I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. I was a little burnt out after helping to organise the Digimon Bang and work currently being a pain. I'm slowly starting to get back to writing after taking a break, so there should be another chapter of A House A Home within the next couple of months. I'm hoping the next Tri movie will give me a bit more motivation.
This is for the lovely reviewer sorato1990 who requested Yamato being jealous of Taichi and Sora's friendship because Taichi is always hugging Sora. The story has deviated quite a bit from the prompt (sorry!), partially because I did want to keep it friendship. Apologies again for taking so long to publish this.
Readjustment
The summer holidays had felt both an age and a small moment in time. Of course, they had lasted longer than usual, since Yamato had spent several months in the Digital World while less than a few hours had passed in his World. Cramming wasn't really his style, so when the second term began and he could only answer the simplest questions, many of his teachers and peers became worried.
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong, Yamato?"
His homeroom teacher stood in front of him staring down with a look of concern. The rest of the class had left for the day, leaving Yamato to face the inquisition on his own.
"Is anyone at school causing you problems? Maybe something has changed at home?"
My parents have finally started speaking to each other again, Yamato silently answered. He refrained from sighing. Yamato appreciated that his teachers were worried about him – it was reassuring to know they paid enough attention that his recent behaviour was causing concern. He just wished it didn't mean them butting into his personal life.
"No, everything's fine. I just forgot a couple of things over the summer break. I'll catch up before the next test."
His homeroom teacher nodded, but didn't seem convinced. Nevertheless, she let him excuse himself and Yamato left the classroom before she could change her mind.
Yamato trudged towards his locker, deftly avoiding the other students. He opened the door and grabbed one of his notebooks from last term, shoving it into his bag. Yamato wondered if the other Chosen were also struggling to readjust to classes. He vaguely remembered Jou saying he'd failed a test soon after returning to Odaiba.
Rather than walk straight home, Yamato found himself drawn to the school playing field. He only realised where his mind had subconsciously taken him when he heard the shrill sound of a whistle. Memories of that final trip out of the Digital World rose unbidden to the forefront of his mind.
He sat down on the bleachers and watched the soccer game unfold. He soon recognised Taichi and Sora and, with a smile, he took out his books in order to study. Every so often, he would look up when he heard the crowd getting more excited. It seemed they were playing an important match against a rival school.
Yamato began paying less and less attention to his studies as the match continued. Although he wasn't the type to cheer in such a large crowd, he found himself smiling every time Taichi or Sora made a good play.
The home team was winning by one goal as they entered the last few minutes. Their rival team, determined to at least settle for a draw, managed to get a corner and moved all their players up to the goal (including the goalie). The audience collectively held their breath as the ball was kicked onto the field.
A few audience members gasped as the ball landed at the rival player's feet and sent directly at the goal. Yamato found himself unable to look away as the goalie shoved the ball away, but was unable to keep hold of it. Unfortunately, one of the rival team members got to it first and kicked it back at the goal. Everyone stood up. The goalie was on the ground, the ball looked to be going in…
From seemingly nowhere, Sora jumped up and headed the ball down the pitch. Before anyone could process what had just happened, the ball landed at Taichi's feet and he sprinted towards the opposing goal. Too late, his opponents realised what had happened and tried to catch up with him. The crowd cheered as Taichi stopped long enough to line up a shot on goal. Their opponents all jogged to a stop as the ball swished into the back of the net. The whistle blew signalling the end of the match.
Yamato found himself cheering along with everyone else as Taichi ran up to Sora and the two embraced, while still jumping around excitedly. As the rest of the team piled on the couple, Yamato felt his happiness gradually fade. A cold feeling settled in his stomach. Ignoring the crowd around him, Yamato quickly picked up his books and shoved them into his bag before making a swift exit from the playing field. He told himself he didn't envy them, but it felt false even in his head.
As expected, the apartment was empty when he arrived back home. He set his book bag on the table without a second thought and walked over to the fridge to grab a soda. He savoured the taste, even the uncomfortable fizziness at the start. His memories of the Digital World were slowly fading but he still tried to remember to appreciate all the food he could eat in his World.
Yamato was still studying when he heard the door unlock. He jumped in surprise, looking straight at the clock, which only read six in the evening. Worried, Yamato stood up as his father walked through the door with a weary sigh.
