Ken Ichijouji
It had been 3 years since they defeated Apocalymon and everything had changed. So much drama and hardships. He lost his brother and despite many visits to the Digital World they never found Hikari. One positive thing at least, he and his family moved from Tamachi to Odaiba. He had grown up a lot, or at least he liked to think so. The feeling of inferiority seemed to disappear as the days went by. The child of Kindness had more confidence in himself. Thanks to his friends of course. He owed them so much…
"Ken-chan!" His mom's voice rang into his thoughts. "Hurry up, weren't you going to meet your friends at the park?"
"Oh, yeah. Thanks, mom!" He called out smiling to himself.
A little after his brother passed away in August of 2000, they decided to move to Odaiba to hopefully have a new start. It had been so hard on him and his parents knowing they would never see Osamu again. His best friend, Takeru Takaishi, had also moved to Odaiba. The blond wanted to be with his older brother more. It made them happy to be close to each other all the time.
School was going to start in a week. His first year at Odaiba Elementary as a 5th year. He was nervous at first, he was not sure how he'd fit in at a new school. But it was reassuring at least one of his friends would be there. Before he knew it, he arrived at the park. His friends were sitting in a circle under a big tree.
"Yo, Ken!" Takeru waved smiling at him. Ken was relieved his friend was smiling more and more. It took a while, but both were able to regain some of their footing.
"Ken, you are late." Taichi teased. His goggles still sat on his head with a blue band.
"Taichi, don't tease him like that. You would have been late if I hadn't kicked you out of bed." Yamato stated crossing his arms. The blond had cut his hair some over the years. "Literally."
"Yeah, thanks for that, buddy." Taichi scowled rubbing his butt.
Everyone burst into small laughter. "Don't worry, Taichi. I'll wake you up next time." Sora joked. Taichi blushed in response.
Mimi had moved to America last year as well. So, it was just the 7 of them. No Hikari either. They still hadn't found her. His face turned into a painful expression.
"Ken." A warm hand landed on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Takeru staring at him with a smile. "Have you decided on which sports team you will be on?"
Forgetting his troubles he stared at his hands. "I don't know. I am not really good at anything. I never really did anything at my old school either…"
"What about soccer?" Taichi suggested giving him a grin.
"Well… I'm not sure about being competitive…" Ken mumbled.
"Don't worry about it! It'll be a cinch!" The brunette said confidently.
Sora nodded. "I think you would be great with it. It's really just a lot of footwork and not a lot of hard contact like football."
Ken looked at Taichi and Sora and nodded. "Ok." He said with a small smile. "I'll try out."
"I think you'll really like it. I'm going for basketball. I kind of like the contact sport feel." Takeru said sheepishly.
Sora nodded. "I like tennis in the same way. You also have to keep an eye on the ball and figure out distance to hitting the ball back. It's really exciting." She smiled.
Koushirou sighed. "I'd play sports, but I have no coordination. I'd rather be on my computer. I find that a lot more interesting than a ball."
"I think you are uncoordinated because of your computer." Taichi teased the computer geek poking him in the ribs.
"Hey, don't insult my computer." Koushirou pouted pulling his computer away from Taichi.
Another round of laughter erupted around the circle. "Jou will do his best with his studies. Right?" Sora smiled giving the oldest a slap on the back.
"Yeah." He sighed in distress. "If I don't die before then!"
"Hang in there, Jou." Yamato said in an encouraging tone. "Just like when I go on stage, I get nervous. But I take a deep breath and let it go."
"Easy for you to say." Jou looked to the blond. "Your fans adore you. They wouldn't care if you messed up a verse!"
"Yeah, just as long as you look hot doing it!" Taichi joked.
Yamato blushed. "Shut up." He turned away.
Another eruption of laughter occurred.
Ken smiled and looked at everyone. "Thanks for being such great friends."
Takeru brought him into a big hug. "Likewise."
Being with his friends really helped him to cheer up. After his brother died, he didn't know what he would have done with himself. So much sadness and heart ache had overtaken him. If it weren't for his friends… Well, he was scared to even think what might have been.
