"I have to ask you to turn off your laptop now, sir. We're about to begin the descent into Washington." The stewardess smiled at the young Japanese with his serious eyes and shock of brown hair.

"Sure. Sorry." Izzy clipped his screen shut and tucked the Pineapple under his seat. He pulled the lever that brought his seat back up to vertical and fastened the seatbelt around his small waist. As the 747's nose dipped he swallowed hard to stop his ears popping and stared alertly out of the window at the city looming beneath the plane.

He couldn't believe he was finally going to meet Willis. Willis, the American computer genius whose hacking had created the virus Digimon Infermon. As Infermon's presence on the Internet spread, slowing traffic and blocking important sites, Izzy and Tai had fielded e-mail from concerned kids all over the world. Izzy had noticed Willis immediately for his articulate, detailed comments, realising that the American boy's knowledge of computers and Digimon rivalled his own.

He had tried mailing Willis several times after that, but always an Undeliverable bounced back. Then the younger Digi-Destined had actually met Willis, over in the USA. The virus he created had infected his own Digimon, Kokomon, and he had needed the help of all the Japanese Digi-Destined to stop the rampaging monster. When the crisis was over Izzy received a long message telling the whole story of Infermon's creation. Ashamed of what he had done, Willis had avoided contacting Izzy so the truth wouldn't have to come out.

I'm a rat, Izzy. I'm sorry. he had ended.

Izzy wrote back immediately: It wasn't your fault, Willis! Nobody knows much about Digimon yet; we've all made mistakes. He paused and added: Let's learn together.

This time they stayed in touch, e-mailing once a week or so. Izzy found himself looking forward to Willis' correspondence more and more, till he began crossing his fingers every time he checked his mail. When he saw the American's name in his inbox his heart jumped. This kid was bursting with theories and questions, fuelling Izzy's own thirst for knowledge. Answering Willis' mail was more challenging than a chess puzzle - and Izzy loved chess puzzles. Willis made him think in a way that none of his other friends did.

One day he had burst in on Matt, TK and Yolei over at Matt's, desperate to find another Digi-Destined to share Willis' latest discovery.
"Hey guys!" he yelled, waving a printout. "Guess what Willis just found out!"

They looked up, surprised by this interruption from the normally quiet Izzy.
Yolei rolled her eyes. "Haven't we heard enough about your boyfriend lately?" she asked. Matt sniggered. "Yeah, Izzy, you're getting really obsessed."

Only TK leaned forward and said "What?" But Izzy didn't answer. Yolei's bitchy comment was still echoing in his ears. Willis...boyfriend...it was true. Izzy was in love with Willis.

This was crazy. He'd never even met Willis. But in a way he knew him better than any of the other Digi-Destined. He knew how he thought and what he felt. Willis didn't give much away about his personal life, but sometimes when they instant messaged he let slip little details: his love of basketball, his unhappy childhood.

Izzy remembered a late night with Joe when his friend, slightly drunk, had spent an hour detailing his precise feelings for Mimi. The Digi-Destined of Sincerity had left for the USA, and Joe's life had been misery ever since. Constantly thinking about her; desperate for a letter; anxious if he didn't hear from her. The symptoms matched Izzy's feelings for Willis exactly.

"Oh, nothing," he said quietly, and trailed out. TK glared at Yolei. "Nice going!" he snapped. He slipped down from his perch to follow Izzy, but Matt took his arm. "Leave him," he said. "He'll get over it. He's Izzy."

Izzy booted up his computer and went straight to a search engine. Willis' surname was a common one in North America, but by adding keywords he soon thinned out the crowd and homed in on his Willis. There he was on his high school's website - smiling in the front row of his basketball team photo, a Band-Aid on one knee. Again, receiving his diploma years early, a slight blond figure among much older boys. Here was his college thesis, which Izzy bookmarked for later perusal; here a blurry shot on another student's homepage, showing Willis among a group of friends. Willis himself didn't seem to have a personal webpage, which was surprising; Izzy had reserved izumi.jp years ago.

Am I gay, then? Izzy wondered suddenly, his fingers frozen over the keyboard. He remembered boys at his primary school, the ones who'd given him Chinese burns when the teacher wasn't looking, chanting in the playground: "Izzy's a nerd! Izzy's gay!". Well, he was a self-declared nerd; were they right about the other thing too? He'd never been attracted to a guy before, but then he'd never been that interested in girls either. Though until today he wouldn't have recognised Willis if they'd crossed in the street, he had fallen in love with him. He knew if Willis had been a girl he would have felt the same way. It wasn't a question of gay or straight; it was the person that counted.

Izzy shook his head. Only he, of all the Digi-Destined, could have fallen for someone he only knew through the Internet.

To Be Continued...