Sora's Birthday Wish - Part 1
By Firenze
WARNING: This has a teensy bit of spoilers from Season 2 in Japan, although I've personally never seen a real episode. If you're from the U.S. (like me) and don't want to find out what happens, then I suggest you don't read this. Or, just read it, and things that sound different, just pretend I made it up. This takes place three years in the future (just a while before season 2).
* * *
"Tai, wake up, sleepy head!" Hikari Kamiya shouted to her big brother, who was snoozing in his bunk bed.
"Awww…five more minutes Mom, I don't want to go to school today," Taichi groaned.
"Oh, Tai, get up!" she pleaded.
"Just a little longer," he muttered into his pillow.
An idea popped into Kari's head. "Tai! Sora's been captured by an evil digimon!"
He jumped up. "What?! Sora! Where is she?"
She giggled. "I got you!"
"Kari!" he groaned. "Don't scare me like that."
"I'm sorry, Tai. I know you still have nightmares about when she got kidnapped by Datamon."
"Who told you about that? How did you know I still have those nightmares?" he asked frantically.
"TK told me about it. How you went by yourself to save her, right?" she asked. He nodded. "And sometimes at night, you're screaming so loud you wake the whole house up. Don't worry, Mom and Dad don't mind. Neither do I."
"Huh?" What do I scream?" he asked wondrously.
"Something like, Sora! It's all my fault! I should have never let him get to you! If only I hadn't chickened out! It's all my fault! SORA!!! You know, stuff like that."
"Seriously?" he asked in shock.
"Yeah. Just two nights ago, you were screaming how you loved her and stuff."
His eyes widened and his cheeks burned. "I did not!"
"Don't be so sure. You almost woke the neighbors up. Now, enough of this. You need to take a shower. After all, it's your love's birthday party today." She giggled and ran out of the room before he had a chance to do anything.
Tai was still blushing, even though Kari had left. "I'd never say anything like that about Sora…would I?"
* * *
Sora Takenouchi woke up bright and early one Saturday morning.
"Happy birthday, Sora!" her mother said cheerfully.
"Thanks, Mama!" Wow, it's my birthday? I almost forgot!
"Breakfast will be ready when you're done taking a shower. I'm going to be over in the florist's shop for a few hours okay? Don't worry, I'll be done before your party starts."
"Okay!" she called and rushed to take a shower, full of excitement and happiness.
* * *
"Oh man!" Tai cried.
"What is it?" Kari asked.
"I forgot to get Sora a birthday present!" he exclaimed.
"That's smart," she replied sarcastically. "And I thought you had been looking forward to it."
Desperately he asked, "Kari, did you get Sora anything?"
She nodded. "You still have to get her something yourself."
"But Kari, her party's in two hours! I don't have time –"
"You should have thought about that before," she said.
"Gee thanks. Look, Kari, tell Mom and Dad that I went to the mall, and I'll just walk to Sora's house."
"Okay then."
"Oh yeah, you're a girl, what should I get her?" Tai wondered.
"Tai, you've known Sora since practically forever. Just get her whatever you think she'd like."
"Remember when I got her those hairclips? She thought I hated her lucky hat!" he shouted.
"Tai, calm down. Look, you'll know what to get her when you see it. If all else fails, just wing it. You know, make up some song about her and tell her how you feel. Pick her some flowers on the way to her house."
He groaned. "Kari, I am not in love with Sora. We're just friends!" he called, rushing out the door.
"Sure!" she called out back to him. "Whatever, lover boy!"
Good thing he was already far out the door and down the hallway of their apartment building.
* * *
Two hours until her party started. Sora had decided not to decorate her house, since it looked okay anyway. No streamers, balloons, clowns, or colorful banners and games like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. She was turning fourteen and she felt much older than she used to be. She just set up the backyard with a big CD player, space to dance, and some food. She also set up some room where Matt's band would perform.
This was more of an older kid party, but TK, Kari, and their friend Daisuke were still coming. Mimi had flew in from the east coast of the United States, and she had been telling Sora for so long that she had done something really crazy there, but not exactly what. Joe and Izzy had even abandoned their studies just to have a good time, though they weren't really the big party type. And of course Tai was coming, along with about ten of her other school friends.
