Thanks for all the comments and advice. I'm trying to puzzle out where exactly to take the story, even as I write it. But this chapter came easily. Somebody asked about why Davis and Ken don't seem nearly as close now as they were at the end of Season Two; I'm starting to wonder myself, so you may see some scenes involving that as well. At last, the party is about to begin. Here we go.
-Sacred Dust
Ω
CHAPTER THREE: A Night To Remember
- Ω
Yolei Inoue's hazel eyes narrowed as she stared down her adversary. Instinctively, her fingers twitched and her hand reached for her Digivice (or technically D3). Her lavender hair fluttered dramatically in a summer wind as she prepared to fight for her life.
But despite all her intensity, she didn't have her D3, Hawkmon was no longer beside her…and her father's van still sat dead and useless in the parking lot.
"Sorry, Yolei," Mr. Inoue sighed. "But that thing ain't going nowhere."
She groaned, sitting down hard on the back bumper. "This piece of junk had one last drive left in it, and we used it on my dentist appointment?"
"Relax. We all knew it was going to break down sometime. We'll just have to figure out some other way to get you to Odaiba."
Yolei stood up again with a resigned expression, and walked morosely to the side of the road, sticking her thumb out at passing cars.
Her dad pulled her back. "Not quite what I had in mind, kiddo."
"What, then? It's too far to walk!"
"You have to be patient, Yolei," he explained. "That's part of growing up. First we need to get the van towed. And then, if you have a friend with a license, maybe they can pick you up and take you to the party."
"But I'll be late! It could start without me!"
"Now, honey," he said soothingly. "How could any party start without you?"
"Grrrrrrr!" she turned away, frustrated. "Why do these things always happen to me?"
She stood by while her father called a tow truck on his cell phone. If there was one thing Yolei loved (aside from her Digimon, who she sorely missed), it was parties. Especially surprise parties with decorations and food and people she liked, and Kari's party fit the bill perfectly. Now the Inoue family van had chosen just the right moment to die for good. She kicked one of the tires angrily.
I'll get to that party, she thought. No matter what I have to do!
Ω
T.K. Takaishi half-sat, half-leaned on the arm of the Kamiyas' living room couch. Finally, everything was ready. The extra table was set up in the living room, loaded with a perfect assortment of chips, crackers, even cold cuts (that was going pretty wild by Kari's standards). Mr. Kamiya had lugged a beat-up old cooler out of the closet that he'd used in his college days, and managed to fit most of the pop into it. Davis and Ken were sorting through the movie shelf in Kari's room, looking for some long-lost home video that was supposedly from eight years ago. ("Man," Davis griped, "How many chick flicks can one girl own?") Kari herself was in the kitchen, explaining very carefully to her parents that they were all mature, responsible kids, and could easily handle this event without adult supervision. Fortunately, they seemed to understand what she was getting at. Kari had always been a wonderful communicator. Mimi backed her up, while doing something mysterious with the napkins that made them into pretty shapes.
This was it, T.K. realized. In just a few more minutes, Mr. Kamiya would leave in his car and pick up the others at the train station.
This was the same electric feeling he had before a big basketball game or a fight with the Digimon. He wanted to hear Tai's voice, talking about soccer or his sister (the two things he loved the most). He wanted Matt to play his harmonica—or no, his guitar—or maybe sing. Whichever! As long as he could see that guy for once. He wanted Izzy to answer all the questions that popped into his head, he wanted Joe to quibble about the nutritional content of the food and nearly knock the table over at least once, and he wanted Sora to just…be Sora. To make them feel together. Nobody else could do that like her.
Maybe she had a boyfriend by now. College was when that stuff got serious, right? Heck, it could be someone he knew. Not Matt, since he was still with June Motomiya. But it could be Tai, or Joe, or…any guy really.
Why the heck am I even thinking about this?
