know me and said we saved the world." Shin raised an eyebrow.
"Well, do you know him? Did you ever save the world with him?" Why didn't anyone believe him?
"Yes! We know each other, I swear! I know you too, Shin! I swear I'm not confused!" Both brothers stared at the man sitting up and yelling on the ER stretcher.
"Yeap. I'm inclined to agree with you, Jyou. Let's admit him for concussion and altered mental status."
"I have to admit, Dr. Kido, I'm impressed he was able to guess both of our names correctly."
"Nah, he probably read our names on our badges."
"Hmph. You sure about that Shin?"
"Hey! Let's keep it Dr. Kido while at work, kiddo."
"Ok, Dr. Kido, tell me this much. How did a patient with a diagnosis of concussion and altered mental status read the tiny print on our badges in seconds? That's a feat without the concussion diagnosis."
"Creepy. Who knows, maybe he's telling truth." The brothers glanced at each other, both struggling to stifle their grin as once again their big haired patient protested that he really did know them both.
"I am telling the truth." Taichi mumbled to himself as the doctor and the med student took their leave.
"Tai! Oh my god, Tai, I'm so sorry!" The brunette smiled despite the pounding in his temples.
It was his ginger friend, Sora, and she rushed over to his side carrying his briefcase and other personal effects in a standard issue plastic hospital bag.
"I shouldn't have yelled at you like that! I was just surprised to see you at the field, and you were in your suit and the kids…"
Taichi waved his hand at her and Sora reached for it with both of hers.
"Don't worry about it Sora. I'll be ok. Must've scared the kids though, huh?" He grinned at her worried expression.
She smiled, her ruby eyes softening a bit as she idly rubbed his hand.
"The kids were pretty shocked, yeah. But I was scared shitless. You just dropped to the floor when that ball hit you and all I could think about was how that actress died from a head injury."
"Yeah well. I'm ok. The doctors here did some scans and tests and they told me other than a concussion, I seem to be ok."
Sora rolled her eyes.
"Yagami Taichi. A concussion is nothing to joke about. What if your-"
Taichi raised his other hand to stop her from nagging him further and smiled uneasily as he again thought of his strange dream.
It had seemed so real. Almost like memories more so than a dream.
He had to ask Sora.
"Sora. Tell me honestly. Does the name Biyomon mean anything to you?" Taichi bit his lower lip gingerly as he carefully scrutinized the redhead.
Sora cocked her head to one side as she furrowed her brows thoughtfully. After a moment she slowly began to shake her head.
"No...Can't say it does. Sounds like the name of a Pokemon or something. Why?"
A knot formed in Taichi's stomach and he tried hard to cover up his disappointment.
"Do you remember summer camp when we were eleven?"
"Summer camp?"
"Yeah, remember? It was me and you and Koushiro and four other kids that year."
"Tai...that was the year summer camp got cancelled because of that freak snow storm. Remember? We stayed one afternoon and then our parents picked us up that evening." She eyed him cautiously, her voice tinged with worry.
"Yeah...I-I remember. Just wanted to confirm something. Listen, I think I'm going to take a nap, my head is pounding."
The strange look disappeared from Sora's eyes as she stood up, straightening her blouse.
"Yeah, sure, no problem. Um, your mother is on her way and I also called Hikari so they should be here soon."
Taichi smiled at her and reached for her hand affectionately.
"Thanks, Sora. I appreciate it."
She blushed, her cheeks almost matching the fiery red of her hair.
"Don't mention it. I'll stop by tomorrow?"
"Yeah, sure thing. Although I'm sure they'll discharge me soon."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll call ahead."
Taichi nodded as his friend took her leave. He frowned as he again thought of the Digital World and of the strange memories he had of the place.
I am so sure it happened. Why doesn't anyone remember?
The brunette flipped over onto his back as he thought of their adventures. Agumon, Gennai, File Island, defeating all those evil Digimon- You can't just make this shit up. Not even on acid.
Taichi did have to admit, their adventures in the Digital World would make a pretty awesome story.
Maybe I should write a book or draw a manga or something. Make some money for once.
Ha.
I guess I'll just have to find the rest of the kids, ask them if they recall. I'm not fucking crazy.
Short introductory chapter, next one will be longer.
Also since I refuse to write a story without Mimi coming out (she's my girl!) she will be making her appearance soon!
Thanks for reading and please R&R :)