Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Complicated Love

Chapter One

"Five minutes, Takeru!" yelled his brother, Yamato.

"Matt! I'm so tired…" an extremely exhausted Takeru replied feebly. They were at a local park's basketball court.

"Four minutes," Yamato said with blank indifference. Takeru, who used up his second wind when twenty-five minutes of this strenuous exercise passed, continued the complex basketball drill that involved dribbling, sprinting, passing, push-ups, sit-ups, shooting, defending, and jumping jacks.

"What's the time now?" Takeru asked desperately.

"Five seconds…four…three…two…one…stop. Good job, TK, you actually completed it this time."

"Can I ask you why this is necessary? I'm tired of all this pointless training, big brother," complained a ten-year-old Takeru Takaishi. He was breathing heavily.

"I'm just preparing you for secondary school…while I can…" Yamato actually muttered the last bit, and Takeru, who was too busy panting and gulping water said obliviously,

"I hate basketball. We should be watching TV instead."

"It's for your own good. You chose it, didn't you?"

"Over soccer, volleyball, tennis, and football, yes."

"We're done for today. Tomorrow we're going for one-on-one," Yamato stated seriously.

"Aw, Matt, I never win," Takeru said, walking to catch up with his brother, who was heading towards Takeru's home. Yamato smiled secretly.

--

"This is the best surprise party I have ever planned. Trust me, I have planned so many. There was this one time, where my close friend, oh, oops, not really my close friend, but just a friend-friend, like one of those you just say hi to sometimes? Anyway, her name's Tina, and her dog was totally sick, you know, so of course when it came back from the vet, we had to give her a congratulations party…and there's this one time my math teach—"

"Yeah, that's great Mimi," Jyou said, yawning.

"Oh, you are so rude. You know, you're not supposed to cut someone off when they're talking. You guys need to learn—"

"Shh…! Yamato and Takeru are coming!" whispered Sora, in an urgent tone.

"So, all of you guys in your positions? Great, Yamato's right on time…" Koushiro said. Takeru's excited voice could be heard outside,

"Matt, where are you taking me?"

"Just hold on, TK, can't you be a bit patient?" Yamato carefully opened the door to what should be Mimi's new apartment.

"Yamato, this place is so dark. What's so great about it, anyway?"

"SURPRISE!" shouted all the Digidestined. The lights had been turned on by Yamato, which revealed a room decorated in different shades of green, Takeru's favorite color.

"Whoa! Thanks everyone, but what's the occasion?" asked Takeru.

"Your going-away party. We know that your mom had a job offer far away and we want to make sure you get a proper goodbye," Mimi explained.

"We got you presents," said Hikari, shyly.

"Come on, let's open them first!" Taichi suggested. It seemed as if Taichi was more excited to see the gifts than Takeru.

"Wow…thank you guys!" said Takeru in awe. He sat in the middle of a circle of his close friends, opening wrapper after wrapper...

--

That week held so clearly in Takeru's mind. It was a year since that party, since the time Yamato had forced him to play basketball…a year since he ever saw his Digidestined friends. He thought of his past year in Sapparo. Fifth grade was interesting, considering the fact that it was his first year in a new city. Now his start of middle school (part of secondary school, as Yamato called it) and he couldn't stop thinking about his Odaiba friends…

"Mom, I'm going now!" Takeru called, suddenly, surprising himself. He had been sitting over a bowl of soggy cereal, waiting for some motivation to make him go.

"Do you want me to walk you there? I'm sorry about the car, it's getting fixed…" his mother called, rather distractedly.

"No, it's alright," he replied, jamming a white fishing hat on his head. Hikari, he thought. That was her goodbye present. She claimed his green, watermelon-like hat was too puerile for a ten-year-old. He wore it constantly, since was always too lazy to be concerned with his hair and preferred to keep it hidden under a hat.

"Takeru! Up for a game of morning basketball?" asked his friend, Toby.

"Sure…" said Takeru. He found the game comforting now because he felt that it somehow connected him to Yamato. Takeru grabbed the ball, effortlessly dodged the defender, and scored a lay up.

"You're too good, dude," commented Justin, another friend.

"Unfair advantage. Too tall," said a different player. Takeru was no longer the short, scrawny boy. His excessive basketball practice, even without Yamato, had given him a lean, muscular body and his height drew near to about 5'6".

--

"Hey mom! I'm home!" called Takeru from the front door. His sixth grade year had passed successively, which was defined by his steady girlfriend, many admirers, good grades, and gaining a starting position on the basketball team. The summer vacation had already started, and he had just returned from the movies.

"Takeru! Honey, I have to tell you something…we're moving again."

"What?" Takeru's jaw dropped past his knees.

"No, no, it's good news…I think. We're going back to Odaiba!"

And Takeru thought his jaw couldn't drop much further.

"That's great!" Truthfully, the whole time Takeru had been in Sapparo, he couldn't stop thinking about Odaiba. In Odaiba, he felt more in touch with the Digiworld. He felt like that's where his true friends were. He felt at home.

"I'm sorry it's so sudden, but we're not moving until next month…"

--

The first chapter is over ...what did you think?