Ω
"Found it!" Davis announced, lifting the beat-up videocassette from the back of Kari's movie shelf. "Gees, about time. She's got to be more organized than this if we're ever going to date."
Ken didn't look at him. "You haven't believed that for years."
Davis glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? I can't like her anymore?"
"No, but…"
"But nothing. Come on! Let's go." Davis turned to leave.
"You know she doesn't like you that way. She never has. And suddenly you're crazy about her again?"
The spiky-haired boy stopped, but didn't turn around.
"On the other hand, I'm your best friend and you're not even returning my messages. I thought we were friends, Davis."
"We are friends."
"Friends who never talk?" Ken's voice was expressionless; only his eyes told a different story.
"I talk to you."
"Sometimes, when T.K. or Kari is around and you feel like telling a mean joke; then you talk to me. That doesn't count."
Ken waited, but he still got no answer.
"Davis, I said I was sorry."
"Just leave me alone! I told you I'm fine!" Davis stormed out of the room, still with his back turned. Ken stared after him. A small part of him said that it wasn't his business; if Davis felt like avoiding him, so be it. But he couldn't leave it at that. Ken had been close with Davis since his downfall as the Emperor.
So what was going on now?
With a barely audible sigh, he exited Kari's room.
Ω
"Hey, handsome!" a sugary voice cried in T.K.'s ear.
"Whoa!" he lost his balance on the couch arm, barely landing on his feet. Mimi Tachikawa stood close beside him, giggling uncontrollably.
"Sorry…T.K….I didn't mean to startle you," she managed to get out, trying her best to stop laughing.
T.K. rolled his eyes and stepped up close to her, saying "Hey, beautiful," in an exaggerated whisper. Mimi lost the battle and they laughed even harder. Finally they stopped, not wanting the others to think they'd gone nuts. (Although it wasn't a rare occurrence in the Kamiya household.)
"You looked like you were a million miles away," Mimi said. "What you were thinking that hard about, hmm?"
"Uh…nothing important." He shrugged. Of course she saw right through it.
"Oh c'mon. I was in high school myself a week ago." She looked hard at him, her mouth curving up into a smile again. "I know…you were thinking about a girl, weren't ya?"
He looked away noncommittally. "No, I just—"
"I knew you were! Who is it? You know I'm going to guess."
"Well…um…"
"Look what I found in Kari's dresserrrr!" the voice of Davis sang out from the doorway, distracting Mimi and saving him.
T.K. spun around to see the auburn-haired goggle boy holding the old tape—along with the whistle Kari had worn in the Digiworld. Creepy.
"Very impressive, Davis," Ken said from just out of sight.
"Aw, you're no fun!" Davis replied, stepping into the room, idly tossing the whistle in the air. "So where's Kari?"
"Davis!" Mimi cried. "Are you nuts? You went through her dresser?"
He winked. "Did I say in her dresser? 'Cause I meant on top of it."
"Gees, Davis," T.K. sighed. "We were all waiting for the day when you'd cross that line, but still…"
"Hey!" Davis interrupted him. "That's not funny, T.B. I wouldn't do that, okay?"
T.K. supposed that was true. And was Davis' crush still an issue after all this time?
Kari chose a strange moment to enter the living room from the other side, along with her parents. "Hey, guys. What's…going on?"
"…Nothing," T.K. replied. "Just waiting for the action, I guess."
"Good! 'Cause I'm about to go and pick them up, just like we planned," Mr. Kamiya jubilantly strode to the door. "Leave everything to me. I'll have them over here in no time…"
He paused as he was about to shut the door, and stuck his head back in momentarily. "…Homies!"
The teens froze, along with Mrs. Kamiya.
They rushed to stop him, but he was already gone, escaping down the apartment elevator. Moments later they heard his minivan roaring away through the suburb as rap music throbbed from the speakers.
"...He's got to talk to somebody about that midlife crisis." Mrs. Kamiya shook her head worriedly. Davis was doubled over, laughing his guts out. T.K. collapsed on the couch, closing his eyes.
