Hello, everyone, and welcome to this sequel, or parallel story depending on how you look at it, to 'Free As A Bird' focusing on the second group of Digidestined and their path to brief stardom. I've been wanting to do a story with the 02 kids for a while now and I saw the opportunity to do that right now. Once again, with possibly a few exceptions, many of the songs that will be used do not belong to me so I am disclaiming that right away. Crazy to think we have one more Tri movie left out this coming summer but for now I can't wait for the dub of Confession to come out in December.
I would like to thank Music Chick, AKA Ren, for her help with formatting and some ideas. Thanks a lot, Ren ;-)
Hope you all enjoy.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the greatest rock band of the century: Davis and the XV's!"
The crowd's screams are deafening as the band comes out on the stage. Davis Motomiya smiles from ear to ear as he basks in the display of adulation and love from the Tokyo Dome crowd. Pyrotechnics go off when he raises his arms out like Jesus, and they love every second of it. This continues as he runs from stage right to stage left.
"Alright, Tokyo. Let's have a wild party!" he says. "Are you ready?"
Screams greet his words. His smile grows even bigger.
"I said…ARE YOU READY?"
"DAVIS, I LOVE YOU!" He heard several girls scream. He looks down and sees them going completely crazy over his presence, almost to the point of hysteria.
The band begins their opening song with a fast tempo. The crunch of the guitars is just right enough that people could head bang to it and the drums echo through the entire stadium. Davis starts jumping
"There I was completely wasting. Out of work and down. All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town," he sings, running around the stage as he does so. "Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die. So I might as well begin to put some action in my life."
After a brief stop, they break into the chorus with the guitarist palm muting the strings on his guitar as he plays the riff.
"Breaking the law. Breaking the law," continues Davis as he starts banging his head as well. "Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law. Breaking the law."
He is so full of energy and adrenaline that he jumps off the stage and into the crowd, expecting the throngs of people to catch him.
BAM!
"Ow," he groans as pain shoots through the back of his head.
Instead of the hands of the people on the floor, Davis feels his head come in contact with the ground. His head hurt and his eyes flicker until they are fully open.
The former leader of the second group of Digidestined is now at the age of twenty-four. Despite that, he has not changed at all, personality-wise, compared to when he was eleven and first went to the Digital World. His burgundy hair is still spiky, but longer than it was before, and he still has a rambunctious, unpredictable personality. He had dropped out of college so he could pursue his dream of being a famous rock star like Tai and the others did. When he saw them in concert for the first time, he knew he wanted to do that too. Thus far, it has not been as successful as he had hoped; they had done nothing but play parties and crappy bars for the past two years with no hopes of a record deal in sight.
He pouts as he realizes that he is in his room and not the Tokyo Dome.
'It was just a dream.' He thinks, sighing in disappointment. He looks down at his tattooed forearms: he had a 'V' on his right forearm and Veemon on his other arm. He had others on his torso but his shirt blocked them.
The sound of his cell phone going off on the bedside table above him causes him to scramble. Throwing the sheets off and rising to his feet, he answers the phone while still rubbing the back of his head.
"Hello?" He answers.
"Davis, where are you?" A frantic male voice screams through the phone.
"Kosuke?" Davis replied at the sound of his co-worker's voice. "What's up?"
"You should have been here a half hour ago, man," is the reply. "Better get over here fast or you're gonna get fired!"
Davis's looks over at his clock but he sees that it stopped some time during the night because it read 1:30 a.m. Realizing this, he unplugs it so he can reset it. His eyes bug out in horror once it resets. It was now 9:45.
"Damn!"
At the speed of a roadrunner, he changes out of his PJ's and into his work clothes, brushes his teeth and hair, and slams the door to his room behind him. He sees his parents look at him with confounded looks as they eat breakfast.
"Davis, what's the rush?" His father asks.
"Can't talk right now," he responds as he runs out the door. "I'm late for work!"
It takes all of a minute and a half for Davis to reach the bottom floor of his apartment building, climb on top of his bike, and pedal away like he is in the last quarter mile of the Tour de France towards the noodle shop where he works. He has already been late to work three times in the past two weeks, which means that he would be fired if he were caught being late again.
As he rounds the corner towards the back of the shop, he does not see anyone standing in front of the door. He sighs in relief, thinking that he is in the clear and no one has noticed he didn't show up on time. He parks his bike at the bike rack and rushes towards the door.
"Well, well, well,"
Davis felt chills go up his spine at the sound of the manager's voice. It sounded like Satan standing at the gates of Hell. He cringed as he slowly turned to see his smirking face.