She collapsed on a lawn chair. She was so excited and anxious that she could barely wait.
* * *
Tai ran all the way to the Odaiba Mall. He was fairly out of breath, but he didn't care. He needed to get Sora's present, and fast.
First, he decided to check out one of those girly stores with make-up, jewelry, hair clips, and other accessories. Memories of her previous birthday and a look at the merchandise made Tai get out. Sora wasn't Mimi, after all. On his way out of the store crowded with teenage girls, he bumped into a girl with pink hair.
"Watch where you're going!" she growled, not taking her eyes off a shelf filled with bubble bath and bath crystals.
"Aw, shove it, Pinky," he muttered, pushing his way out of the store.
"Hey!" she cried angrily. "I heard that!"
"It was pretty loud!" he called over his shoulder, walking out the door. What a freak, he thought. Yet such a familiar freak she was.
Next, he went into a sports store. He should probably get her something to do with soccer or tennis, her favorite sports. Yet he found nothing he could get her. Instead, he came out of the shop with stuff for himself only.
Tai nervously checked his watch. Only one hour and thirty minutes left. And it took half an hour to walk to the Takenouchi home from the mall, so he only had an hour to find her something. So he walked into the Sanrio store. After all, every girl liked Sanrio stuff, didn't they?
It was basically his last chance to find her anything, because he didn't know where else to shop. Yet just standing in the shop was making him slightly queasy. Little cats, dogs, ducks, angels, and other cheerful animals with pink backgrounds surrounded him. It was too girly for him, just like the girl accessory store.
"Can I help you?" one of the teenage girl workers asked, clearly wondering what a fourteen-year-old boy was doing in a Sanrio store. "Are you looking for something for your girlfriend?"
"Yeah, it's her birthday," he said quickly and stopped. What am I saying? "She's not my girlfriend, just a friend."
"Right," the clerk said, obviously not believing him. "So what kind of things does this girl like?"
"I don't know. Ummm…soccer, tennis, flower arranging, birds…" he trailed off. What did Sora like?
"Well," the girl said, pausing to think. "She'd probably like some –"
But what Sora would like, Tai never got to hear. A tall, blond, surfer kind of boy walked in the store. Tai recognized him as Sora's cousin.
"Wayne!" the girl yelled, and abandoned Tai to hug and kiss her boyfriend.
"Aw, man," Tai said. He picked the thing closest to him off a shelf, which turned out to be a cute pink bird stuffed animal, which was holding a bouquet of flowers in one wing and a soccer ball with its other. It looked somewhat like Biyomon, and Tai learned its name was Piyo-Piyo.
"Wow, it's perfect!" he cried happily. He searched for a price tag and his heart sank when he saw it. It cost 1,000 ¥ just for a tiny stuffed bird. Still, he went to the counter to pay for it, when he spotted a beautiful sterling silver locket with a heart on the front just like the one on Sora's crest. Piyo-Piyo was engraved on the back too. "Hey, how much is this?" he asked the clerk.
"2,000 ¥," the old lady replied.
"Man!" That was all that was left of his 4,000 ¥ he had started out with. (He spent 1,000 ¥ [just under $10.00] on all the things he had bought for himself.) "Well…" This was Sora he was talking about. "Okay, I'll take it too." So Tai paid for all of it, and the lady kindly wrapped the stuffed animal in some wrapping paper with hearts and flowers all over it, for free too.
"Would you like me to put the necklace in too?"
"Thanks!" he said, sprinting out of the store.
"Wait! Sonny!" the old lady shouted. "Hey! Come back!"
Tai panted. He only had ten minutes to get to Sora's house! It turned out, his watch had been half an hour behind, and he had spent a while in the Sanrio store looking for her present. Now he had it, but he was going to be late for her party!
* * *
A/N: Believe me, I never wanted to make this more than one part. But it was more than six pages long, so I had to split it up. Thanks for reading! I'm glad to make another Digimon fic after so long. Please, tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: Digimon and all these characters belong to FOX KIDS and Saban and stuff. Oh yeah, Sanrio is it's own store, and I made Piyo-Piyo (although I borrowed the name from some Japanese box I saw. It's really a duck, or some other kind of bird, I think).