This party couldn't start soon enough.
Ω
They stood on the busy street outside the Highton View Terrace train station, thinking about life, love, and the way things were. The setting sun cast everything in an orange light from behind the distant houses. It was an inspiring scene, a meaningful moment in their lives that came at a completely unexpected time.
"…Yeah." Said Tai.
Matt nodded slowly. "…Yup."
"…Yep." Joe said in agreement.
Izzy searched for words of his own. "…Prodigious."
Sora just stared at them.
"Okay, where the hell is he?" Tai asked finally, crossing his arms and looking both ways down the road. "We agreed on seven."
"People are late sometimes," Sora shrugged.
"Besides, it's your dad we're talking about." Matt said. With the waning light shining on his semi-long blonde hair and wistful expression, he looked like a model. The magazines would kill for a shot like that, Sora thought. Not that she was interested—she hadn't dated Matt in years. Personally, she found him a little too distracted. Every conversation with him was a struggle. Maybe he was better off with a girl who was outspoken and stubborn; Sora was neither. But June Motomiya, Davis' big sister and Matt's girlfriend of two years, fit the bill. If June had grown up a little, maybe she could draw Matt out. Someday.
Tai…well, he was Tai. Athletic. Confident. A man of action, their former leader, the original wearer of superfluous swimming goggles (he was even wearing them now)…and her childhood friend. She'd thought about him before. But in the end…well, he was Tai.
Izzy was handsome in a way, but so wrapped up in computers and school that he was too busy for anything else. Except his parents and close friends, Izzy was the same around everyone—polite but dismissive. While Sora had had a few deep conversations with him in the past, they were definitely just friends.
All she had in common with Joe was worrying about the other members of the group in the old days…and that was for different reasons. Joe tended to obsess over details and over-think things. Sora was more concerned with the big picture. If they ever got together, she couldn't see them agreeing on much.
For now, she was single. There were plenty of okay guys in college, but the interest wasn't there. She spent her free time studying and playing tennis, which continued to pay off; as any of her friends could attest, she was a murder weapon on the court.
She was nearly as rough on herself.
"You just didn't know how to have fun!" a roommate had snapped at her once. Maybe not…
In any case, a person having far too much fun was driving up to them right now.
Even with the windows closed, they could hear the bass blaring from the minivan. To their mutual embarrassment, Mr. Kamiya rolled down the driver's window and waved at them, yelling over the music.
"…See you guys. I'm going back to Tokyo." Izzy said heartily, turning back toward the train station.
Matt blocked his way. "Sorry, Izzy, but we're home now. Might as well face the music."
"Are we allowed to cover our ears?" Joe demanded.
"Yo, guys!" yelled Mr. Kamiya. "Put that junk in the trunk and let's hustle."
As they reluctantly complied, Tai wondered if he would be the first person ever to strangle his own father with a pair of goggles.
Mr. Kamiya bounced to the music all the way through Highton View Terrace as the five mortified young people looked on. When he started imitating the record-scratching noises with his mouth, Tai reached the breaking point.
"Dad," he said calmly, "Turn it off."
Mr. Kamiya laughed, thinking it was a joke, but one look at his son's expression proved otherwise. He stabbed at the radio and blessed silence engulfed them.
"Thank you. Now pull over, and let's all step out of the car."
Beginning to fear for his safety, Mr. Kamiya did so. They all stood on the curb next to a school playground, as the sun prepared to dip below the horizon. A little kid in overalls watched them solemnly from behind the fence with two fingers in his mouth.
"Now let's do this the right way. You know, you see us again for the first time in eight months and welcome us back. Sans music." Tai and his friends walked about twenty feet away, then abruptly turned around, cueing him.
"Hey, guys! What's up?" Mr. Kamiya called to them, but not too loudly. "Great to see you again!"