"Uh…Hi Mr. Kajiyama," he smiles a forced smile. "I can explain everything."
The manager shook his head with a smirk. "Davis, this is the fourth time you've shown up late to work in the last two weeks," he said.
"I know and I'm sorry," Davis bowed his head in contrition. "I can explain this," he said but he is stopped.
"Don't bother. I told you last time that if you were late again, I would have no choice but to fire you," continued his manager. "You're a good kid, Davis, but my hands are tied. You're fired."
He took Davis's nametag off of his shirt and walked back inside, leaving him standing in shock and disbelief. Turning away, Davis kicked a nearby can in frustration. As he watched it sail down the alley, he noticed a young woman walk up to him. It took a second for him to recognize her.
"Noriko," he called to her, smiling as he greeted his girlfriend with a hug and kiss on the cheek.
Her demeanor, however, made him stop his affection. She didn't look happy to see him at all, like she had bad news to deliver. Usually when they greet each other, she smiled at him and returned his displays of affection.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Davis, we need to talk," she immediately replied, a serious tone in her voice. "I'm pregnant."
The news hit him like an oncoming train. His smile evaporated, replaced by a neutral expression that gave no hint as to what he was feeling. The weight of what this meant seemed to be crushing down on him like a falling piano in the old cartoons.
"That's…" he began, trying to find the words to say next. Noriko was one of those people that you chose your words carefully around lest you risk bodily harm. "That's wonderful. We're gonna have a baby."
"That's what we need to talk about," she replied. Her tone indicated she was not as excited about this as he was. "We've been going in circles for a long time, Davis. You spend more time in the band than you do with me. Don't I matter to you?"
"Of course you do, babe," he said defensively. "It's just I have to find a way to make a living somehow."
"You play gigs twice a week," she retorted. "And you just got fired from your job. What do you call that?"
Davis groaned, having heard this from her before and really not in the mood to talk about it again. Though before he could get in another word, she continued her tirade.
"You know that everyone is calling you a loser? You have no college degree, as of now no job, and you still live with your parents. Do you know how pathetic that is?"
"That doesn't mean things won't…" Davis tried to defend himself but once again he was interrupted.
"No they won't, Davis. Grow up. You're not a kid anymore," Noriko sighed sadly before delivering the words that would crush Davis's heart. "We're done. I can't take this anymore. I have to think about what's best not only for me, but the baby as well. I'm sorry but I don't think that leaves room for you anymore in my life."
Davis could not believe what he had just heard. Noriko was pregnant…and she was breaking up with him? Was she really thinking about the baby being raised without a father? He saw it as incredibly selfish.
"What about the baby?" He demanded, progressively getting angrier and angrier as he spoke. "I'm ready to be a dad, Noriko. I promise you. I won't let the baby be raised without a father. If anyone is being selfish, it's you."
Taking a deep breath to regain his composure, he delivered his last retort to her. "You can't break up with me. I want out of this relationship."
Without another word, he walked over to the bike rack to climb on his bike. Without looking back, he heard Noriko yell at him, "You'll always be nothing, Davis."
'Just you wait,' He thought to himself as he pedaled away. 'One day you are going to eat your words.'
Davis slurped his noodles loudly as he took gigantic bite after gigantic bite. It seemed like it was not going to be a good day for him at all if the start was any indication. First he gets fired from his job and then his girlfriend tells him she's pregnant and that she's breaking up with him. Could this day get any worse?
Across the table from him, Cody watched his friend chomp down with a neutral expression and a stack of mail in his hand. The youngest member of the Digidestined was being as sympathetic to his friend's plight as he could but he too could not help but feel like Davis inflicted this on himself.
"So Noriko's pregnant but she didn't want to be with you anymore?" Cody asked, making sure that he heard Davis correctly when he spilled his guts to him.
Davis nodded, still chomping down on his noodles.
"Then you guys just were not mean to be," said Cody. "Like Hamlet said, 'Frailty, thy name is woman.'"
"You can say that again."
Cody was the bass player for Davis's band. They had started when he was a first-year at Waseda University and they needed a bass player. Even though Cody did not know how to play at the time, he gave it his best effort and he got to be pretty good at it. The only downside was his grandfather did not approve of him doing such a thing, believing that it was a waste of time. He still did not approve of his grandson being in a rock band but Cody was old enough to make his own decisions now and did not need as much guidance as when he was younger.
"Man, Cody," said Davis through a full mouth. "Your mom really knows how to make good noodles. I may have to ask for the recipe sometime."
"It's not that difficult," replied Cody as he sorted through the mail. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind at…"
He stopped.