Iori Hida
A short hair brunette wiped the sweat off of his brow with his sleeve. He had finally finished getting all the Kendo equipment ready for the next year. Even though he trained at his grandpa's dojo, he still was more than happy to handle and take care of the sports equipment belonging to the school. It was a week before school started up again and things needed to be cleaned up in preparation. It was the right thing to do after all. Everyone needs to lend a hand so they can lead a happy and healthy life. That's what his father always taught him before he passed three years ago.
"Dad, I'm doing a good job." He smiled to himself. He shut off the lights and was ready to lock the door to the equipment room.
"Hey, wait!" A frantic voice called out. "I need to put this stuff in there!" An older brunette came running towards him with a basket of new, blown up soccer balls.
"Oh, my apologies." Iori took a step back letting the older kid through.
"Thanks, man." He said passing Iori and shoving him in the process.
Iori ignored the rude gesture. It would be just as bad to get upset at him after all. "I don't believe I've seen you before." He asked. Maybe the kid would give his name. So he'd remember to give the rude boy a lecture on kindness and respect.
"Oh, yeah. I'm new. Sort of, anyway." The spiky hair brunette shoved the cart into its proper place messing up what Iori had organized earlier. "I'm the new captain of the soccer club. Daisuke Motomiya." He extended his hand to Iori.
"I'm Iori Hida. Nice to meet you." He said kindly shaking his hand. Even though in the back of his head he really wanted to give Daisuke a lecture. Iori had spent most of the morning sorting and organizing the equipment room before the soccer captain messed it up.
"Yeah, sorry about the trouble. See you around." Daisuke waved to him walking off.
Iori let out a little sigh. He wanted to go back in there and fix the mess. But he did have to meet with Miyako and other responsibilities for the day as well.
"I'll write an apology letter to the sports director." He said quietly, closing and locking the door. He made his way off the campus ground and walked to the apartment complex that he and Miyako both lived in. He promised to help Miyako with setting up the store. One of many tasks before school started.
"Miyako-san?" He poked his head through door. "I've arrived. I'm sorry I'm late. Another kid had to put his equipment away."
"Oh, no problem, Iori." Miyako popped her head out from behind the counter. "I was just doing some inventory before stocking shelves." She carried a box around the counter to set on a cart with other boxes. "I still can't believe my sisters chickened out. Saying a spa was much more important!" She groaned. "The nerve!" She punched one of the boxes.
Having a sibling can be troublesome sometimes…
"It's all about working as a team, Miyako-san. You just need to compromise." Iori explained helping open one of the boxes.
"I know!" She blew up her cheeks and groaned again. "I try, but they never listen!"
"I'm sure they'll help out later in the week once they've seen how hard you've worked." Iori smiled at his friend.
They were neighbors in the apartment complex, so they've known each other for a few years.
"They better…" She growled and sighed. "I give up. Getting angry is just making me tired." She rubbed her temple with her index and middle finger. "Let's get to work, Iori."
"Right." Iori nodded helping put stuff away.
Takeru Takaishi
Takeru entered his new apartment quietly. He knew his mom was out and wouldn't back for a while. "I'm home." He called out regardless if anyone could him or not. He still had a lot on his mind. The fact he and Ken had moved Odaiba was a great thing. But he still couldn't help but to feel uneasy. Something kept bothering him in the back of his mind.
His entered his room and plopped down on the bed putting his arms behind his head.
He hadn't told anyone, but he had been having strange dreams lately. He would be at a beach, but it wasn't welcoming. It was always very cold and everything looked black. Like something was calling him. But didn't want to answer it for fear what might happen. The ocean was black and the waves would come into shore closer and closer to him.
Ken would be horrified if he knew something wanted to take him. Losing both his brother and a fellow comrade was hard enough. If Ken knew his life was in danger, he may never be the same. His brother would just overreact and all friends would worry. It wasn't worth mentioning.
But he had a feeling it had something to do with the Digital World… Something told him it would be calling again.