"Hey, old man!" Tai returned, grinning and shaking his hand firmly. "They still let people your age out on the roads?"
"Ha ha! You're funny!" his father chuckled. "And Matt! Sora! And, uh…you two other guys! Have you been working hard in college? Or hardly working?"
They all piled into the minivan and headed off. Coincidence or not, Mr. Kamiya never rapped again.
"…I'm glad we've come to an understanding, Dad," Tai was saying about ten minutes later. "So I assume you're dropping us off…?"
"Abso-tively," agreed his father.
"All right, then let's go ahead and do these guys first," Tai said. "Since I'm coming home with you anyway."
"Sure." Mr. Kamiya's smile was a little too wide. Tai kept a suspicious eye on him. What else does he have up his sleeve?
The minivan crossed over into Odaiba, and from there, Sora's house was the closest stop.
"Thanks, Mr. Kamiya," she said wryly, stepping out of the van. "See you guys! Call me tomorrow. We should get together sometime."
"Good idea." Matt waved.
"See you later, Sora." Said Tai.
Eager to change out of her uniform, Sora grabbed her luggage from the trunk and jogged up the front walk to the door. She stopped, seeing a note taped to it in her father's handwriting.
Dear Sora,
Welcome back from college! Your mother and I missed you so much—she swears that half the flowers in the shop wilted the day you left. Crazy, huh? Anyway, we can't wait to see you again, so we must ask that you not go into the house. We are not home—right now, we're actually visiting the Kamiyas. Mr. Kamiya has just dropped you off here, no doubt, so he knows all about it and will be glad to give you a ride. See you soon,
Your Loving Parents
Sora frowned. What's going on?
Ω
"Um, Dad?" Tai said, slowly. "Why are we still sitting here?"
"You'll see, son," the father assured him. "It's all part of the plan."
"Has his dad always been this nuts?" Joe whispered.
"Not quite. But it has been a while..." Izzy rubbed his chin.
Now Sora was walking back to the minivan, holding a sheet of notebook paper. "Mr. Kamiya, did you know about this?"
"Know about what, my dear?" he asked, his hands steepled elegantly below his chin.
"This note saying that my parents are out visiting you at your apartment?"
"Really? I thought my wife said something to that effect, but I wasn't certain. My apologies, Sora. A bit of bad timing, it seems."
"Bad timing is an understatement."
"…It'll all make sense when we get there." He assured her, cryptically.
The minivan began its journey back toward Highton View Terrace.
"…Um, Mr. Kamiya?" Matt asked. "Can't you at least drop off the rest of us?"
"…Whoops," the man replied, sheepishly. "Silly me. Don't worry, kids. All in good time."
Tai knew his father wasn't this loopy. There had to be a reason for all this, but what was it?
The van pulled up outside Tai's apartment. Tai and Mr. Kamiya stepped out, followed by Sora.
"Hey, guys," Mr. Kamiya said to the other boys. "Come on in for a moment. Might as well say a few hellos while we're here."
Reluctantly, they stepped out of the car and followed him up to the apartment. Mr. Kamiya buzzed a mid-level floor. "Hey, honey. It's us."
"All right." Mrs. Kamiya's voice chirped. The door unlocked. They took the elevator up and stepped off outside Tai's door.
After a great deal of fooling with the latch, Mr. Kamiya opened the door to reveal a dark, empty living room.
Something's about to happen, thought Sora, standing curiously in the doorway with the others.
It's going to happen, thought T.K. crouching quietly in the dark with his friends.
It was one of those moments you couldn't forget, no matter how much time passed—moments like the ones they'd both been struggling with on their way here. Those memories were from years ago. But this was a new one.
Somebody turned on the lights (T.K.'s mother, to be exact), and everyone jumped up in a wave, the moment finally upon them. "SURPRISE!"