"Is everything all right?"
Hiroaki seemed surprised to see Yamato standing at the table, which Yamato found strange since it was his father who was home ridiculously early. Hiroaki smiled at him.
"How was school today?"
"Fine. Why are you home early?"
Hiroaki set down his bag by the door. "I thought we could go out for dinner. How about the barbeque place down the road?"
Yamato's stomach grumbled and he blushed. His father knew that was his favourite place to eat.
"OK. I'm just going to get changed."
"You've got ten minutes!" Hiroaki shouted after him.
As Yamato got changed into some slightly nicer clothes, he started wondering why they were going out for dinner. He'd been to the store yesterday, so it wasn't like there was nothing in the fridge that he could cook up. Slowly, Yamato became suspicious, although he decided to keep his thoughts to himself for the time being.
Hiroaki waited until Yamato took the first bite of steak to finally confirm his fears.
"One of your teachers called today. Apparently, your grades haven't been up to your expected standards since the end of the summer holidays."
Yamato chewed the piece of steak longer than was strictly necessary. Hiroaki sighed.
"I'm assuming this is because of the Digital World?"
Yamato picked up another piece off the barbeque, letting it cool between his chopsticks. "I forgot more than I realised. I've already started catching up."
"What about your friends? Are they struggling too?"
Yamato shrugged and popped the piece in his mouth. Hiroaki frowned.
"You're in the same school. Haven't you been speaking with them?"
"I went to Taichi and Sora's soccer game today." Never mind that his presence there had been a complete accident.
His father seemed to see through the white lie as well. "The way you've talked about them, I'm surprised you're not seeing them more. How about that boy in the year above you – Jou wasn't it?"
Yamato hunched over, feeling ashamed and embarrassed. He mumbled out a few excuses, but none of them really justified his reluctance to hang out with his friends during, or even after, school.
"Yamato…" his father warned, clearly losing patience.
"It's strange isn't it; a bunch of kids in different years suddenly talking to each other like close friends after only spending a less than an hour snowed in a cabin?" Yamato pushed the food around his plate, unable to look Hiroaki in the eye.
"Don't tell me you're avoiding them because you're afraid what everyone else will think?"
"I just didn't want anyone to start asking questions."
Hiroaki chuckled humourlessly. "Hate to break it to you kiddo, but your teachers are already asking questions."
"It's just because I forgot things I knew last term. Once my grades are back up they'll stop."
"So you want to go back to the way things were before the summer?"
Yamato thought back to the Digital World, to the friends he made, especially Gabumon. He remembered returning to Tokyo and having both his parents wrap their arms around him and Takeru – like a normal family. How would his partner react if he saw Yamato running away again?
Taking Yamato's silence as stubbornness, Hiroaki continued. "Who cares if your teachers or classmates start asking questions? I'm sure you kids can think up a good excuse together. Don't waste your youth trying to cater to others, especially when it's making you miserable."
"I'm not miserable," Yamato countered, but sounded more resigned than angry.
Hiroaki put his hand on Yamato's head in a rare display of public affection. "I'm really proud of you, and not just because you saved the world. You've made some great friends and I don't want you to lose them because you're afraid."
Yamato stayed silent, still contemplating his father's words. Slowly, Hiroaki took his hand away from Yamato's head and turned his attention back to the food in front of them.
"All right, I'm not going to lecture you anymore."
Yamato silently watched his father cook some more meat on the grill. When his father became distracted, Yamato quickly grabbed it off and placed it on his father's plate before it burnt.
"You can't just leave it unattended! This is why you're such a bad cook."
Hiroaki laughed. "Even when we go out for dinner, you're still making sure I don't ruin our meal."
Yamato did a poor job hiding his smile with a disapproving frown. He gave up when he realised Hiroaki wasn't fazed in the slightest.
Yamato politely thanked the lunch servers before turning to look around the cafeteria. He recognised a few students from his class who wouldn't be surprised if he came and sat with them, but Yamato continued scanning the area for more familiar faces.
After the conversation with his father the previous night, Yamato had decided to try to speak with the other Chosen Children. Of course, that was easier said than done when they were in different classes.