Davis stopped eating to see what was wrong with Cody; he was holding a letter with his name on it and inscribed with the words 'Harvard University.' Cody's face paled considerably, realizing the implications of what this letter meant for him. He had just graduated from Waseda as a pre-law student and had applied to several law schools in America, such as Stanford, Harvard, and Yale. While Stanford or Yale would be nice, Cody had his heart set especially on Harvard.
Cody continued to stare at the unopened letter, almost in fear that it would turn into a snake and bite him. What if it was a rejection letter? Despite graduating in the top five-percent of his class and having a résumé that would impress anyone, Cody still had fear that it wasn't going to be enough for Harvard.
"Well, aren't you gonna open it?" Davis asked, snapping Cody out of his daze. "Or are you just going to stare at it all day?"
"Uh…yeah," Cody replied, his eyes never leaving the letter.
He went into the kitchen to find a letter opener and found one in the top drawer. Tearing through the top of it, he pulls out the piece of paper that would change his life with a few simple words.
"Dear Mr. Hida," he reads. "We are pleased to announce that your application has been approved. We look forward to your attendance at Harvard Law School and hope to see you soon. Hope you are well. Congratulations."
Tears streamed down Cody's face as he reread the letter again and again, making sure that it was real. He couldn't believe it. He had been accepted to Harvard Law School. If only his father could have been here at this moment to see it. Cody could just imagine how proud he would be.
"Mom! Grandpa!" He yelled. "Get in here."
They came barreling into the room in less than a second.
"Not again," Ken sighed as he looked at the letter in front of him. Unlike Cody's excitement across town, he was miserable with what the contents of the letter told him.
'Dear Ken,
After careful consideration, we regret to inform you that we have rejected your demo tape. While you certainly have the talent and the drive, we don't think that you and Yolei are right for us at this time.
We wish you the best of luck.
Virgin Records Japan'
As he read it over and over again, Ken's mood grew darker and darker. This was the fourth rejection that he had received in two months from various record companies and each one was getting harder to accept as they came.
Crumpling up the letter and throwing it away, Ken took one last drag from his cigarette before walking back inside of the convenience store, where Yolei was restocking some shelves. Her mother stood at the counter, wiping it down, and her sister was restocking drinks. The store was devoid of customers for the time being but business was sure to pick up as the day got going.
He and Yolei had been dating since high school, where Ken started becoming more heavily involved with music. It was a good outlet for him since he still had many demons that needed to be exorcised from his past and Yolei had some singing experience so the two of them decided to perform together, thinking it would be fun.
The two started off performing in cafés and things went from there. Ken was so convinced that they could make it together that he started sending off demo tapes to record companies in hopes of receiving a deal. So far that hasn't happened with three rejections before Virgin rejected them.
Even with a degree from the University of Tokyo and a steady job, Ken was not ready to give up just yet; things were bound to change. He just knew it.
"Hey Ken," called Mrs. Inoue from the counter, pointing to three boxes near his feet. "Can you put those in the back? They're taking up space."
"Sure," he nodded, moving towards the boxes of instant ramen. Picking them up, he moved towards the back area. Being unable to see in front of him, Ken ran straight into Yolei, causing the boxes and the two of them to fall to the floor.
"Oh I'm so sorry, Ken," Yolei quickly apologized before helping him pick them up. "Let me help you."
"It's ok," he replied, shrugging it off. "I couldn't see where I was going in the first place."
Yolei smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek before the two headed towards the back to put down the boxes of ramen. Her nose wrinkled once she got a whiff of his scent.
"You know smoking's bad for you, right?" She said before walking back to the front of the store. He grunted uncaringly, having heard this lecture from her many times before.
At twenty-five years old, Yolei still looked incredibly beautiful with her lavender hair tied up in a single braid and glasses over her honey brown eyes. Despite her normally sweet disposition, Yolei had a temper that could get hot on a dime when the situation called for it.
"So what did the letter say?" She asked.
Ken's blood ran cold. He was nervous to tell her that they suffered another rejection; she had been giving him several indications that she possibly wanted to move on from music and stick with owning the convenience store when her parents retired.
"We got rejected again," he sighed. "They said that we just 'weren't right at this time.'" He quoted the letter.
Ken could tell she was not taking it well as Yolei sighed and grew noticeably irritable.
"You know," she began. "I think that it may be time to put a lid on this thing, sweetheart. We've been doing this for a long time and it hasn't gotten anywhere."
He frowned. "So you're saying we should just call it quits because we haven't had a break yet? It's bound to happen, Yolei, I promise you."