Their guests stood there, astonished..It wasn't just the Kamiyas and the Takenouchis—everyone was here. Matt's father and mother in the same place, which amazed him; Izzy's and Joe's parents near the back; Sora's mother in one of those kimonos she usually wore in the flower shop, and her father, too—he never got off work this early. And Mimi! She must have flown all the way from America for this!
Tai didn't know they could have done this—getting all the other grownups together, warning the neighbors about the impending bash, decorating the whole apartment. It must have been Kari's idea; that was all he could fathom.
"Tai!" she yelled, ecstatic, running across the room and embracing him.
"Kari! What did you do?"
"Threw you a party!" she kissed him hard on the cheek.
"Yeah…but how? I mean, why?"
"Because I love you," his sister giggled. "Plus it was a great idea. I missed you so much—I had to make it special."
"I…uh…" Tai closed his eyes, shook his head. "Thanks, Kari."
Ω
Matt just stood there, still having trouble believing it, as his mother and father greeted him. T.K., was there too, giving him a knowing look. Had he and Kari done all this?
"Long time no see, Matt." His father said, looking almost comfortable next to his ex-wife.
"You too, Dad…and Mom? You came, too?"
"I guess so," she agreed. "Your brother was very persuasive."
"Oh, yeah. He was one of the original conspirators!" Mr. Ishida chuckled.
"Great to see you again, bro." T.K. slapped hands with him. "I wanted to do something that would surprise even you, so…I convinced Mom and Dad to come. That was half the battle, so everything else just kind of fell into place."
Ω
"I swear, Izzy, you look even smarter now than you were when you left," Mrs. Izumi said, holding back tears as she hugged him.
"I am." He admitted.
"That's our boy," Mr. Izumi said proudly. "We knew you could handle Tokyo."
Ω
"Operate on anyone yet, son?" Mr. Kido was joking.
Joe pretended to laugh. "Not legally. But I'm getting there."
"Glad to hear it. I've been waiting for this a long time, Joe."
"I know, Dad…I know."
Ω
"Mom? Dad? This was…?" Sora searched for words, amazed.
"…A surprise," her mother finished for her. "Those can be fun once in a while, after all."
"Fun?" Sora blinked. Her idea of fun was tending flowers all afternoon.
Mr. Takenouchi nodded. "We tried to call, but your phone was off, so we had to leave the note instead. Sorry about that."
Despite her misgivings, Sora embraced both of them. Seeing her mother not in the house or the shop, and her father not at work, both at once…that was something else.
Ω
Kari started directing some traffic. As they planned, the parents would go home soon and let the teenagers relax and have fun. They knew there was no beer or drugs in the apartment, and no surprise guests had been invited. It was Digi-destined only. Everybody would be home by two in the morning, at the very latest. They'd pulled off the surprise and now it was time for the party.
When the last parents were gone (Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya, that is), their children stood silently in the living room. Each one realized, as they looked around, that the old team was together again.
Surprisingly, Joe was the first to speak. "It's been…five years, hasn't it?"
"Four and a half, actually," Izzy said.
Tai let his breath out slowly, taking it in. "Guys…I can't believe you pulled this off."
"Neither can we," admitted Kari, "But the more we grow up, the less time we can spend with each other. So we'd better make the most of what we've got, don't you think?"
"That's true," said Izzy. "But—Mimi…did you really—"
"Fly all the way here from America? You bet!" she said, glowing with happiness.
"…But you hate planes." Was all Joe could say.
"Maybe I do. But I love you guys more. Now are we going to have a group-hug, or what?"
She ran up and pounced on them.
Davis turned on the stereo, Kari gestured to the food, and (after making sure it wasn't Mrs. Kamiya's) everyone was happy from there. Sitting on or around the brown leather couch, the Digi-destined who had saved two worlds now spoke to each other not as fighters, but as people—seemingly normal people attempting to live in a normal world, some having a harder time of it than others.
Ω
-END OF CHAPTER THREE
Ω
…And that's the end of that chapter. I hope it wasn't too sentimental.