Taichi and Sora were sitting at the table in the farthest corner from the entrance, surrounded by their soccer teammates. Yamato sucked in a breath and steeled himself as he walked over. Sora was the first to notice him as he approached, her expression was surprised but happy – or at least that's what he hoped.
"Yamato!"
Taichi looked up at Sora's greeting and their teammates all turned to look at him. Yamato gripped his tray a little tighter, suddenly very conscious. He managed a weak hello, and fell silent long enough for it to be awkward. Sora opened her mouth to say something, but Yamato spoke first.
"Good game yesterday."
The team seemed to relax, while Taichi and Sora beamed.
"You saw it?"
Yamato nodded, still embarrassed. "The last goal was incredible."
Taichi grinned. "We're aiming to win the league this year."
"You're still going on about that?" one of his teammates asked, sounding incredulous. "There's no way!"
"Not with that kind of attitude," one of the others countered easily and Yamato felt a pang of nostalgia.
"You want to sit with us?" Sora asked, breaking through the argument.
Suddenly all the attention was back on him and Yamato felt like a trespasser. No, this wasn't the time to catch up with them. He smiled and hoped it looked convincing.
"Nah, I just wanted to congratulate you."
He turned away with his tray still in his hands and walked back towards one of the tables he'd remembered noticing his classmates. He stopped short when he realised they'd left and now the table was empty. However, before he could look anywhere else for a space, he felt someone bump his shoulder.
Any annoyance quickly evaporated when he noticed Taichi beside him, who was holding a tray of half-eaten food. Sora appeared on his other side and smiled.
"Looks like there's a spare table."
The three sat down together and Yamato glanced between Taichi and Sora.
"I didn't mean to take you away from your teammates."
"Don't worry about it," Taichi dismissed Yamato's concerns with a wave of his hand. "We haven't talked in ages."
"Why didn't you tell us you were going to be at our game?"
"I just stumbled on it and ended up staying." Yamato blushed. "I meant what I said, though. That last play was amazing."
Taichi laughed. "It was mostly Sora. I just took the glory."
"Oh, so now you're acting humble?"
Sora only managed to look annoyed for a few seconds before a smile broke through. Yamato sat back, marvelling how easily they had fallen back into comfortable conversation.
"Mind if I join you guys?"
"Hey, Koushiro!"
Koushiro nodded to them politely before taking one of the spare seats. They began talking about how things had gone since the Digital World and how they were readjusting to school.
"I didn't know we were having a meeting!"
All four turned just in time to see Mimi tugging along Jou, who was trying to hold his tray in one hand without it toppling over. She placed her tray on the table and dragged up a couple of spare chairs.
"How is everyone? It feels so long since we've met up!"
Yamato noticed out of the corner of his eye that other students were staring at them. Some were whispering to each other, questioning why a group of kids from different classes and years were sitting together. He was pulled back by Mimi's voice.
"Anyone else completely forget what we were learning before summer?"
Jou sighed. "I thought I was the only one suffering."
"Dad got a call from my teacher yesterday," Yamato confessed.
"My parents haven't gotten a call."
"That's because you're still near the bottom of the class, Taichi. Yamato was top of his class before summer."
"How do you know that Sora?"
Jou interrupted before Sora could stammer out an excuse. "Wait, Yamato's top of his class? Tell me your secret!"
"I just said my teacher had called because my scores were bad."
"What if we started up a study group?" suggested Koushiro.
Mimi looked as if she was seriously considering the suggestion. "But we're at different levels."
"We could study at my house if we want somewhere quiet. My dad normally works late."
Taichi jumped up, excited. "What day is everyone free?"
The bell signalling the end of lunch rang before anyone could find a day that would be best. However, they agreed to discuss it again over lunch the next day.
Yamato quickly made his way back to class and sat down at his desk, but before he could take out his books, the boy in front of him turned around.
"You're friends with Taichi?"
Yamato forced himself to nod. "We met at summer camp."
"He's fun to be around isn't he? I didn't think you were the type to get along with each other."
The boy turned back around with a smile as the teacher walked in, leaving Yamato a little lost for words.
However, no one else commented on his new friends in the days or weeks after. Slowly, Yamato's grades improved and everything settled into a sort-of routine. Hiroaki only gave Yamato a knowing smile when he came home early one day to find the kids sat around the table talking and studying.
Thank you for reading!