"Bound to happen when?" She demanded, her infamous temper starting to heat up. "Five years, ten years, when? In case you haven't noticed, I have something to fall back on: taking over the convenience store when it's my time. You keep this up and you'll get nowhere, Ken Ichijouji."
"Have some faith, Yolei," Ken fired back. "I've got a full crop of songs coming that are bound to land us a deal. You really want to run a convenience store for the rest of your life? Don't you want something better?"
"Why would I?" She retorted. "At least my future is certain when I inherit the store."
"If you want to quit, be my guest. I'm going to keep moving ahead."
A silence fell over them as the implications of their statements sunk in. Yolei was surprised to see Ken snap at her. Ever since he had quelled the darkness within him all those years ago, it would take a lot to get him worked up about something.
"I do love you, Ken," she said, caressing his cheek lovingly. "I just think it's time to grow up and put this aside."
"Spare me," he spat, pushing her hand away. "If you wanted to quit, you just had to say so. It would have spared us a lot of trouble in the long run. I'm going to stay with my parents tonight so don't expect me to be back at home."
Without another word to her, he turned away and walked towards the back so he could count the inventory and make sure they were all set, leaving Yolei hurt by his words.
That night, after taking the subway to Tamachi, Ken found himself standing outside the door of his childhood home. All of the memories that it held, good and bad, filled him as he knocked on the door.
He missed him. He missed his brother and it pained him to walk back to this house filled with the constant reminders of what once was. Sometimes when he felt this way, writing helped soothe his emotions. If he was going to stay here tonight, it looked like he'd be writing more than sleeping. Just like in the past.
Within a matter of moments, the door opened and there stood his mother.
"Oh, Ken," she greeted, surprised to see him but embracing him in a hug nonetheless. "What brings you here?"
"Hi, Mom," he smiled, leaning in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Yolei and I had an argument and I hoped that I could stay here for tonight so I can have a chance to calm down."
"Of course," Mrs. Ichijouji didn't hesitate to nod. "You know you are always welcome here. Come in. You're just in time for dinner. Are you hungry?"
Ken next found himself sitting on the floor of his room with a guitar in his lap. The room used to be Sam's when he was still alive but Ken was given it after he died. Even though it had been sixteen years since that fateful day, Ken sometimes felt his presence in the room. As crazy as it sounded, Sam never truly left.
The note pad in front of him was completely blank as he plucked some strings, trying to come up with a riff that sounded good. The thoughts of his brother continued their assault on his senses. Sam would have been 27 now if he were here and doing who knows what. He could have done anything he wanted to do and been great at it, whether it was politics or winning a Nobel Prize. Ken knew how much the what-ifs continued to haunt his parents to this very day, even though they wouldn't say it in public.
'Why did he have to die?' Ken asked himself. 'Why couldn't I do anything to help him? I know I could have. At least his troubles are over while I still have to deal with it. He's forever eleven and in his prime. Despite sixteen years passing, it never gets any easier.'
Those thoughts seemed to spark something inside of Ken. Immediately he started writing down words on the note pad, never stopping until his thoughts were put down completely. He wondered what it would be like on the other side, the side where Sam was at this very moment: a place with no suffering, no pain, no sadness, only paradise and salvation.
After ten more minutes, the words finally ran out and Ken looked down at the page full of lyrics that were freshly written. As he looks over them, he feels tears start to burn his eyes. They were so poignant and emotional that he could feel it in every word. Thinking of a title, he wrote it at the top of the page.
'Say Hello 2 Heaven.'
He smiled. So appropriate and simple yet carried so much meaning. Not wanting to stop this burst of inspiration, he continued to write deep into the night. Once he felt like he had the songs where he wanted them, he would record demos to put a tape together to send off to another record company. Maybe now they would see his genius and give him and Yolei a deal.
By the time he collapsed from exhaustion, it was almost dawn. He slept hunched over his guitar with music and lyric sheets spread all around him from the hours and hours of writing that he did. The tips of his fingers were calloused and red from holding down the strings.
"Ken, honey," his mother came into the room. "Breakfast is ready if you're…"
Once she saw how out of it he was and all the piles of paper surrounding him, she paused her sentence. Moving towards the bed with a smile on her face, she grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his sleeping form. With a muttering of "sweet dreams," she kissed the top of his head and walked out of the room to leave him in peace.
What do you think? A much slower beginning than in 'FAAB' but there's a method to that. A mixed bag of fortunes thus far: Cody has been accepted to Harvard Law School, Davis was dumped as he found out he was going to be a father, and Ken and Yolei haven't been getting along too well for a while now. Whatever could happen next? Find out next time on The New Digi. Make sure to review and subscribe as you read.
