UPDATE (06/10/2013): Hey, y'all! So I finally got around to revising my work (and I'll be doing this throughout the summer for most of my work), so I hope you all enjoy! :)

Hello guys, IrishPanther here with my very first story on FanFiction. Taken by a messenger who wanted me challenged, I believe that I have done a good job. I have done my reserach on NASA to see how long it would take someone to achieve this feat. Reviews would be appreciated but not necessary. Hope you all enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN DIGIMON IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM

Never before did he have to think about the future. He always assumed that something will come out of the blue, a distraction that he would use as an outlet. He never really thought of a solid career for his future.

'Where do I go from here?' a young teenager pondered while lying on his bed. 'Where should I start?'

Matt Ishida has been pondering these questions for quite a time now. It has been over a year since the new team of DigiDestined defeated MaloMyotismon and has restored peace to the Digital World. Since that time, Matt had been hard at work with his band, known as the Teenage Wolves, confident that they could take the top crown as the young, upcoming boy band in Japan. He was hoping for some kind of jumpstart to boost the group.

That chance never came. The Teenage Wolves only had been favored in Odaiba and had not been getting any offers for big time concerts. Apparently, another boy band had already claimed Japan with their many top-hit singles. Matt and his group never got to that plateau and, seeing as they were getting older, their love and dedication for the band started dwindling down until each went their own separate ways.

This led to brought out the situation that Matt was currently in. It has been two months since the band broke up and he seemed clueless on what to do now. No matter what he thought up, it would seem too tedious for his traditional laid-back attitude. He knew he had to do something about this; as a junior in high school with only a few months left, Matt knew that he needed something, anything at that, to boost his morale up and see the possibilities that were out there.

Matt gave in to his eventual boredom and got out of his bed. He knew that he eventually had to get up somehow, as his clock read 11:00 AM in bright green lighting. Knowing that his father already left for work, Matt decided to fix himself up a quick breakfast and, after getting prepared for the day, went for a walk to clear his mind.

'All I need is some time alone,' Matt thought as he continued to walk along the sidewalk. 'Just anything to get me thinking about…' He didn't want to finish that sentence. He was tired of finishing it. That one word has been plaguing him for the past few months.

Matt continued to walk in silence, trying to get a sense of the noises and sights around him. He couldn't help but smile when he saw a few kids at the park playing with their own digimon. Ever since that last battle, the barriers between the real world and digital world were stripped and, with that, allowed every human be in charge with a digimon.

Matt suddenly knew where he needed to go. Sure the city was fine to take a daily stroll around, but it wasn't peaceful enough for him to focus.

"I know what I am going to do tonight." Matt whispered to himself and, without hesitation, grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and started to text someone familiar.

"So tell me again why we are here?" TK annoyingly asked.

"I just need some time to reflect, that's all." Matt answered casually, though he was getting pretty annoyed at his little brother for such pestering.

TK had agreed to take Matt to the digital world for 'a short time only.' Though a short time quickly became three and a half hours, he was starting to get flustered. It was a school night and he still needed to finish up some homework for the next day.

"We've been walking around here for quite some time now," TK spoke up. "Maybe it would be best to leave now. I have other things that need to be done tonight, you know."

"Ehh, good for you bro, but just a little bit longer." Matt said. That was Matt alright, his 'too cool for school' mojo showing about.

The two brothers finally came upon a river and decided to rest for a bit. Matt sat down in the soft grass, looking upward at the clear night sky and the numerous stars that were scattered across it.

TK was getting pretty aggravated now. He decided that enough was enough and wanted to walk out and get home. 'Honestly,' he thought, 'what was the point to all of this? I did my part and let him in here, so why should I wait around for him to be done?!'

TK was about to leave when a sudden glimpse caught his eyes. He turned and looked at Matt, who continued to look at the night sky. TK rarely saw his brother in this state of mind before. Matt's facial expression read nothing but awestruck.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing before him. In Odaiba, nights when the stars would come out were rare, so Matt thought up a trip here would do him good. It has done him far more. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing. The beauty of the night shone down upon him and he was astonished by it.

"Isn't it amazing?" Matt asked aloud.

TK just shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing too special."

"Nothing too special?" Matt questioned. "Look at it, all the stars in the sky; I mean it's just breathtaking. I never knew how much beauty there was in the world."

"Oh jeez, give me a break," TK rudely stated. "You're telling me that this was the reason that I spent most of my night out here with you just for you; to look at a night sky"

"TK, this might sound crazy but…" Matt started up.

"But….what?" TK questioned.

"I think I know what I want to do with my life." Matt answered while smiling.

"You want to study to become an astronaut?" Hiroaki croaked up at breakfast the next morning.

"Yeah, Dad; I mean it might sound crazy now, but believe me, last night I got this wake-up call. It just made me realize my one true goal."

"You do know that there is a lot of work that goes into this right? I mean a lot of work." Hiroaki emphasized to his son.

"Yes, I know that as well. I saw a glimpse of it while looking at the NASA website."

"NASA…as in North America, right…as in you might leave the country?!" Hiroaki never thought of the fact that Matt would leave Japan to pursue this goal. "I though you would at least stay in Japan."

"Dad, stop worrying. I still have all of high school, all of college, and three plus year here of studying even before I can apply. I know this will take a lot of work and I'm glad you are trying to show some sign of support, but it's not working," Matt stated. "This is something that I want to do; I want to know what lies out in the universe. I want to explore the possibilities. I thought you would be happy for me."

"I am, but I mean it's just…it's you. You're going to tell me that you are ready to take these next eight years of your life and focus on this lifelong goal?" His father asked

"Yes, I am," was all Matt needed to reply for his father to get the message.

"Really, I mean really, you want to study engineering?" Sora exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"Yes, in order to become an astronaut, I need to have my bachelor and doctoral degrees in at least this field of study." Matt responded casually. It wasn't like he was saying what he had in mind for his career to everyone all day. And he has been getting the same kind of response from his friends all day long. Even Tai thought it was just a joke and dismissed it as that.

The couple was sitting on a park bench after school ended, just doing some simple chatting. Matt thought it would be a good idea to let his girlfriend know of his idea. 'Maybe she could support me one way or another' he pondered, but this sounded nothing like it.

"Since when did you decide that engineering was a good interest for you? I have never seen you talk about anything math – and science – related, and now you drop this on me!"

"Well it's better than what you want to do. I mean let's get realistic here, you becoming a fashion designer. I always thought you would take up a career in sports, but wow, that sure takes the cake."

"Fashion is something I've always been interested in; I just never showed it to anyone since I never wanted my reputation stained," Sora explained. She was quite the tomboy to most people, known to most as being a fierce competitor in both soccer and tennis.

"I just want some support Sora! Come on now; this is my one dream, my only shot to do something in my life!" Matt stated. "I know I needed something to fall back on incase the whole band gig didn't make it and, oh look, the band didn't work out!"

"I'm sorry that your band didn't work out, but honestly, if you love music, go for that. I mean, I just never have seen you focus on anything school-related and you want to go into one of the toughest majors out there?"

Matt sighed; there was no getting around this. "I have to go. I'll call you sometime if you want to hang." Matt got up from the bench and, after kissing Sora, departed back on the way home.

"There is only one more person – no, being – that I can turn to," Matt said.

"So let me see if I get this straight," Gabumon said as he sat on Matt's bed. "You want to study at a college for a degree in which makes you become an astronaut?"

"Something like that." Matt couldn't help but to chuckle at his digimon's way of explaining human concepts.

"Sounds like fun to me, but where would I fit in?" Gabumon asked.

Matt was kind of taken back by this. On the plus side, he was glad that Gabumon supported his idea of studying to become an astronaut, but on the other side, he never really took into consideration of how Gabumon would fit into all of this.

"You know what, pal? We'll get to that when we get to that, okay?" Matt stated to the furry creature.

"Sounds like a plan; so how long would this plan take?" Gabumon asked

"Well, it's a pretty long process," Matt started as he sat on the bed with Gabumon. "First I would need to finish up high school, so that's one year, next –"

"Wait a minute," Gabumon interrupted. "This is going to take more than a year!"

"Oh yeah, it's a long process. After high school, I head off to college to achieve my bachelor degree in engineering. This step takes about four years to complete. After that, I would continue my studies for three years in order to achieve my doctrine. Then I would have to apply to NASA and that process takes about two and a half years if I make it into the program."

Gabumon looked confused and bewildered. He couldn't believe that his partner would be away for what seems to him like an eternity.

"To make this a whole lot shorter," Matt said, "the process takes around ten and a half years to achieve. Once I'm in the NASA program, I can start my dream."

Gabumon looked at Matt while scratching his head. "So what will happen to us? I mean, ten years seems like a long time, an eternity in some ways. Will I ever see you?"

Matt smiled, shaking his head in a 'yes' gesture and patted Gabumon on the head. "You are the only one out of my friends and family that support me and want me to achieve my dream. I can't thank you enough for believing in me. Just you wait, pal; I'm going to study my butt off in order to make this dream into a reality."

It was right here that Matt felt something: a sense of accomplishment. Yes, he had had many accomplishments in his lifetime, but this one felt better in a sense. His career was already set up and now all he needed to do was to get on the right track and work his butt off in order to achieve it. He knew that it would be a long and difficult road ahead for him, but he knew that if he had someone supporting him, he was not going to stop until he was finished.

Alrighty then, my first one-shot is completed! Thank you for reading!